So I originally wrote here, and was strongly critical in the feedback survey, about issues with the ping/latency restrictions in Halo 5 that DID NOT allow me to play in games with my friends. For those who don’t know I am an American that is currently living and working in the Asian Region. Video games are my connection to friends that I have in the United States, and by which are played for that reason. Prior I was not able to play getting the message that one players latency is too high. I could play solo, my friends could play solo, but we couldn’t play together.
Needless to say I was happy when it was announced that this restriction was being removed allowing players to join play in fireteams. Problem is that this announcement seems to be just a lie, and restrictions were NEVER removed from the game. In Asia I still have the same slow matchmaking issues with the game, at times making the game completely unplayable as I am NOT able to get matched into games at all. I will have times that I will just come out of a game, then wait 5 minutes to get a message that I was unable to be matched into a game. What? I was just in a game, and now you’re telling me I can’t find a game? This tells me I am being shuffled around the system, and not being held in with the group I was previously matched with.
When playing with friends our experience is the same repetition of not only maps, but the players too. I literally see the same maps repeat, over, and over, and over again. It isn’t just the maps though, it is the players also. Out of millions of people playing this game I have seen the same players repeat several times in my games, over multiple days. Matchmaking is slow, and at a certain point we are not even able to get matched into games at all. As a test yesterday we went 2 times getting told that we were unable to be matched. On the 3rd try waited a minute, and then I dropped out of the fireteam, and my friends were immediately matched into a game.
This all tells me that you have NOT removed any latency restrictions to the game, and all you did was setup a few high ping servers for players to go too when they are teamed together. Of course though this only works when there are players in your area or matching your latency to play with, by which making the game unplayable all other times. This is absurd given the fact that this game was NOT labeled as US Region play only. Microsoft wants business in Asia, but you’re not going to get it when Playstation does work here with a more reliable connection to the PSN than XBL, I know having had a 360 and PS3 prior to my XB1, and Halo being really the only game that sets them apart. I can play any other game WITHOUT issues with my friends. Titanfall, GTA, Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Battlefield Hardline, Far Cry, Elder Scrolls Online, and even Halo 4, but not Halo5. Leaves me feeling robbed, lied too, and stupid for trusting yet another developer that only cares about the money in a game that was NOT advertised correctly. And at some point I don’t have to play the game, or even buy future games, nor give you money. It isn’t just me though, but my friends as well since we all play together, and if there is no point to playing Halo 5, we buy and play other games. Then there is the word of mouth advertising, which has already started. The game is great, when it plays, but right now just playing is proving to be a chore more difficult than playing the story on Legendary at times.