‘Destiny’ Matchmaking To Be Updated During Iron Banner, Bungie Opens Up
Bungie shared news of a matchmaking update headed to the new Iron Banner multiplayer event that will be featured this week. The information comes as the developer has faced mounting criticism for how it has handled the shooter in Year Two, and how it has communicated changes with fans.
The Destiny Iron Banner event will start on Tuesday, January 26 and use the matchmaking that has been in place since the last update in December. Bungie will then flip the switch at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday to update matchmaking to one that favors connection quality.
Matchmaking changes are coming to the Crucible, starting on Wednesday in Iron Banner. https://t.co/62spPnCnRD pic.twitter.com/DiOsAcTsZm
— Bungie (@Bungie) January 26, 2016
This update will only affect the Iron Banner and not other Crucible multiplayer playlists. The other playlists will be updated once Bungie determines the new Destiny matchmaking has worked well.
“Lord Saladin’s battle for the Spark will feature new matchmaking settings that will assign more emphasis to connection quality. These changes will be made in an effort to reduce lag. There will still be some consideration given to matching you with worthy adversaries, but that’s a thing we’ve done since Destiny first shipped.
“Iron Banner Rift goes live Tuesday, Jan 26th, 10AM PST.
“New Matchmaking goes live Wednesday, Jan 27th, 10AM PST.
“The 24-hour gap will provide us with two sets of data to compare and scrutinize – all part of the plan. If you play Iron Banner after the deployment, we’ll want to know what you have to say. Sound off in the #Feedback forum about your results. Post a link to a completed game and tell us all about your experience.
“As always, we’ll be monitoring the state of the Crucible for stability and improvement. If all goes well, we intend to deploy the new matchmaking settings to more Crucible playlists over time. And, in keeping with this trend, we’ll be sure to let you know.”
The matchmaking update itself and the note from Bungie comes during the midst of heavy criticism for how Destiny has been handled in Year Two. As Inquistir previously reported, the communication regarding matchmaking changes was poorly communicated to the game’s community. The game’s December update also slipped in changes to Crucible matchmaking that favored player skill level. Players noticed the competition getting stiffer, but the game’s lag had also worsened.
He was wrong.
Design Lead Lars Bakken admitted changes were made to Destiny‘s matchmaking with the December update in last week’s Bungie Weekly Update, as previously covered. However, the explanation of why players weren’t informed of these changes even after they became obvious did not sit well with the community.
Last week’s comments, combined with Monday’s openness about what is changing with Destiny matchmaking, hopefully signals a more transparent operation on Bungie’s part. The game’s fanbase has become increasingly anxious due to a lack of communication from the developer on the future of the game for the next year. A report that Destiny 2 will miss its planned September 2016 release date and possibly slip into 2017 has only made the community, in forums such as Reddit, question the future of the game and how Bungie is handling it.
A small Valentine’s Day event called Crimson Days will start in early February following the conclusion of Iron Banner. A larger content drop and update are planned in the coming months. Fans will want to keep an eye out regarding when and how Bungie communicates these events. Of course, there are always other games to play, too.
[Image via Bungie]
