I've had a 20 match losing streak now because with almost every game, I get put in with people that play Titanfall 2 all the time, every time, super MLG pro players that prestiged a billion times, and my team has NO CHANCE at winning. There is no ranked or casual matchmaking it seems and ranks are not accounted for either. What is up with this?? Is it because I'm playing the PC version and the player pool is this small already so I get matched up with the diehards more often?

Doesn't it look for people in the local area first? maybe you just live inside a Titanfall 2 clan house.

I thought it was a continental thing? I live in The Netherlands so I assume I get matched up with a lot of Brits, Germans and French people.

This has been a problem for me on PC also. There's already a small player base on PC, and the disparity between elite and casual players is causing me not to even launch the game anymore.

In the long run, this is why I hate multiplayer progression and unlocks. Wait, I can't use this gun, or these items because I haven't played the game long enough? Stupid.

Honestly this could be the case. It's really easy to get pub-stomped by a stacked team in this game, but I'd argue that's the case for most games with this type of skill gap.

Halo 5 has a similar issue with its matchmaking - you better play with people who know what they're doing or else be prepared to play a full team of high division players that should never have been matched with anyone searching solo.

Which gamemode? It's mostly fine for me except maybe Hardpoint (same region).

Hardpoint can be super hard and demotivating because of the snowballing effect of the amped system and the complete lack of AI. But you can still get consistent scores in Attrition (75-100+) and Bounty Hunter for example because of the TDM and AI nature. You will not win every game because you still depend on the scores of others, but if you know the spawns, you can get a Titan pretty quick by just killing AI and flanking other pilots (I'm in the same region and a lot of players on both teams are easy flank meat). Getting in a Titan early and late in the game is super important in these modes. Work on that (which means working on your map and spawn knowledge) to feel less helpless. You can turn terrible games into 150+ score Attrition games by just working on that.

Or just switch to the NA regions, because we'll know EU > NA at shooters.

@betterley: Use merit to permanently unlock the Low Profile kit (this is such a must have) and Volt (or any weapon you do well with and is a late unlock). It really shouldn't be an excuse in this game.

@gundogan

Wait, how do I use this?

I didn't know I could do anything like that.

@betterley: If you aren't at the required level yet, you'll see the merit cost to unlock it and you can unlock it if you have enough merit. Your total merit is in the upper right. Merit unlocks persist through regen/prestiging.

It has happened to me on PS4 also but not with that consistency. Just last night I was in a game of Bounty Hunt where we lost like 5000 to 500 because my entire team was apparently first time players and the other team was a group of MLG parkour masters. Thankfully the tide swings with equal frequency where I'm on the steam rolling side of things but it's hardly ever a "balanced" fight that comes down to a nail biting finish.

Also everyone that was saying "RIP CoD" etc - out of curiosity I went on PS Live to check out how some other people are playing the game l, maybe pick up on some tricks, and Titanfall 2 was way down low on the list with CoD once again being one of the top streamed games. Funny enough Infinite Warfare had twice as many broadcasts as Titanfall 2, and Black Ops 3 had twice as many broadcasts as both those games combined. People sure do love BO3.

@humanity: I hope "RIP CoD" was wishful thinking and not a serious prediction for those people lol. Titanfall is tiny compared to the juggernaut.

@dharmabum: I think it's wishful thinking stemming out of some misguided hate for a franchise because of its success.

The game doesn't feel like this AT ALL on console--at least the PS4 version that I've played--and it doesn't make any sense that the game wouldn't ever put you on a winning team. I mean, I guess it's possible you're being matched up with a lot of Titanfall 1 veterans, but they should still end up on your team too.

When you play attrition, what type of scores are you getting? Unless you're getting such bad scores that it's throwing off the teams, you should still be on the winning team about 50% of the time. It's just statistics.

Alternatively, if you think there are just a bunch of great Titanfall 2 players in your area for some reason, you can always change your data center.

And lastly, you should keep in mind that regenerating--prestiging--in Titanfall 2 has so little cost associated with it, that you shouldn't really view it as a sign of skill. In COD, you can take a total of ONE perk or weapon with you for each prestige. In this game, you can take an average of three or so, and even unlock them early whenever you want, as soon as you have the credits. It's a great system that doesn't punish people who want to keep gaining experience.

For me, RIP COD is less a "this game will be bigger than COD" thing, and more a "well, I won't be buying COD this year" thing.

@spaceinsomniac: Is changing data center actually a viable option due to latency? I haven't tried this but if it meant I could actually find players in anything besides Attrition then I would give it a shot.

I have to imagine the people playing Titanfall 2 on PC take their multiplayer shooters a little more seriously? At least that's what I tell myself because I am also getting WIPED. PS4 would have a wider, more varied audience in terms of age and skill level, for instance.

