The Guided Games in Destiny 2 were considered a reconciliatory alternative for the lack of end-game matchmaking from the predecessor. But did this feature live up to its reputation?
The Guided Games were a highly sought-after feature even before the release of Destiny 2. With their help, solo players and guardians without a clan were now to enjoy challenging endgame group activities – an experience that many fans of the first installment of the game series were denied due to the lack of matchmaking for such content.
But could the Guided Games prove themselves in the daily life of Destiny 2? Does the feature deliver what it promises?
What are Guided Games?
In Destiny 2, the Guided Games are a type of matchmaking system that resembles the functionality of dating apps:
You are not randomly tossed together with other guardians but can decide with whom you want to play. The solo guardian looking for a group is suggested a clan along with its emblem and description as a guide. If the clan appeals to him, he can choose that clan and tackle the challenge with them. If not, he can have a new clan displayed. This is designed to bring players together with clans that fit each other, in order to provide the best possible gaming experience. Ideally, the solo players should eventually join the clan if the chemistry while playing was right.
This feature is intended only for endgame group activities such as the Nightfall strike or the raid on normal difficulty. Since there was no matchmaking for these group contents in the past and solo players were practically forced to organize themselves via external sites like DestinyLFG, many guardians could and did not play these activities accordingly.
The Guided Games therefore bring together up to two solo players with clans that offer themselves as guides, so that the guardians can tackle the group challenges together.
Participation is not unlimited. You receive 12 tickets for the respective season, which you must redeem as a solo player to participate in a Guided Game. Once the tickets are exhausted, participation is temporarily not possible – new tickets will only be received at the beginning of the next season. So you should plan your tickets accordingly.
You can find all other important information about the Guided Games here.
How do the Guided Games perform in practice?
Initially, the Guided Games were quite positively received by the guardian community, but soon a number of fundamental problems emerged, plaguing Bungie’s matchmaking system. In many forums and on Reddit, the following serious aspects are consistently criticized:
- Many guardians complain that you get punished when an error code occurs and you get kicked from a Guided Game. If you leave a guide game without the consent of the other players, you receive a penalty and cannot participate in any guide games for a while. The game does not differentiate whether you left the game yourself or if server errors are responsible for it.
- In addition, the seeking solo players increasingly complain about sometimes extreme wait times. A few minutes would be acceptable, but the norm is now 30-45 minutes – sometimes even longer. Most players do not want to endure that. Furthermore, during the waiting time, you cannot engage in any other in-game activities.
- If after the long waiting time, a clan is presented to the solo player that does not appeal to him, it can take just as long until the next alternative is presented. By then, a large part of the guardians will have lost all desire to use this system.
- The Guided Games feature also does not operate regional matchmaking. There are no filter options. It can therefore happen that you are presented with a clan or individual players with whom effective communication is simply impossible due to language barriers. Many solo players are also not willing to communicate, making a coordinated approach in the sometimes quite demanding group activities almost impossible. While you can go on another search in such a case, this alternative is not really an option for many players due to the long wait times.
- Bungie’s matchmaking system does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about a guardian’s skill level. Many players try to exploit this system and get “carried” through the group content. They are often neither willing nor interested in mastering the sometimes very complex mechanics of the group challenges and contributing their share to the success. With such fellow players, demanding group activities are usually doomed to fail from the start. This results in many clan guides also losing interest in the Guided Games.
In short – the Guided Games currently cause more frustration and harsh criticism than they fulfill their actual purpose – bringing interested and eager-to-learn solo players together with helpful clans. According to voices from the community, this is becoming increasingly rare.
Do the Guided Games deliver what they promise?
This question can be answered with a simple and clear NO.
Bungie was quite confident that the Guided Games in Destiny 2 would establish themselves as a reconciliatory alternative to the regular matchmaking, as used in the strike list, for example. External sites like DestinyLFG were supposed to be a thing of the past. Both solo players and clans were to search for suitable teammates in-game from now on. However, reality tells a different story.
The best way to experience group content is still always in a tight-knit team. If you do not have enough manpower solo or as a group, the “tried and true way” in the form of LFG sites or apps proves to be much more efficient and, above all, significantly faster when it comes to finding suitable teammates or groups for activities of any kind. Guardians who still avoid such external tools out of conviction, prejudices or fears are unfortunately not offered a really good alternative with the Guided Games. Players who embrace external possibilities are definitely better served than with Bungie’s current concept.
If Bungie wants the in-house matchmaking for endgame activities to actually become competitive and operate on par with external matchmaking tools, they will have to improve the Guided Games immensely. Until then, no real recommendation can be given.
What do you think about the Guided Games feature? Do you use it as a solo player yourself, or do you even help others through the raid with your clan?
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