Ive gotten matched with the same people in consecutive matches and have noticed the estimated time for games has gotten longer but it seems like ranked is the most popular mode. For infinite too have just come out 6 months ago and this many players have already stopped playing is obviously not good and idk how to feel about the games future with everything thats happened to this point.
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I noticed this in Quake Champions and that has a tiny playerbase in comparison (<500 average according to Steam charts). I get destroyed in one match, MMR should adjust but one of the top scoring opposition players is in my second match.
I think it is a consequence of too low a player pool at specific MMR bands. I have seen some familiar names myself lately in Infinite. It also seems like some players returned for the Fractures event, as I was getting matches with players that seemed very new to the game.
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Some people only log-in for the events or they hear about it from a friend and decide to jump in.
Then they leave because the event ends, their friend stops playing, and the game is no longer fun.
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I hopped on yesterday for the first time since the S1 launch which i played for a few days and was like this is just not “halo” annnnnnd im done playing it this season. It’s just not fun IMO or capturing my attention. I have played halo religiously since halo 1 probably averaging 75k or more games played in each and this is the first halo where i maybe have like 50 games played because it just doesnt feel like halo and I have an entire discord that feels the same.
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That’s kinda what its been for me. The state of the challenge system and monetization leave such a sour taste in my mouth that it ruins otherwise decent multiplayer. I tend to sign in, get things I’m really interested in, then dip.
With season 2 disabling the 4th challenge slot I paid for with season 1, I decided not to buy the new battle pass, and I don’t care for fractures stuff so at the moment I’m just not playing. It’s amazing how fast after Season 2 came out I had already stopped playing and started waiting for season 3. I think what I’m really waiting for is campaign DLC but that’s probably way further down the line than I want. e
Same same same. I actually promised myself in season 1 I would not buy another season unless a bunch of things were changed. Sadly, I think none of those things will really be changed. So I just decided to uninstall.
I wont come back until cross-core customization, GOODBYE COLOR COATINGS THE WORST IDEA IN HISTORY, and the challenge system is over-hauled/removed to a more Halo Reach/MCC style system. Also, honestly not a big fan of the armour designs. Feels generic sci-fi and not the Halo spirit. MCC had some good ones. To me, all the armor looks bland and simple sci-fi. Not much personality or spirit to them. Oh it would also be nice if their UI was made like MCC’s. The UI/UX is god awful. All of these things make the game super lame imo. So close to being good, yet so far away.
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343 had a chance to be what Halo has always been and improve on that and at the same time be what people have come to expect decent entertainment. 343 did not have to go down this path that they have chosen, but they did, they have set the bar so much lower rather than raising the bar.
I think many gaming companies are in a learning and growing faze as technology has changed the landscape of gaming, so as a fan base a little leeway and a little forgiveness can be awarded. The problem with the decisions that have been made for this game, they are not missteps, they are calculated moves based on greed. I have not booted up this game for almost a week, and it’s the same for everyone I know, that’s unheard of for Halo.
All the problems other games have, trying not to make comparisons of course, but people have come to enjoy the social aspect of these games, a social space, a co-op multiplayer PVE style game along with the competitive play, why would I play Halo when it’s missing most of that and in all likelihood during the extended absence of Halo I’ve been playing another game that has those features, what is there about Halo that would entice me to switch.
What I find amazing is that 343 is not actually trying to correct mistakes, they are just trying to reduce people’s overall cringe level in the decision process while still making it cringe level as if that’s going to fix the problem of people’s perception of this game. As an example, a generic example, if my wife was to come to me and say you’re having a relationship with a bunch of women I would like you to stop, and I said oh I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to offend you, I’ve been such a dirtbag, but how about I just have a relationship with one of the other women does that make everything better, that’s kind of what I feel like with this game, I’d still be a dirtbag but would I be less of a dirtbag, nope, still a dirtbag.
Cheers
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Yes, it has. Without looking up steam #'s online, I always gauged the population based on how many LFG posts are on Xbox. I saw the other day that MCC had 70 group posts whereas Infinite had 69. Very sad.