@dgtlty: Even as someone who more often then not tops the end of the game scoreboard (even if it is half the time on the loosing team) there are definitely some really savage people out there on PC, especially in the wee hours of the night/morning, who can absolutely destroy me and make it feel like they are toying with the entire team. The best time to play is when it's the busiest prime time and the pool of people is bigger, like after work hours (for that particular region) and weekends.

It depends on how many data centers there are close to where you live. I have several I can choose from without running into lag problems. Also, if you want something aside from Attrition, perhaps try the mixtape playlists. I know they're at least active enough on PS4 that I can quickly find games.

I heard a guy working with Respawn say they were working on ranked matchmaking. That might help the issue (though I guess it risks splitting the playerbase). It was an animator talking on a Twitch-channel so take it for what you want. But he said "rank play is in the works."

@pilgore I've felt the same exact thing since I started playing and I think this comes from a combination of factors.

My impression so far has been that Titanfall 2 has a much greater skill ceiling and therefore a much steeper learning curve compared to Titanfall 1. Which makes pacing and balance feel completely different from the first game. When I go back to Titanfall 1 it doesn't feel nearly as punishing or unbalanced. Even when I really suck I still feel like I have a fighting chance and usually have fun regardless. But man, Titanfall 2 has been far more frustrating for me.

In fact, I got so frustrated in the very first match I ever played that I seriously wanted to stop the game then and there and never return. However, after giving it a little more time I realized it was just a totally different beast and I needed to be more patient with it. I've had some fun with the game since then, but it defiantly feels like everything has been turned up a notch. This can be really good or really bad, depending on how you look at it. Basically, the highs in this game are even higher, but the lows are rock bottom.

I think this has a lot to do with the fact that Titanfall 2 rewards skilled players far more than not-skilled players compared to the first game. Which naturally is going to mean that skilled players will do better and better as the match progresses. Leading most likely to a steam roll.

Maybe Titanfall 2 is way different on the PC or something, but I've been having loads of fun with the game on the PS4. Your post was really vague, though, when it comes to why you think this game changed things so much and requires much more skill now. Why specifically do you feel that Titanfall 2 is punishing, unbalanced, and requires more skill than the original, and how do you feel it should be fixed?

I don't really agree with you that there's anything wrong, but I am interested to hear what you don't like and why you don't like it.

@spaceinsomniac: To be fair, icyeyes never claimed it should be fixed - just that it was different.

As to why it's different - one thing is certainly that pilots have half the hitpoints they did in the first game.

You're right that there was no claim it should be fixed. It was said that the game was far more frustrating and has rock bottom lows, however, so I think it's somewhat natural to infer icyeyes thinks the game should be fixed.

To ask in another way that supports the actual comments: "What do you feel could be done to the game to prevent the frustration and the rock bottom lows that you feel are present in the sequel, but not found in the original?"

As for pilot health, weapons also do half the damage, so it evens out.

@spaceinsomniac:Yeah, I was being pretty vague because I haven't spent enough time with the game to form a coherent conclusion as to why. Really just my initial impressions with it so far, but I'm beginning to think maybe it's not an increased skill ceiling as much as the way skill is rewarded now. That's what I meant by "punishing", and perhaps "performance bias" or "lopsided" is a better term than "unbalanced". I'm not saying it's objectively better or worse than the first game. Just trying to deduce what's changed that might be causing matches to feel so uneven. The match making system is likely also playing a role in the issue too.

I know certain people really don't like the changes from the first game at all, and I can totally understand this because those were my initial feelings too. But I think this is coming from mostly "causal" players like myself that are really getting their asses handed to them compared to the first game. I know it's something of a dilemma; how can you reward skilled players without frustrating and punishing newbies. However, I think Titanfall 2 is definitely leaning towards favoring skilled players more and therefor punishing the not-skilled newbies.

Take titans for example; they feel much more like kill streak rewards to me now. In the first game everyone got multiple titans per match. Doing really good only decreased your titan wait time, but in the Titanfall 2 tech test they didn't even have a timer and you had to actually earn them. Even adding the timer back only insures players get a titan per match. You still need to earn anything beyond that. Combine that with the faster time-to-kill and it makes titans feel much more valuable and deadly overall.

Burn cards are another aspect: They were completely random in Titanfall 1, so everyone had an equal chance of getting and using them at any time. That's all been replaced with boost now that, once again, have to be earned along with your titan.

The PC version is probably also a lot more punishing because it combines these changes with a smaller yet much more skilled player base. Just check out the kill streak video below. The dude is incredible and makes it look too easy. I just hope to God I never get matched against him! LOL

I'm not gonna pretend I know the answer to this. Like I said above it's something of a dilemma. I've never been a fan of randomness in games that is designed to "equalize" the playing field. I do think Titanfall 1 did a great good job at not skewing gameplay towards the more skilled players, but I also think skill should be rewarded. In many ways I think the changes to the game might just be an unavoidable natural evolution. As the player base and developers get better and better at the game, they are naturally going to design the game to reward those skilled players more so.

