4v4 arena is now "endgame content"

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

One of our helpful forum mods pointed out recently, to compete in 4v4 arena slayer, you really need a team of 4 to go in with. The mod was responding to a solo player who felt let down by the matchmaking system that put him in weak teams. (There are a lot of examples from solo players getting unranked and lower ranked teammates.) The answer went, play FFA otherwise.

The advice, as we know, is accurate. To do well, and to have fun, it is smart to have a full team that you know can play at your level consistently, and won’t quit on you. It’s always been good advice, right?

As a solo player, I’m not satisfied. We are 7-8 years ahead of Halo 3, and yet we’re still dealing with a matchmaking system that is one step forward and two steps back in terms of balance. “Get a team.” Exactly. Overcome the system’s limitation yourself. Kind of reminds you of that other space shooter that forces you to do the same thing.

The mod’s advice was true, but is 343 satisfied to let 4v4 games be walled off, only for elite hard headed solo players to succeed in? Before you go to my stats, take a look at the dozens of players on this forum making posts about getting blown out and let down as solo players. These players, like myself, are as passionate about Halo as you are. We want to hold onto the roots of Halo being 4v4, not Warzone 24/7.

I’ve been saying for a while on here, with every weapon being “useful” all by itself, the lethality of weapons is super high, which has created a tougher environment for arena. That’s all good, if teammates are equally up to the challenge–at your skill level (please stop before you start on attacking stats). 343 is not getting the job done in consistent player matching in arena. This causes lesser players to leave the game, which makes the problem worse.

343 can you think of something else here, because I don’t want to sit out of content that I really liked in previous Halo games, but this one is tougher to like. (Yeah, of course getting better is always a part of it. But there needs to be a give and take. How many of you have quit classes, changed majors, or dropped that demanding friend who always borrowed money. We can love something and yet still want a return for our time and effort.)

Lets not let “get a team” be the solution to entering any playlist and having a good experience. It’s what matchmaking is for (thankfully we have it) and what 343 and MS are here to bring if Halo is to stay big.

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Can I be incredibly pedantic and ask that you fix your pronoun? I’m not a guy. :slight_smile:

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> 2533274796457055;2:
> Can I be incredibly pedantic and ask that you fix your pronoun? I’m not a guy. :slight_smile:

Done. (BTW, I’m a “they” pronoun person all the way, even when it’s grammatically wrong, but at the start of a sentence it eluded me big-time. Thx.)

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> 2533274796457055;2:
> Can I be incredibly pedantic and ask that you fix your pronoun? I’m not a guy. :slight_smile:

Hmmm I agree as well… Shallow and pedantic…

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The issue you’re having is a human behavior issue not a systematic issue. No algorithm is ever going to fix human behavior. Sorry brother, get a team. Plenty of spartan companies to join and players to recruit.

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> 2533274799139992;3:
> > 2533274796457055;2:
> > Can I be incredibly pedantic and ask that you fix your pronoun? I’m not a guy. :slight_smile:
>
>
> Done. (BTW, I’m a “they” pronoun person all the way, even when it’s grammatically wrong, but at the start of a sentence it eluded me big-time. Thx.)

It’s all good. It’s just one of my quirks. I’m the only girl and being called a guy gets old kinda fast. :slight_smile:

> 2661949065475413;4:
> > 2533274796457055;2:
> > Can I be incredibly pedantic and ask that you fix your pronoun? I’m not a guy. :slight_smile:
>
>
> Hmmm I agree as well… Shallow and pedantic…

You’re the worst. :stuck_out_tongue:

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<mark>Do not create/use alternate accounts to bypass forum bans.</mark>

This game desperetly needs ranked lists with party restrictions and social without.

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> 2533274796457055;6:
> > 2533274799139992;3:
> > > 2533274796457055;2:
> > > Can I be incredibly pedantic and ask that you fix your pronoun? I’m not a guy. :slight_smile:
> >
> >
> > Done. (BTW, I’m a “they” pronoun person all the way, even when it’s grammatically wrong, but at the start of a sentence it eluded me big-time. Thx.)
>
>
> It’s all good. It’s just one of my quirks. I’m the only girl and being called a guy gets old kinda fast. :slight_smile:
>
>
>
>
> > 2661949065475413;4:
> > > 2533274796457055;2:
> > > Can I be incredibly pedantic and ask that you fix your pronoun? I’m not a guy. :slight_smile:
> >
> >
> > Hmmm I agree as well… Shallow and pedantic…
>
>
> You’re the worst. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m just glad to know that my 3 am defense about spelling to you in the PM was to a true syntax nerd.

9

Not many games have a great matchmaking system in the first place so idk what to tell you, it’s just the norm now a days halo is meant to be a team game anyways, don’t be surprised to lose games playing solo. Really all you can do is join a clan/group Or as you didn’t won’t to put it “get a team” lol. Sorry but a lot of multiplayer games you won’t do good solo unless you’re a top tier player. I’d love better matchmaking too, sucks losing slayer games due to messed up matchmaking or Randoms but I knew it was a possibility and that’s also why the playlists where I do care about my rank I don’t solo, I get my clan mates together.

In short: maybe 20 years from now most games will have a good matchmaking system, for now “teams” is the only way to help make sure you don’t get stomped every time.

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Until you hit the highest level of play, you really don’t need a team. Matchmaking will assemble teams of similarly skilled players. An opposing team that is in a party does not have an inherent advantage over you. Why? Because of the simple fact that no such advantage is reflected in their rank. If that team does express an advantage, then it will be naturally corrected by the ranking system.

