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Destiny |OT39| Tainted Love

Agent

Member
I got the "Why haven't you played Destiny?" survey email this morning. I probably spent way more time answering the questions than I should have, but hey, it adds to the data of why people are not playing the game anymore. Granted, there is no shortage of opinions posted across the internet with no changes yet; but I'll remain cautiously optimistic.

mCszDL1.jpg
 

phen0m24

Member
I got the "Why haven't you played Destiny?" survey email this morning. I probably spent way more time answering the questions than I should have, but hey, it adds to the data of why people are not playing the game anymore. Granted, there is no shortage of opinions posted across the internet with no changes yet; but I'll remain cautiously optimistic.

mCszDL1.jpg

So what did you put on the survey? I know deaf wanted to grab you last weekend for something but you kept the streak alive.
 

flkraven

Member
Pretty ironic that they released the solo playlists the same day the start a paired-fireteam only event. They could have run a parallel event called Forever Alone.
 

spyder_ur

Member

This seems a little misleading, no? Trials hasn't changed, right? Matching based on # of wins is definitely a form of skill-based.

Seems like Bungie can't win in this regard, noone will ever be happy. Unless perhaps they do ranked playlists, but they've been adding a ton of playlists as it is.

Personally, I wish they went back to the old system in Trials as I've discovered my team's skill gap fits perfectly into that 6-7 win range.
 
So I took a couple of posts I made yesterday and combined them into a larger post I plan on putting up on Reddit. Any thoughts/comments? Proofreading perhaps?

(Please ignore the Reddit Formatting)

It took some time, but it seems like Bungie has finally listened to us regarding CBMM vs SBMM, or rather, they'd like us to think they have. I'm sure a lot of you have noticed by now that while the connections are great, matches feel sweatier than ever, which has a lot of people wondering if we really got what we wanted, or were asking for. Or if there was just some clever word play involved.

First, though, lets understand something. CBMM does not mean less sweaty matches.

"...settings that will assign more emphasis to connection quality." -Deej from Matchmaking Updates on Jan 26th.

"Once again, our goals are to further reduce lag." Deej from Matchmaking Updates Round Two on Jan 28th.

Realize that CBMM works in tandem with SBMM. At no one was it said that SBMM would be loosened up, just that CBMM would be given higher priority than what it already has. This is why matches are still sweaty, because SBMM still factors strongly enough into the equation.

---------------------------------------
Now, the problem lies here: Destiny doesn't have a true competitive mode. Instead, all modes are now competitive. We'd needn't look further than Bungie's game history to see how the problem would come to be, and even the answer for said problem. For instance, let's look at Halo.

Halo PvP was divided into 2 categories. Ranked and Social. Instantly, you know what kind of game you were going to get depending on which section of PvP you were playing under. If you wanted a game that really tested your skills, and pushed your limits, you played under ranked. However, if you wanted to just screw around with your friends, try some unique game types, and maybe have a couple beers while you play, you found yourself under the Social style games.

Social playlists are where you found yourself doing stupid things for a good laugh. Trying to Melee a vehicle to death. Throwing Hail Mary grenades across the map. Trying to get splatters. Things you would never do in a Ranked scenario where you know your win mattered. Naturally, these games had the potential to be more lopsided because SBMM wasn't nearly as important. But you go into the playlist knowing this, so it isn't as frustrating.

The problem then, comes to Destiny lacks a "Social" style of play list. We're getting the worst of both worlds. We're basically playing in Ranked playlists, in a game that doesn't acknowledge your Rank (except for 1 exception from Trials). There is nothing in-game that pats you on the back for being a good PvP player. So instead, we feel like our Social playlists are tainted. Social playlists don't feel social, but ranked. Which means we aren't playing to have fun, we're playing to win. Because Bungie's current formula requires you to try your very best for a chance to win your match.

Naturally, this has side effects. Because every match requires you to play your best, you're only going to use weapons, armor, and abilities that make you the most optimal player. You will rarely ever find a player using some goofy subclass make-up, or underused weapons just for fun, because the option for fun disappears when you aren't equipped as your best.

------------------------------------------

The answer, is actually more simple than you might think. A small restructure of PvP playlists, with some combined playlists, but more importantly, an easy distinction between "Ranked" and "Social" play.

For instance:

**Ranked**

* Inferno Clash
* Inferno Control
* Inferno Rumble
* Inferno Fireteam (Random Salvage or Skirmish)
* Trials of Osiris
* Iron Banner (Random Clash, Control, Rift, or Zone Control)

**Social**

* Clash
* Objective (Random Control, Rift, Combined Arms, or Zone Control)
* Fireteam (Random Salvage or Skirmish)
* Rumble
* Mayhem (Random Clash, Control, or Zone Control)
* Elimination

The point of the combined playlists is to make sure the amount of playlists don't grow large enough to lose support for themselves. If Inferno Salvage was it's own thing permanently, then it's population would die off, causing terrible matchmaking times.

