Definitely not just you (Destiny)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Wednesday, October 01, 2014, 08:13 (3515 days ago) @ Beorn

I may be conflating some of what I see on the PS4 or the 360, but it seems that sometimes there’s a Destiny Join Fireteam option, sometimes there’s a Invite to Fireteam, and often there is neither. The little "Joinable" icon on player's emblems doesn't always seem to be an accurate predictor of the state of things.

The Xbox One has some very strange behavior that I can only assume is attributable to the system's bizarre party handling requirements.

You're correct that the other three consoles have a "Join Fireteam" option when you inspect another player or pull up your Roster. Xbox One is a lot more convoluted. As you said, to do the same on XBO, you have to select the "View Gamercard" option, then when the (still ridiculously slow) Xbox interface pops up, select "Join" and then "Game". Given that XBO is the outlier here, I can only assume that Destiny is not allowed to have a simple "Join Fireteam" button due to some ill-conceived licensing requirement rather than any technical issue. It adds an awful amount of friction to what should be a routine operation.

The "Joinable" icon is indeed inconsistent at best. I've had several issues with this over the past couple of weeks, compounded by strange networking errors that prevent me from joining friends. I (admittedly) have played far less frequently on my 360, but I have yet to see a single networking/join error on the legacy system. When the joining process falls apart, I've only had two solutions that have worked: 1) Full shutdown/startup sequence—press white logo on front of the console for 10 seconds until it turns off, or 2) wait it out. I've had situations where my friends and I can't join each other for 10-15 minutes, and then it magically starts working again.

Don’t even get me started on Party chat, snap, and all that business. (I'm slowly "getting" it, but it's frustrating, too.)

Yeah.

Party chat is weird, too. I've been in party of three where one person could hear others but not be heard. Could've been on mute, but that's happened to me, too. I think you can be there, but still not be in THE party chat.

Quick tip that you probably already know: When receiving an invitation, you can hold the white Xbox button until the controller vibrates (but not too much longer!) and the system will automatically accept the invitation and (attempt to) join you to the other person. When it works, it's pretty slick. But I've had it not work just as frequently. :-\

Yeah, it's tricky. I inevitably hold it too long and get prompted to shut down the Xbox. I really think this is why it's hard to invite randoms. By the time they ask themselves who the heck is Kermit, their chance to join up and have good times is gone. :) Even if they do hit the white button, they hold it too long. Too many opportunities for failure. Invitations should have a shelf life of longer than three seconds.

P.S. if you see me on the next few nights, please help me with the Queen's missions! I'd like to be able to play the raid on Saturday!

If you see me online, definitely hit me up!

I will!