Big changes are coming to Destiny: The Taken King later this week – sadly, not the new story content the game so desperately needs – and anyone being driven away by recent changes to Crucible matchmaking systems should be pleased by Bungie’s latest overhaul of Destiny’s PvP offering.
We typically don’t hear from Bungie until Thursday afternoon, when DeeJ’s Weekly Update gets posted to the Bungie.net. But a new update from the Destiny community manager should be music to the ears of anyone who spends most of their game time inside the Crucible; particularly those who’ve found the quality of their online matches wane in the wake of recent matchmaking changes. Change is coming to Destiny (again). And it’s probably a lot closer than you’d think.
According to DeeJ, Bungie is planning to use this week’s return of the Iron Banner to test out a new matchmaking for its popular online shooter. The decision to update matchmaking again comes in the wake of hundreds, if not thousands, of customer complaints after Bungie quietly switched to skill-based matchmaking. Presumably, the goal is to get matchmaking a bit more stable before Crimson Days begins next month, bringing with it a new 2v2 Crucible mode unlikely to get much attention if players are still struggling to find Crucible matches without overwhelming lag.
Unfortunately, there’s going to be a bit of a gap between the start of Iron Banner and the introduction of Destiny’s newest matchmaking system. Bungie says fans can still expect the Iron Banner to go live at 10:00 a.m. PST on Tuesday, Jan. 26; however, the new matchmaking systems won’t be put to work until 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27. On the plus side, the short break between the end of the Iron Banner and the beginning of Crimson Days should give Bungie the opportunity to work any last-minute kinks out of its new matchmaking system before the latest Destiny holiday event begins.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for additional Destiny: The Taken King coverage throughout 2016 and for however long Bungie continues to support Destiny in the years to come.
