Thursday, February 19, 2015

Weekly Update - 2/19 - Weekly Strike Matchmaking and More! (Destiny News)

Evening Guardians!

DeeJ just posted this week's Bungie Weekly Update, and it's already quite controversial! Unlike the last few Weekly Updates, besides maybe the Weapon Tuning announcement, the changes announced, like the fix for disappearing heavy ammo and the reputaiton track, have been met with almost unanimous open arms.

This week, however, Bungie announced that they will be implementing Matchmaking for the Weekly Heroic Strike. For the people out there who want to do it with a full fireteam, or for those who simply need the help, this is undoubtedly a welcome change. So far, there is no Matchmaking for the Nightfall Strike, due to the Nightfalls "kick to orbit" feature.

What many people don't like about this system is that it is not optional. The only way to avoid the system is to start the strike with a full fireteam already. So, this means that if you have your favorite strike partner, you will be forced to play with a third player, whether you want to or not.

What do I think about this change? Personally, I hate it. For the longest time I have gone through the Weekly Heroic as a duo with my best friend for all of our characters. Despite not having a full fireteam, we're more than capable of making our way through the strike. Even when it's  little bit difficult, we like the challenge so we don't mind. Its a fun way to play Destiny with just one friend, and I'm really disappointed that now I will either have to wait for another one of our friends to get on, or subject myself to playing with a random person that will most likely do nothing but frustrate me.

I get that there are people who legitimately need matchmaking in order to beat the Strike. I have no problem with that. I get that this is also a way to prevent people from mooching rewards by joining before or during the boss fight. But why this? Why couldn't the matchmaking have been optional? On top of that, why couldn't the ability to join in progress (or join past a certain point) just be removed for the weekly? Why does a system that only benefits a small minority have to be forced on other people and interfere with the way they enjoy playing the game? The worst part is, now the mooching will just become worse.

-Now people can join matchmaking, walk away, and mooch off of the hard work of the other two players.
-Now we are even more limited in how we can choose to play the game
-Now completing a Weekly Heroic without dying will be even more of a challenge with trolls and griefers who like to splatter teammates with their sparrow.
-Now many people who strongly dislike playing with randoms are forced to do so in order to complete a very basic part of the game.

This system should have been optional. Myself and many others have no need for it, and more importantly don't like that it is forced upon us.


Now that I've got a bit of that out of my system... The Weekly Update also covered a bit of other changes that will be coming with Patch 1.1.1. These include:
  • Xûr will stop forgetting to bring his Exotic engrams when he visits.
  • Iron Banner will work as previously promised, with a greater variety of maps in rotation as well as a couple of new Bounties that give you more control over which weapon you can use to complete them.
  • Strikes and Crucible Maps will be less likely to repeat themselves when you stay in a matchmaking playlist with your Fireteam.
  • Grimoire Cards will drop when you expect them to.
In addition, DeeJ said that there is some "other stuff" that will be detailed soon.

Anyway, that's all for today. Let's see how the Community reacts to these changes. There's already a lot of strong feelings on both sides, and I imagine that will continue for a while.

As always, be sure to check out the official Weekly Update for more specifics, a visit from the DOC and the Movie(s) of the Week!

Check back later tonight or first thing tomorrow morning for Xur's complete inventory for the weekend. Or if you're just interested in the weapon he is selling, check my Twitter feed @DestCentralBlog

Thanks Guardians!

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