My problems with the game so far are probably more personal taste than anything else. I just hate to think that Titanfall and I might be growing apart as the series evolves and heads towards a more traditional competitive community. Maybe it's just beginning to becoming a series that's just not for me :( But in any case I really did enjoy the campaign and will stick with the multiplayer for as long as I can. This is also the first time a game has made me question if I should actually get some better peripherals and a monitor to see if that might improve my skills. Ha.

This isn't exactly true. In TF1 you also had to do something to get multiple Titans, but you could because of the AI in every main gamemode. However, in TF2 not every gamemode has AI in it to reduce your cooldown (not super happy about that) and they added stronger AI (Stalkers and Reapers) in the modes that have them (which I think is a good idea). So that's why it looks harder because you can't farm helpless grunts and spectres anymore (altough they still spawn in the end game along side Stalkers and Reapers). If feel that if they tweak things a little bit (bit more grunts and spectres in the end game) and include AI every gamemode, it will feel much better for the 'lesser' players.

TTK isn't faster/lower on both Titans and pilots. They halved the hp, but most weapons don't even deal half damage (CAR is now 25-10 vs 66-35 in TF1 for example) although they end up roughly killing in the same amount of bullets anyway. However, hipfire is stronger, especially on the new weapons the Volt and the Alternator (aka the best weapons atm). That makes killing pilots while moving a lot easier, which ends up being negative for players who sit still while ADS. And you can get amped weapons too now yea, although if you ran three specific amped weapon cards in TF1, you would end up kinda like in TF2 anyway.

For Titan weapons it's kinda the same, except that the 40mm hitbox is bigger compared to TF1 so it's easier to kill pilots with it. Health is way up compared to TF1 (like 4000 to 5000 extra health if you include doomed state), but you of course now have massive damage from cores too.

The burn cards in TF1 were bad because it was not equal. Didn't equip a spare Titan card because you didn't have any? Sucks to be you if the other team uses that card in full force. Not really happy with the boost system atm, but at least everyone can use it when they want it.

So I kinda agree that it might be a bit more punishing for lesser players, but it's not impossible. Little bit of tweaking and especially better maps with better wall runs and routes will do a lot here.

@gundogan: To me the TTK for both pilots and titans defiantly feels much shorter compared to the first game. Perhaps this is not exactly true, but that's how it feels to me anyway. And as you've already pointed out pure health/damage stats don't tell the whole story. There are a lot of other elements at play here too, like damage boosts, increased hip fire accuracy, no titan shield regeneration, bigger hit boxes, etc.

Also, have you tried the shotgun?! Dear Lord! I got a 3 kill streak the first time I used it and I'm probably the worst Titanfall 2 player on PC right now. LOL

I don't understand the matchmaking, either. Is it Call of Duty style where the game'll just belch you into any old group of players? Because it most certainly seems as though that's the case.
Out of the 16ish hours I've played so far, I've only rarely encountered a close match. They're usually landslides one way or the other, which is a mark of iffy player matching.
Also, if I queue solo, this VVVV should never happen.

@spitznock said:

I don't understand the matchmaking, either. Is it Call of Duty style where the game'll just belch you into any old group of players? Because it most certainly seems as though that's the case.

Out of the 16ish hours I've played so far, I've only rarely encountered a close match. They're usually landslides one way or the other, which is a mark of iffy player matching.

Also, if I queue solo, this VVVV should never happen.

I've had plenty of close matches, although usually not when I'm playing with an entire party. Yay, Giant Bomb Titanfall 2 PS4 community!

But yeah, there are going to be upsides and downsides to any sort of matchmaking. Ask any Destiny PVP player, and they'll tell you how frustrating the matchmaking has been at certain times with that game, especially as skilled player. The system matched you with other skilled players, which not only meant that you never had much of an advantage despite being considerably better than average, but it also resulted in some serious lag issues, as the system needed pass up good connections to find players who were at your skill level.

Then you have a game like Black Ops 3, which ONLY looked at connection, but matched by skill after finding a group. So if you had a bunch of bad players, a bunch of average players, and one really good player, the really good player would be paired with all the bad players, and they would be forced to "carry" their awful team members. It happened again and again. Eventually, they did change things to pure skill-based matchmaking without telling anyone, and it was even worse.

They design a game where you earn rewards by killing multiple players without dying, and then match you against players of your skill level, which means you have less and less chance of ever earning those streak rewards. That doesn't make any sense, and I quit playing after that. It was a noticeable change that negatively impacted my enjoyment of the game, and I felt that way it even without them telling anyone that it was happening.

As far as Titanfall 2 goes, I'm much happier with the matchmaking than I was when playing either Destiny or Black Ops 3.