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I mean I would be playing if I wanted the event rewards bad enough. But I don’t.
And tbh I only have a few hours a day of me time and am atm totally wrapped up in a Halo-themed Starfinder game I’m running.
Plus I’m still waaaay behind on MCC achievements and procrastinating on the HW1 legendary playthrough. And I’m bingeing all the books while working.
Even as one of the three people who legitimately enjoys infinite a lot, I have other things I’d like to do and not a lot of time to do it. And there is other Halo to be had atm. I’ll get back to it eventually.
I’m waiting 2 minutes for matches outside of the event playlist now. It is dying, if not already dead. Considering it is only 6 months old this is quite depressing
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Yes. 343 should have prepared themselves for this when they made the conscious decision to develop the game they way they did and release it as they did.
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Quake Champions despite low players manages to have a better matchmaking experience. That’s embarrassing.
I only play ranked, don’t care about any social/quick match stuff because I like to play modes where it feels like it actually “matters” and the teams are supposed to be even. I like when I unlock certain things but I don’t care enough to actually pay attention to what challenges I’m doing, etc. I just play and whatever I unlock, is what I unlock.
Having said that, its obvious when you’re playing ranked how small the population is. I know the game is designed to make you lose 50% of the time or more but EVERY game, I know the first 3 guys introduced at the beginning, including myself, will be experienced. You can tell by their skin for the most part. I know the 4th player is going to have a 1 by his name because he’s still pretty new and hasn’t unlocked things or figured out how to customize certain things on his character. I have nothing against low level players. I’m making the point that its going to put an unranked/gold player on your team with a bunch of high plat/diamond players because it can’t find anyone else, even high gold or silver to put on your team, lol. And if they’re not on my team, they’ll be on the other team. This is almost EVERY, SINGLE, GAME.
I still play it, but unfortunately I play like 5-10 matches and I’m playing something else
My team of four have not played in quite some time. One has not played since the first day of the “November beta,” the other two since after the new year and myself since beginning of March.
The reason you’re seeing the same players is because of the sweat based matchmaking tied to every playlist. I see this too. I play against the same ppl ALOT of the time.
There’s people on here tho that defend this. No thanks, I want to actually play different people with different skill sets and play styles. But no, I can’t. So I’m stuck playing the same 10 people over and over.
It is not the player population. There’s more than enough population playing to where you shouldn’t ever see the same people if the matchmaking would allow it. Hundreds of people per playlist. Yet, you keep seeing some of the same names. It just shouldn’t happen.
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This game is broke in many ways but if you want to increase population my opinion is that they need to bring back multiplayer split screen.
Halo 4 was the last halo to have it but because of frame rate lag it was very difficult to play when split screening with a friend. I believe joe even referenced this in the live stream event, where he talked about playing with friends in the older halo games but he may have only meant campaign.
Since halo 2 I have split screened with a friend then when 5 released we had to start bringing consoles and monitors to be able to play. In reach it was so common to see one player playing with one friend if not two.
Bring back split screen and the next generation halo players that Microsoft wants to target can play when they have a friend over or even a parent that wants to try. As it stands right now they play halo while the other watches or they go and play another game that they can both play at the same time.
This is not the end all be all solution but in my opinion it is split screen that will help increase population as more players are introduced. My group that I game with only got into halo because of split screen.
My two cents worth
I simply make sure to complete 6 matches for the XP multipliers every day, It’s a slow but steady way to reach level 100. Other than that, desync kills any desire in me to play competitively or any more than I feel necessary.
I feel this one.
I’m practically on a first name basis with the same 40 gamertags I’ve been matching since Season 1 in the Diamond pool. Even though none of them are on my friends list, we never team and we never comm 
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I was shocked at how long it was taking to find a game of swat or king of the hill. While playing during the evening in southeast US I was waiting 1 or 2 minutes to find a game sometimes. I feel like lag/desync is becoming more common since players have higher pings on average than 6 months ago when theyre were more players in each region
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