----------------------------------------------

**Last Words**

Because of how important SBMM is to the formula, I personally (note the anecdote) no longer play Destiny with most of my friends. We used to always play Halo social back in the day because our levels of skilled varied greatly. Because of how important SBMM is to the Destiny matchmaking equation, my less skilled friends no longer want to play with me, because they're constantly matched against people out of their league. This makes them not want to play the game, which in turn makes me not want to play the game. Destiny desperately needs a game mode that actually focuses on the "sit back and relax" mentality, so that players can unwind while playing. Until that happens, I predict the playerbase will always be salty, wound up, and generally pessimistic about the game and the changes that come with it.
 

Agent

Member
So what did you put on the survey? I know deaf wanted to grab you last weekend for something but you kept the streak alive.

Basically typed up most of the things that people have been saying all along about the baffling decisions made in TTK, lack of content, and poor communication. Like I've said before, I'll be the first one on the Destiny train when they add things to do and make some changes. I never thought things would get as bad as it was after The Dark Below, yet here we are.

I saw some of deafs invites, but every time I would get them I was away from my PS4. It was double weapon XP in COD so I was on a mission to max out most of the guns. Plus, I finally got the Wrench out of a Supply Drop so I was having too much fun running around maps knocking people out and hearing them rage. So basically I was grinding COD instead of grinding Destiny. :p
 
For them to have this kind of huge oversight, IMO they must really only have the same skeleton crew (or just extremely slightly larger) working on the Live team as they did last year.

I have a hard time with stuff like this. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt on some things but holy cow this stuff was obvious. Everyone here was posting about the available exploits within minutes of the update being released. How do the people making the game not (1) realize the exploits exist and (2) understand that people will use the most optimal strategies? If an easy raid cheese exists, most people will use it. If an optimal weapon is obtainable, most people will use it.

They were surprised by the prevalence of god-rolled Felwinter's because, while they knew it was possible, they thought it would be an "edge-case" scenario instead of the go-to option for a majority of players. The point of removing special ammo on spawn was that special weapons were too powerful. So if an easy exploit exists to regain that power, the majority of the community will eventually use it. I dunno what the deal is. I do know we need better responses than "here's a picture of my dog."
 
I may be wrong, but crucible legendary drops seems to have increased.

If they'd increased the drops it would have been front and centre of the patch notes, you've just hit an RNG streak

On the whole ranked/social just make classic ranked and normal social, job done


Edit Drizzay :d
 
I have a hard time with stuff like this. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt on some things but holy cow this stuff was obvious. Everyone here was posting about the available exploits within minutes of the update being released. How do the people making the game not (1) realize the exploits exist and (2) understand that people will use the most optimal strategies? If an easy raid cheese exists, most people will use it. If an optimal weapon is obtainable, most people will use it.

They were surprised by the prevalence of god-rolled Felwinter's because, while they knew it was possible, they thought it would be an "edge-case" scenario instead of the go-to option for a majority of players. The point of removing special ammo on spawn was that special weapons were too powerful. So if an easy exploit exists to regain that power, the majority of the community will eventually use it. I dunno what the deal is. I do know we need better responses than "here's a picture of my dog."

Great post Drizz!

I just wanted to add that it's been said for a while not, but Bungie seems to be playing a different game then we do and it really shows with a lot of their updates and "fixes".
 

E92 M3

Member
The number one problem with Bungie is that they create unneeded problems for themselves. For instance, who even asked for SBMM? Connection is all that matters - Destiny isn't a PVP e-sport.
 

flkraven

Member
Let's get real here GAF. Is this even an event? Let's break down exactly what you get:

+1 quest that is no different than a bounty (complete 7 matches): reward is an emblem
+2 ghosts, a few shaders, and meaningless consumables as an end-game drop
+Zero-effort bounties that look identical to the Shax bounties but slightly tweaked for 2 players
+A PvP game mode that is best summarized as Trials except 2v2 instead of 3v3. Also, they added some cool red glow when your partner is dead.
-Lose the regular Shax bounties, so you can't do PvP NF this week without a partner.
+oh cool, the tower has a few different textures

From an actual content standpoint, all the money spent on micro transactions was spent on 2 ghost skins, a few shaders, new texture for the tower, and someone changed 3 to a 2 in the trials code. Also, solo players that bought silver actually LOST content this week. The most meaningful addition are more dances, which cost money, which will be used to replicate this model for future events. This is terrible.
 
Good write up kor. That part about your friends not wanting to play with you because of SBMM is all you need to know that SBMM utterly and completely failed by being implemented in a social game like Destiny where playing solo fucking sucks.
 
