I posted this on Reddit earlier this morning and figured it belonged here as well...
Back when Vanilla Destiny launched, the debates about the lack of decent matchmaking in most of the PVE activities were frequent and heated. In fact, it was such a common complaint that Bungie eventually added it to the Weekly Heroic Strike back in early 2015. Since then... radio silence on any plans to implement or improve upon matchmaking in a game that relies so heavily on teaming up with others.
When the Nightfall was nerfed and players were no longer kicked to orbit, Bungie inexplicably chose not to offer matchmaking yet again and provided no explanation. Third party apps created with no money or support from Bungie or Activation had to pick up the slack and create LFG sites that provided alternate means of teaming up that required players to leave the game and compulsively check their phones like a desperate drunk on Tinder trying to hook-up at 2am on a Saturday.
The reason I bring this up once again is because of, your guessed it, The Division. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of everything the Division does. I'd still prefer blasting aliens in the face rather than shooting a man in a backpack with an AK-47 for 50 minutes until he goes down. HOWEVER, can we just talk about how seamless and perfect matchmaking is in The Division?
It's available for all missions. It can be initiated via safe-house kiosks, individual player interaction in the world, the in-game map, AND at the entrance of the mission itself. The fact that you can stroll over to a neighborhood, find a mission marker hovering over the area, and receive a prompt asking if you'd like to join other players is so beautifully organic and seamless that it makes Destiny's options to team-up feel like they're from another decade.
I know we're in a content drought and a lot of player frustration has shifted to the fact that we've had nothing new for the past 6 months but if there is ONE thing I'd like Bungie to learn from The Division it's that matchmaking should not only be expanded but also integrated into the living world they created.
TLDR: Destiny's matchmaking is still a joke. Bungie hasn't talked openly about expanding it in over a year. The Division handles it beautifully and will hopefully encourage them to stop relying on dedicated fans to provide basic functionality that should have been in the game from the start.
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Yep, pisses me off, and if they don't have matchmaking for the new PvE content I probably won't bother with it. It would be a huge disappointment.