This is a really bad time for bad/so-so players like you and me to be playing PvP. The reasons for that is due to Bungies' matchmaking changes in the recent months because of a decreasing player base. They've increased the skill gap (K/D range) of the players we're going up against. Solo players like me aren't being matched with only solo players anymore, we're now matchmade with fireteams. I haven't played much PvP the past 2 weeks because I've grown tired and frustrated with it. I'm back to my year 1 raging and cursing.

I use to play a lot in yr one. Had some casual friends that would rock when playing by themselves but when playing with me would get owned in most matches. I was in the top 1 percent of players. Stopped playing for 6 months and still in top 3 percent. Now they carry me through matches this week... One thing I learned from my break is ever match I seem to get in is ultra sweaty. But once in a while it's fun to have super close matches.....

I am no expert, but I will say, I play one decent game and next thing you know I am in a game with 3 or four other enemies who are worlds better than me, I am by no means good or bad, I feel mediocre and my stats are probably terrible because I mess around a lot, but I can play decent games, just wondering why after one good game I get matched up with god tier players, they stomp me terribly.

I haven't had too many issues with PvP, actually, Destiny is my favorite game to play PvP in...way better than CoD or Battlefield IMO. I'm only a little over a 1.0 at the moment but I usually finish fairly well in the matches. I do, however, wish that the loot given at the end was according to game performance instead of totally random. It's a bit disheartening when you get 20+ kills and get nothing and the dude that went 2-15 gets a nice legendary. I try to stick with the high fire rate/high ammo count auto rifles (Hard Light is my fave) or a nice scout rifle like the Hung Jury with a shotgun secondary. Strafing when shooting helps a ton as does situational awareness by watching your radar and not running into 2 vs 1 fights that you can't win. The only people that give me trouble are snipers, they are cheap as $@&! Can't stand the sniper campers. Another little trick I use is that if I am about to lose a firefight, I get out of the room ASAP and drop a trip mine or grenade on the way out. The other player will likely try to chase you to finish you off and run into your grenade blast or trip mine and they get killed and gives you time to regenerate health before your next fight.

Destiny has great gameplay, but I've played betas with better hit detection. That's not me being dramatic and it's certainly not unplayable, but I expected better from Bungie. Two things I won't accept from ANY game. Excessive screen tearing (it's distracting) and poor hit detection. I still like the social aspect of Destiny's co-op play, but I will no longer accept how outdated and poorly there networking runs for Crucible. I've stopped playing completely. As of now I play Overwatch for my PvP needs, it's fun and runs great.

I think at the end of the day, if this is what is happening - separating friends that would game together otherwise but don't because it's not fun and hurts their game experience - that's the bottom line right there, no point more valid. We can save the sweaty match ups for ToO and IB. I have to confess my best bud just started playing a few months back and he just happened to be fire team leader going into his first crucible match and I was astounded at what I found. I'm average - maybe good for average normally and I felt like a damn legend, I was able to take ridiculous risks and make absurd presses that bordered on disrespectful of their ability to counter me. It was fun for me but cannot have been fun for folks just catching a match or two, to run into me like that. I think in sheltering different ability levels in PvP Bungie has inadvertently sort of defeated the point of it. If they had a more varied experience there likely would have been a few other people on the team as experienced or more so than me to make a more equal and fun experience than what the newer guardians had in that match with me.

I have a couple of friends that sometimes blame my matchmaking for their poor performances in pvp. There is most likely a ring of truth to it similar to your situation. What I would say and have said to them is to basically be over cautious. Think of your survival over anything. Go for team shots and try to make engagements work for you. The second you feel uneasy about an engagement,duck. Also, think of an escape route. So say, if you're a Titan floating in mid air shooting some guy, don't expect to stay there too long. That is unless you're near a wall wearing twilight garrison to aid your escape. Like, a lot of people have started using strikers. They're obviously good, but shoulder charging every single person, means you are running into enemy lines [b]not shooting or really aware of your surroundings[/b] at the same time. Which is asking to be put down most of the time lol You will 100% improve if you keep playing with them, not on its own will that work. You have to work at it. Save your gameplay and watch each engagement, you will see either a pattern of you challenging when there is either a. More enemies than you can handle or b. A better option to turn and live to fight another day. But remember, everyone has those matches/days/weeks that they feel they can't do anything, what's important is having a laugh, as many have said :)

I don't understand why they can't just make a simple matchmaking system and stop randomising the game modes, not everything in destiny has to be random, even the game modes !? (Anyways) I like to play lone wolf most of the time but it really annoys me how 8/10 games I have to try to put beast mode on because of: A. I've been matched up with not the greatest team full of random's (which isn't a bad thing for me except for objective based games and of course when...) B. Its matched me up with a full fledged team as an opposition (communication and structured builds on most of them with coordination) I mean I find it fun to tackle a full team on my own, gives me a bit of a challenge which I like but I can tell my team full of random's are having a tough time as soon as I see my remaining team at the end of the game is only left with three people to fight of six enemies. How's about trying to put random players with other random's with small fire teams (consisting of two or three members) and dedicate a search for teams to match up with other teams... As for your issue it'll be fine if you stick with team mates and just work alongside them, the guys I play with aren't the greatest PvPers but I play with them purely for fun. I'd much rather have a team full of friends than a team full of sweaty guys that blame you every time they die. I don't mind if my friends aren't that great or if I lose a game, playing with friends is the main thing.. Plus I do very well pretty much over 80% of the time so I'm not too fussed over raging lol

