Bungie has finally concluded the beta for the Destiny 2 Guided Games feature. The developer had been testing the new feature, which allows players to join experienced Raid or Strike teams or find additional players for their crew. But now that the feature is available to all, some Destiny 2 players are reporting that the launch has been less than smooth.
One major complaint about Destiny 2 Guided Games is that some Guides just aren't using the feature as intended. Seekers (those looking for a fireteam) are complaining that Guides (fireteams looking for one more player) are using the feature as an LFG (Looking For Game) or matchmaking service instead of a way to lead inexperienced players through the activity.
The Oathkeeper score is designed to highlight which Destiny 2 fireteams are taking their role as Guides seriously and those which aren't. Bungie has also made it clear that it does not want to support matchmaking for things like Raids. However, Seekers say that Bungie's comments are being ignored and that the Oathkeeper score doesn't go far enough as it is only a deterrent and not a punishment for bad behavior. At the very least, say affected Seekers, Bungie should lock players out of designating themselves as Guides unless the game can verify that they have completed the Raid or Nightfall Strike once before.
Another issue regards languages. As Destiny 2 is a massively successful game, played by people all over the world, it means that there is often a language barrier between Seekers and the fireteams that they are placed on through Guided Games. Microphones are a requirement for the feature, but this means very little if one member cannot understand the language that another member is speaking. Some players have been put on multiple teams in a row where they can't understand each other.
Some disgruntled Seekers have requested a region lock, but this may cause issues in countries where multiple languages are spoken across different regions, counties, and states. Accents are also an issue as a person from the United States may not be able to understand a British accent even if all players on the fireteam are speaking English. This would also lock out players who are fluent in a language but are not native in it, or it's not recognized as an official or 'main' language spoken in their country.
As Guided Games has only launched fully this week, Bungie will surely address player feedback in good time. There are plenty of other improvements that can be made to Destiny 2, after all, but the developer should be proactive about ironing out these kinks.
Destiny 2 is out now for PS4 and Xbox One, and releases on October 24, 2017 for PC.
