- Remove bots from matchmaking
- I don’t care
- Allow bots in matchmaking
So, let’s talk about bots. My opinion on them is that they have a negative impact on my gameplay, especially in Slayer where the objective is to get to a certain kill amount.
Without fail, any time I’ve had a player on my team disconnect (or have seen a bot take the place on an enemy) they just feed. My most recent experience with this was when we had a disconnected player (probably internet/service related) in a Slayer match where it was neck and neck, the score being 46-46 even. This was the part of team slayer when the map goes quiet, because at this point it is absolutely crucial to stay alive… and we get a disconnect.
Enter: 343 Hobbes. Without fail, the bot proceeded to run it down the middle of the map and die all 4 times. In one of those short-lived lives of his, he tried to shoot an enemy through about 4 walls on the other side of the building. I’m pretty sure he tried to throw a grenade that bounced back towards one of us instead.
The problem with bots is that you can’t implement them fairly. On one hand, we have Hobbes, who single-handedly lost us that match by running it down like a clown… this is unfair for my team who would have rather finished the 3v4 than to have a useless bot.
On the other hand, you have Skynet. If you make the bots just a little too good, then they become an unfair advantage for the team with the disconnect. Bots that are good can also cause toxicity in the community, as arguably some players are worse than 343 Hobbes, thus providing incentive to encourage a bad player to disconnect in order to be replaced by a more useful bot.
Having bots in online matchmaking causes players to feel a loss of agency in the outcome of their matches because they weren’t beaten by (or lost because of) another player… It was a bot.
I like bots, they’re cool in custom games. However, that’s the only time I like bots.
If they up the level of the BOTS, seeing they are all low tier marines, then they might be some use. Of course you lose the communication and team work of an actual player, but if the BOT would actually aid the team that is already at a disadvantage, then I would say keep them.
I just played a team slayer match on quick play where a BOT filled in the entire match for a dropped player that most definitely lost the game for us. The BOT went 0-12 with a -11.3 KDA. The final score was 38-50.
There are four tiers for BOT play style. Recruit, Marine, ODST, Spartan. All BOTS in matchmaking are Marines. Basically target practice. The average player is at least ODST level, so why not use them?! And if it’s a 4v4 match where more than one player drops out, then have the BOTS be at the Spartan tier.
If that’s too difficult for the devs to understand, then I’m with you. Leave the BOTS out!!! But, I’m sure there are plenty of solo players that can fill a spot. Unfortunately, I hate being tossed into a game that is almost over, with no chance of coming back, so just tossing a solo player into a match might not be the solution. How about penalties for leaving a match early, regardless if it’s ranked or social. That’ll probably help with players leaving. It’s possible they come into a match to complete a specific challenge, like certain weapon kills or game modes, but the cycle of weapons or the game mode aren’t what they need. That’s likely why they quit out. I wouldn’t mind seeing a warning for the first game a player leaves, a 5 minute penalty the second time, and so on. Maybe after an hour or two of elapsed time the penalty timer resets. Anyway, maybe something will come of it.
IF they can match the bot level with SR and make them appropriately competant, they can stay provided they are bug free. As they are now, they suck.
My internet cut out in a match with a friend when I was 32/15. He said as soon as I was replaced with the bot we began losing by a landslide. No way a bot is going to be able to keep up with my score.
The bots feed the opposing team allowing for easy kills in TDM. It is ridiculous. It would be better if the bots didn’t even join. 3v4 is far better than 3v5.
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