PvP is a bad experience in general right now- so don't take things too hard. I have a few friends that are awful in PvP and I love playing with them- win or lose! I'll cheer them on when they make a good play, share my tips and strategies when asked, and NEVER chastise them for going 2-15. We've done Trials runs were we lost every single game (still got the bounties done), but still had fun. I'm a solid player in PvP (have gone flawless a few times myself), but I would much rather play with my struggling friends because there is no pressure to win or 'sweat'! At the end of the day no one gives a shit about stats, those on the losing side have an equal shot at nice drops as the winning team, and you'll still earn crucible rep to hopefully get a solid Long Bow or Lord High Fixer! Have fun and let your friends know you are having a blast! Celebrate your 2 kills! Your friends already know you're not a strong PvP player, but it can be equally frustrating if you are raging the whole game.

The most talented players [b]should[/b] be playing the most talented players. The not so talented should not be playing top tier players 5 matches in a row. Mixing everyone in with those [b]slightly[/b] better than them would benefit those trying to learn PvP. Streamers cried because they had to play each other so Trials is more card based than SBMM. Bungie caters to 10% and craps on 90%. Streamers have an audience to complain to and Bungie fears them. Tell me again how catering to top tier players benefits [i]anyone[/i] other than top tier players. SBMM is a joke. Crucible is a joke. Streamers are a joke. Crucible and streamers will kill Destiny. If I hadn't already pre-ordered RoI, I wouldn't. Will I buy Destiny 2 if they can't get a grip on Crucible and fix the lag/latency - not a chance in hell. I won't buy anything Bungie makes. Two years in and the current state of the Crucible is the best they can manage? I'd be ashamed to say I worked at Bungie.

The worst part about SBMM isn't the sweaty matches. It's the horrendous lag which results from being matched up with people on opposite ends of the globe. That is the crux of the problem

WTF?!! Sorry but please smack yourself. I guess your really not "friends" then if they care more about their stats then having fun with their "friend." So you are telling us all that you suck, can't get better, and I guess ultimately lack the will to get better huh? Then why play the game lol?!! Join your friends you won't suck that bad since all you have to do is piggy back ride them and call out right? Whats wrong with assist? In time you will be out gunning your friends and turning your assist into kills. You will evolve from playing with them the routes to go, the routes to not go, what to do in situations, when to group when to flank, all the little things the game can't teach you, your friends can. This ultimately makes you better and it naturally will subconsciously if you want to or not lol, that is out of your control really. So please play with your friends no matter what because fun with people you care about is more important than the game itself...

Disagree. If you're that bad (K/D ==0.3) then SBMM isn't your problem, and CBMM isn't the answer. Because if the game went to a CBMM scheme, you would still spend the vast majority of your time playing against people who are significantly better than you. You'd still perform poorly, and you'd still (no disrespect intended) be a liability to any team that is trying hard to win. What SBSMM does---for a player like you---is LOWER the barriers to enterning the game....and acquiring the skill to play it. With SBMM you are matched against players who are of a similar skill level as yourself. SO THE GAME UNFOLDS MORE SLOWLY....and people are less likely to fight their way out of bad decisions based on raw twitch speed, or having lots of experience. So you have a chance to come to understand the game you're playing. See what are good decisions....because you get rewarded with kills. See what are bad decisions...because they get you killed. So you start to learn and you get better. Then the game gets you better opponents...and the process goes on. You get to experience some success and you get better incrementally. Without any SBMM, you'd likely get thrown in with me. I'm currently averaging about a 1.25 K/D in my matches these days....even allowing for SBMM....which makes me about a top 20% player in PVP. But even at that level of the game, I'm going to move too fast, and make decisions too fast for you to keep up with. I'm going to be able to anticipate what are actually good decisions on your part....because I've seen them hundreds or thousands of times before. So there's a good chance you'll end up dead, even though you've done the "right" thing. God forbid you get thrown in with the ELITE PvPers. Because at THAT level of the game you're going to be basically helpless. Those guys are so fast, shoot so precisely, and make decisions so quickly that you will have difficult time even understanding what's happening. You'll be like a Little League baseball player who's stepped into the batter's box with a Cy Young Award Winning Major League Pitcher. You will not get better in a situation like that. You will not have fun. That is a recipie for humiliation and frustration on a CONTINUAL basis....and a player like yourself being forced to eventually quit. Trust me. I went through something similar to that trying to learn how to play Battlefield 4 two years ago. ....and after two days of dying to people who seemed to literally spring up out of the ground around me, and not being able to figure out what I was doing wrong that kept getting me killed.... I finally said F-it, and quit. ...and those people you never get to hear complaining bout CBMM. You just get to hear the players who had "fun" running those people out, arguing in favor of letting them get their shit-stomping in.