The ranking system is not perfect, don’t get me wrong. I think the #1 problem with the current ranking system is that you cant rank down a bracket. So, some players get stuck a bracket above where they belong.

Nonetheless, overall, the goal of the ranking system is to find a rank where you win ~50% of your games. Stop worrying about your rank, stop worrying about if the other team is in a party, and just enjoy playing amongst similarly skilled players that naturally produce close games.

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> 2533274923562209;9:
> Not many games have a great matchmaking system in the first place so idk what to tell you, it’s just the norm now a days halo is meant to be a team game anyways, don’t be surprised to lose games playing solo. Really all you can do is join a clan/group Or as you didn’t won’t to put it “get a team” lol. Sorry but a lot of multiplayer games you won’t do good solo unless you’re a top tier player. I’d love better matchmaking too, sucks losing slayer games due to messed up matchmaking or Randoms but I knew it was a possibility and that’s also why the playlists where I do care about my rank I don’t solo, I get my clan mates together.
>
> In short: maybe 20 years from now most games will have a good matchmaking system, for now “teams” is the only way to help make sure you don’t get stomped every time.

Halo 3 had a good matchmaking system. I’m pretty sure it didn’t match you against full parties if solo. It matched solo’s with solo’s and parties with parties. And this was 8 years ago.

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> 2661949065475413;4:
> > 2533274796457055;2:
> > Can I be incredibly pedantic and ask that you fix your pronoun? I’m not a guy. :slight_smile:
>
>
> Hmmm I agree as well… Shallow and pedantic…

The only reason I commented on this thread was to respond to this. #familyguy

13

well…if people actually used mics then there would be no problem.

14

The comparison to Destiny is hilarious at best in my opinion, you can play solo or get yourself a team however if you want to compete in a ranked team hopper you NEED a consistent team to do well.

Essentially you want the matchmaking system to make ranking up easier for you and match you against players who aren’t your level so you can’t make your “end game” gripe.

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I know it sounds like I’m asking 343 to do me a personal favor, at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars, but I’m actually asking 343 to do itself a favor. They spend so much energy keeping Halo at the top of gaming, and the main thing Halo is known for, 4v4, is becoming an elite mode for pros and teams. How long do you think Halo will stay at the top with this happening? Sure, MS can spend its way to keeping Halo a big AAA game, but we need rank-file players (like myself) to want this experience long term. We helped to make Halo 3 the juggernaut that it was. Smaller maps and more lethal weapons require better matchmaking. It’s 2015. We have self driving cars. I don’t know if 343 has done everything possible here.

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> 2533274793616507;11:
> > 2533274923562209;9:
> > Not many games have a great matchmaking system in the first place so idk what to tell you, it’s just the norm now a days halo is meant to be a team game anyways, don’t be surprised to lose games playing solo. Really all you can do is join a clan/group Or as you didn’t won’t to put it “get a team” lol. Sorry but a lot of multiplayer games you won’t do good solo unless you’re a top tier player. I’d love better matchmaking too, sucks losing slayer games due to messed up matchmaking or Randoms but I knew it was a possibility and that’s also why the playlists where I do care about my rank I don’t solo, I get my clan mates together.
> >
> > In short: maybe 20 years from now most games will have a good matchmaking system, for now “teams” is the only way to help make sure you don’t get stomped every time.
>
>
> Halo 3 had a good matchmaking system. I’m pretty sure it didn’t match you against full parties if solo. It matched solo’s with solo’s and parties with parties. And this was 8 years ago.

I could tell you different about it being a “good” matchmaking system as it was consistent and you’d see rank 50s playing vs 40s here and there. The system also would’ve carried over if it worked into reach. Anyways I won’t argue as its opinion anyways, I personally never cared about ranks in any halo game to be honest in the first place. If I win, I win. If not, oh well. H5 is changing that to a degree but I love breakout a lot.

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> 2533274799139992;15:
> I know it sounds like I’m asking 343 to do me a personal favor, at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars, but I’m actually asking 343 to do itself a favor. They spend so much energy keeping Halo at the top of gaming, and the main thing Halo is known for, 4v4, is becoming an elite mode for pros and teams. How long do you think Halo will stay at the top with this happening? Sure, MS can spend its way to keeping Halo a big AAA game, but we need rank-file players (like myself) to want this experience long term. We helped to make Halo 3 the juggernaut that it was. Smaller maps and more lethal weapons requires better matchmaking. It’s 2015. We have self driving cars. I don’t know if 343 has done everything possible here.

Oh idk if I’d put halo on top yet, its getting there though after losing the throne years ago.

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> 2533274821813997;14:
> The comparison to Destiny is hilarious at best in my opinion, you can play solo or get yourself a team however if you want to compete in a ranked team hopper you NEED a consistent team to do well.
>
> Essentially you want the matchmaking system to make ranking up easier for you and match you against players who aren’t your level so you can’t make your “end game” gripe.

I said nothing about ranking up.

The many many posts about getting blown out and feeling let down by matchmaking as a solo is not about an easy path to ranking up. It’s about playing the game and not feeling like a bot dummy for the other team. Big difference. And if it isn’t your problem then great.

19

Makes me wonder: does this forum allow Looking for Teammmates posts? Or is there a section for that?

I think that kind of forum might be beneficial.

20

There’s an incredibly easy fox for this that’s been around since 2007, from Halo’s largest competitor in the shooter market.

CoD4:MW had a mercenary playlist. It had all the same team sizes, maps, and rules as the regular death match playlist. The difference was only single party players could join this playlist.

I’ve asked every Halo since then to put in one of these playlists, and its never happened. Maybe with how competitive H5 is, and how much solo players suffer, it could finally happen.