I apologize in advance if this has been discussed previously, but I didn’t see a thread that answered this question.
Why is it that DLC in Halo Reach is so rare in Matchmaking? I played both H2 and H3 their entire cycles and remember map packs being seamlessly integrated shortly after release, and I almost never see this happening in Reach. Is it because many players are not buying the map packs? Is it because the map packs are never offered for free? (not sure if that’s the case because I buy them right when they are available) Maybe it’s the transition from Bungie to 343 and there just isn’t the same dedication to MM because of that. I can see that 343 is trying to “fix” MM in Reach with their updates(some good, some not so good, some really not good) but why are the newer maps not in the majority of the playlists at this point?
Maybe I am way off on this one, but it really does feel like the other games integrated the map packs better.
All of Halo 2’s maps eventually became free, but they were also all required to first be downloaded first to play online.
A good majority of Halo 3 also eventually required multiple map packs to play in some playlists and still does to this day, even though it was not all free. People still bought and played them.
But for Reach, ALL of the DLC maps are already in every single playlist.
However, none of them require any extra map packs in order to enter, and if one person doesn’t have it in the match, they will never show up to be voted on.
They say matchmaking search takes priority on people who have the maps, but I have yet to see any outside of the one main playlist DLC and Anniversary ones that we were given.
That’s basically the situation.
I understand not everyone owns all three. Some may have only bought one mappack or even just two of the three.
But it always feels like there is that one guy who enters. He hasn’t spent a single extra dime on the game, and with that kills it for everyone else.
Just wish at least some more playlists could require something of some sort. Even just one of the map packs!
Because these maps are getting stale. We’re coming on 2 years already people, surely you have at least $10 to spend now?
I’m guessing there aren’t too many people who are just now picking the game up, and what good does the DLC do them if no one will purchase the maps. Maybe not even completely free, but at least reduce the price to the point where it makes sense to buy them. As a member who always pays the full price for a new map pack it’s really frustrating that that money is largely wasted.
I would be shocked if they released another one because including anniversary they have already done 3 DLC packs for Reach. That’s about standard for a Halo game and this one will have a shorter life cycle, 2 years instead of the normal 3.
I wonder how many people would purchase the packs at 400 vs 800. Free would obviously drastically improve MM, but reduced cost might be incentive enough.
> I would be shocked if they released another one because including anniversary they have already done 3 DLC packs for Reach. That’s about standard for a Halo game and this one will have a shorter life cycle, 2 years instead of the normal 3.
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> I wonder how many people would purchase the packs at 400 vs 800. Free would obviously drastically improve MM, but reduced cost might be incentive enough.
Lowering the price would help, but that still seems not enough incentive for some.
Like some of the others said, they’re hesitant to even buy them now because it’s not guaranteed at all that they’ll show up in playlists, which sucks.
Unless your game is CoD, it always seems that most optional DLC falls to the wayside eventually and forgotten about until it gets required again.
I would say that you could just play the DLC playlists (if they still even exist… haven’t had a regular Reach disc for some time), but the fact reamins that when I wanted to play the DLC maps almost no one would be in the specific playlist.
There’s also the issue that players enjoy playing on maps they’re familiar with. For instance, if Countdown, a player-made Forge World map, and Tempest come up in the map selection in matchmaking, the average player would vote for Countdown because it is the map they’re most likely to know the layout of.
It just depends on who you’re playing with, really.
> I bought all the DLCs and I wish I had not bothered. I won’t buy future DLCs unless they are mandatory in at least a few playlists.
That appears to be the only solution, make them mandatory a while after they are released. Maybe making them mandatory around the same time the price drops would do the trick.