After a week of beta testing, Titanfall's new matchmaking system has made its way to the shooter's bread and butter game modes—Attrition and Hardpoint. The updated design is intended to fix problems players have had with skill imbalance between opposing teams, according to details released by the developer for the beta test.
Rather than going for the speediest team selection possible, the new system will, according to Respawn, use the reams of background skill data collected by the game to match you with appropriate competition. If you're getting ground into dust by a slickly-organized enemy team, the game will remove you from that lobby and place you somewhere new.
While it's now being rolled out for what feels like the game's most-played modes—Titanfall's version of team deathmatch and domination—Respawn says the new matchmaking will be introduced to the rest of the "Classic" playlist over time. For the moment at least, it doesn't look like Respawn is changing the way matchmaking functions for Titanfall's campaign mode.
With its giant mechs , squads of AI bots, and parkour mayhem , Titanfall has never felt like a game where the line between high and low-skilled players was all that clear. There's just so much to do most of the time. Depending on how you look at it, the game might seem either frustratingly chaotic or satisfyingly busy. But Respawn obviously has some specific ideas, based on its internal data collection, about the ways in which matches should play out. I look forward to spending some more time with the system to see what kind of effect it has on what is—for me—still a pretty thrilling ride.