Let's get real here GAF. Is this even an event? Let's break down exactly what you get:

+1 quest that is no different than a bounty (complete 7 matches): reward is an emblem
+2 ghosts, a few shaders, and meaningless consumables as an end-game drop
+Zero-effort bounties that look identical to the Shax bounties but slightly tweaked for 2 players
+A PvP game mode that is best summarized as Trials except 2v2 instead of 3v3. Also, they added some cool red glow when your partner is dead.
-Lose the regular Shax bounties, so you can't do PvP NF this week without a partner.
+oh cool, the tower has a few different textures

From an actual content standpoint, all the money spent on micro transactions was spent on 2 ghost skins, a few shaders, new texture for the tower, and someone changed 3 to a 2 in the trials code. Also, solo players that bought silver actually LOST content this week. The most meaningful addition are more dances, which cost money, which will be used to replicate this model for future events. This is terrible.

Don't forget the 2 free emotes everyone got.
 

EL CUCO

Member
Let's get real here GAF. Is this even an event? Let's break down exactly what you get:

+1 quest that is no different than a bounty (complete 7 matches): reward is an emblem
+2 ghosts, a few shaders, and meaningless consumables as an end-game drop
+Zero-effort bounties that look identical to the Shax bounties but slightly tweaked for 2 players
+A PvP game mode that is best summarized as Trials except 2v2 instead of 3v3. Also, they added some cool red glow when your partner is dead.
-Lose the regular Shax bounties, so you can't do PvP NF this week without a partner.
+oh cool, the tower has a few different textures

From an actual content standpoint, all the money spent on micro transactions was spent on 2 ghost skins, a few shaders, new texture for the tower, and someone changed 3 to a 2 in the trials code. Also, solo players that bought silver actually LOST content this week. The most meaningful addition are more dances, which cost money, which will be used to replicate this model for future events. This is terrible.
fHtlZqH.gif
 

flkraven

Member
. Also, solo players that bought silver actually LOST content this week.

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think that this is the worst part of this event. I've seen many solo players go out of their way to contribute by buying silver to help fund the live team for events, and they get rewarded with stuff getting taken away this week. Likewise, PvE only players haven't gotten anything in year 2 despite contributing just as much financially.
 

maomaoIYP

Member
Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think that this is the worst part of this event. I've seen many solo players go out of their way to contribute by buying silver to help fund the live team for events, and they get rewarded with stuff getting taken away this week. Likewise, PvE only players haven't gotten anything in year 2 despite contributing just as much financially.

They get 3 chances to get guaranteed 320 gear every single week.
PvP only players like myself will never hit 320.
 

flkraven

Member
They get 3 chances to get guaranteed 320 gear every single week.
PvP only players like myself will never hit 320.

Sure, but 320 gear is meaningless for PvP so why do you care? 310-320 stuff drops in Trials and IB, so you are more than geared for PvP stuff? Also, that has nothing to do with DLC/events.
 
Wow deleted quickly... Not sure why? Did you remove that yourself?

I threw you an upvote. It is pretty crazy that a supposed social-online shooter game doesn't actually have any social PvP experience. I think they should bring back Combined Arms and make it super chill.

**removed?

Try it again?

I forgot to add the stupid required Reddit Flair for a moment, so maybe it wasn't showing?
 

maomaoIYP

Member
But you get a lot more chances at 320 ghosts!

I can't even solo queue for the damn thing. I'm a weekdays-solo-PvP player.
Sure, but 320 gear is meaningless for PvP so why do you care? 310-320 stuff drops in Trials and IB, so you are more than geared for PvP stuff? Also, that has nothing to do with DLC/events.

It matters for trials and IB. Also trials armor never (not that I know of) drops above 310.
But yes it has nothing to do with DLC. Assuming that they really do only have a skeleton crew left, PvE only players won't get anything at all until D2, or that supposed content drop.
 
I can't even solo queue for the damn thing. I'm a weekdays-solo-PvP player.

Yeah. I'm having a hard time with this too. I play Destiny so sporadically.

I usually play for like 25 minutes before I got to work.

Maybe an hour over lunch, and then maybe 60-90 minutes at night after dinner. Except the nighttime play is with the wife, and we've both decided no more trials because of reasons I explained in that behemoth post above. :/
 

flkraven

Member
It matters for trials and IB. Also trials armor never (not that I know of) drops above 310.
But yes it has nothing to do with DLC. Assuming that they really do only have a skeleton crew left, PvE only players won't get anything at all until D2, or that supposed content drop.

I could have sworn I read somewhere that the difference between a 320 and a 300 in trials/was like 1% or 2%. Literally inconsequential. Not like in Pve.
 
I could have sworn I read somewhere that the difference between a 320 and a 300 in trials/was like 1% or 2%. Literally inconsequential. Not like in Pve.

The number I saw was the difference between 290 and 320 is 4%. Since most people playing fit between those numbers as a sort of bell curve, odds are you are dealing with 1-2% discrepancies.
 

LTWood12

Member
If one day into your event the new meta is for fireteams to literally just kill themselves over and over again to farm drops, I'd say it's a failure.
 

daedalius

Member
I threw you an upvote. It is pretty crazy that a supposed social-online shooter game doesn't actually have any social PvP experience. I think they should bring back Combined Arms and make it super chill.

**removed?

I'd probably play that. Combined arms is the best
 
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