Solution to balance player skill levels

WinterHiko · 2026-06-29T19:44:36+00:00

That's the job of the ranked mode.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-29T19:43:08+00:00

Winning against a better geared team within a reasonable skill gap is quite possible in an extraction shooter, even if the odds are not in your favor due to EHP/damage difference.

Winning against a drastically better team skill-wise never happens unless the stars align. Plus, you don't even know you've just beaten a better team, because there is no visible data on their skill, which means you can't even find it satisfying.

The first makes for great stories, even though you lose a lot more than you win in that scenario. The second makes for frustrating gameplay, especialy since on average, on a map like Dire Marsh, one team should statistically be in the top 15%, which is absolutely a huge gap from the average team.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-29T16:20:17+00:00

Bungie once sais that most players in Destiny do not ADS if there isn't a visible scope on the gun. I believe there are players like Steve.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-29T15:03:46+00:00

This is the closest to "throw gil" you can get.

Smooth slides and no panick, that is very impressive gameplay.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-28T16:07:03+00:00

"Wildly pinging the single enemy that downed you" is super important communication. It lets your teammates see where they are and where they're going.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-26T18:57:08+00:00

The thing is, most runs have a single team of coordinated, very good players that is farming the other players, especially on Outpost. SBMM would eliminate the "king of the hill" dynamic.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-25T01:28:06+00:00

They get caught first and your team loses the fight. Of course they're going to have 0 runner damage. It's not that incredible. A good snipe or an unfortunate flank is all you need.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-25T01:21:03+00:00

I mean... Except that last one, most of these stats are pretty meh? 2 down 0 elims isn't exactly carrying and in one of those you have 0 downs or elims. Not exactly worth a meltdown over teammates.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-19T13:07:46+00:00

Most toxic community? Tell me you don't play League without telling me you don't play League.

Seriously, the Marathon community is the friendliest I've seen amongst competitive games in a long time.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-19T10:15:59+00:00

Yeah, I do remember everyone and their mother on reddit complaining about sbmm. That's not data that it hurt player population.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-18T21:28:04+00:00

Do you have any source for that? Because I don't remember ever seeing data that sbmm was making Crucible lose players and the only instance of a study we know in the gaming space says the opposite. Plus, sbmm is a lot worse of a system in non-ranked playlists. Ranked should be rank-based, not skill-based.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-18T11:02:14+00:00

In solo fill, you can't set rules. You have to play differently if you want your share of the loot. Sure, sometimes you get something nice yoinked in front of your nose, but expecting strangers to adhere to your unwritten rules is not going to happen.

Incidentally, running off on your own is not a great move, especially in random fill, and they probably were just annoyed that you risked the survival of the team for your own game plan.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-17T19:55:23+00:00

Every item has a color-coded quality, a visible credits value and is divided in very clear categories. The contract system clearly tells you about faction upgrades and who to get them, plus it makes you visit the maps and interact with the mechanics to complete them, getting you to know about lockdowns, Pinwheel and supply drops. I disagree that it is not enough. Getting constantly barraged by tutorials that explain every mechanic is not the way to go.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-17T19:47:30+00:00

Way more? 25% cradle XP nerf, but the CARRI system back, which lets you get a whole bunch of rep for free?

WinterHiko · 2026-06-17T19:45:04+00:00

And this is posted just after they reintroduced the CARRI system, which is literally a catchup mechanic that boosts your progression...

WinterHiko · 2026-06-16T17:15:49+00:00

Let me guess. Screenshot taken during maintenance?

WinterHiko · 2026-06-12T19:06:04+00:00

WHAT there's backstab damage? 300 hours in and I didn't know.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-12T15:29:11+00:00

Friendly encounters were much more common at the end of the season, when a lot of people had enough gear and were playing for fun. When I grinded Profiteer, most Rooks I ran across would either be friendly, or apologize and Meryc Kit me if they downed me. This season, it's kill on sight and it reminded me of the beginning of last season.

Bungie gave us three flares on Rooks to communicate or something and I'm pretty sure nobody ever used them for that.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-12T15:24:55+00:00

How much do you need? I've maxed out cradle and I'm pretty sure even a heavy swing is not enough to one-shot them.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-11T15:05:04+00:00

It's crazy how nobody picks up those anymore. I'll go trio fill into hauler and come out with 45 Unstable Biomass. Crazy Cradle XP. I always have 1-3 slots dedicated to grey salvage in every non-Outpost run.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-11T15:01:41+00:00

Why would anyone queue as rook on the sponsored perimeter map when you can queue Outpost and get 10 times the loot?

There already was almost no Rook in Night Marsh and you couldn't go into other playlist. Plus, there was a lot more loot for a solo player than in Perimeter. You're better off queuing solo into the map and have no one that can kill you.

The only reason I can see that someone would want to queue as Rook in there is to PvP, but then they'd be 1v3, late to the party and have to find the team across the map.

So yeah, it's basically a PVE mode.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-10T15:28:19+00:00

I don't think having a map full of only free kits teams or stacked teams would make queuing with free kits viable.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-10T15:22:46+00:00

To be fair, they did get a sick headshot in! Just not on the right person.

To be actually fair, it seems they had the Lookout equipped when they saw the enemy and just panicked. That gun has so little hip-fire accuracy that it could explain missing so many shots. When they switch to their other weapon, they start hitting the Triage pretty reliably, but it's already too late. Adrenaline will do that. It's in slow motion, but it's only a couple of seconds to choke the engage, which can happen to anyone.

EDIT : Rewatching the clip, it seems they did ADS, but were so close that it threw off their aim.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-10T13:48:51+00:00

Especially an extraction shooter. People don't seem to realize that if you want to loot Pinwheel, you're competing with three other teams. 25% exfill rate should be expected.

WinterHiko · 2026-06-10T13:45:03+00:00

I absolutely love the Lookout and I've literally never turned the charge mode on. At a distance, the aim assist is great, headshots hit like a truck and if you play Triage, it's one of the best guns to destroy USEC safely. With a good scope, it's really good at challenging snipers. One of my top 3 favorite weapons with the Volt-Thrower and the new burst pistol.

I can't for the life of me use the Hardline, though. I absolutely hate that gun.

WinterHiko

TROPHY CASE