DESTINY.BUNGIE.ORG

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Skill-Based Matchmaking

Last week's Bungie Weekly Update revealed that some changes to Destiny's Crucible matchmaking system had quietly taken place behind the scenes.  Specifically, the algorithms used to match players were weighted more toward player skill than they had been previously, confirming as true the rumblings among the Destiny fan community that Crucible matches had been getting more "sweaty" as they say - also known as being closer scores at the end because the teams are more evenly matched skill-wise.

This change sparked a lot of controversy around the community, leading to some interesting discussions about the merits of skill-based matchmaking versus connection-based matchmaking, as well as a more broad "discussion" regarding the communication (or perceived lack thereof) regarding Bungie's plans for new Destiny content throughout 2016.

(Side note: this whole ruckus has led to my newest internet bookmark -- the new sub-sub-Reddit called Low Sodium Destiny)

So late yesterday (on #CommunityManagerAppreciationDay, no less), our faithful liaison Deej was tasked with posting an update regarding matchmaking to acknowledge our concerns and announce that there will be some further updates to the matchmaking algorithms to try and find a better balance between skill-based and connection-based games.  Keep in mind that these changes will be first implemented in Iron Banner sometime on Wednesday, and they will be using today's statistical data to compare against the changes tomorrow -- so don't hesitate to [putting on my best Lord Saladin voice] "get out there and fight" for the Spark, Guardians!