Bungie removes SBMM from select Destiny 2 playlists

Skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) is often a point of controversy in the biggest multiplayer titles and now, Bungie has removed the feature from a large portion of Destiny 2.

SBMM seeks to pit equally-talented players against one another in every single match. If you’re winning constantly, this will turn even the most casual playlists into absolute sweat-fests.

Destiny 2’s Crucible was subject to SBMM for many years, though Bungie has turned things around in the latest season.

Season of the Arrivals introduced a wide array of new content, however, it also brought some major gameplay tweaks. In the June 11 ‘This Week At Bungie‘ (TWAB), the developers announced the removal of SBMM for certain multiplayer playlists.

“Matchmaking based on player skill has been removed from all playlists except Elimination, Survival, and Survival: Freelance,” the blog post outlined. This means that the more casually-oriented modes should now feel less intense. 

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From Supremacy to Clash, your wins, losses, and overall performance will no longer determine who you’re matched up with. 

Always a hotly contested topic in the gaming community, many popular titles such as Fortnite and Apex Legends, have been slammed for their insistence on including SBMM.

Bungie has openly explained its position on the matter and ensured that it remains intact for the tougher modes where it makes the most sense.

“Trials of Osiris will continue to be matched based on the number of wins on your Passage,” for instance. Difficult Crucible challenges will still have the same intensity across the higher-tier modes with SBMM in-place. 

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However, other playlists will now offer an escape from this intensity. This was done in order to “shorten queue times for players, improve connection quality,” and generally to “play into the strengths of Crucible being a frenetic action game.”

“We want the rest of the Crucible to be less of a high-stakes environment where players can have a more relaxed experience and just enjoy the Destiny multiplayer sandbox,” Bungie added.

These changes have been implemented under the hood in a brand new hotfix. You should notice a difference the next time that you load back into Destiny 2.

There’s a chance that SBMM could always come back in some form with future updates. Though for the time being, a large majority of Crucible playlists should be far more enjoyable than ever before.