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‘The Division’ To One-Up ‘Destiny’ On Matchmaking And The Beta’s Dark Zone Has Improved

By Tony Smejek
Published on: 14:02 PST, Feb 20, 2016

Tom Clancy’s The Division beta is out once more on all platforms and it is said to be one step ahead of Bungie’s Destiny. Also, with the launch of Ubisoft’s open beta, there came an improved Dark Zone area.

There does seem to be a limiting factor in the Destiny game that would probably put it a step behind The Division when it comes to player engagement. The issue is player matchmaking and it’s lacking. Missions in the Bungie game like Prison of Elders, Trials of Osiris, and even the more specialized game events should require some kind of matchmaking process when going into these missions, according to Forbes.

Even Destiny design lead Derrick Carroll had this to say when it came to matchmaking.

“We’ll find you enemies, but we won’t find you friends.”

This statement doesn’t really give one the warm fuzzies does it? With such a high-activity game with plenty of missions to run, one would think matchmaking would be a nice addition to the Destiny game.

The Division game and its multiplayer matchmaking system is quite advantageous as it can drop you into an awaiting team on the other side just in case your regular friends are busy at work, or during the graveyard shift on Saturday night. At least your Saturday nights can be more satisfying than time spent finding comrades.

Though, being put with a bunch of strangers across the globe could have its drawbacks like backstabbing, inexperienced players, and those that have self-destructive personalities. However, it’s better than being completely isolated and without the choice to team-up in Destiny.

With Destiny, one can go into LFG (Looking For Group) mode, via the many fan-made sites. Forums are also areas where gamers have to make a scramble to put together a pre-made, three-man team in order to complete tasks. With The Division game’s matchmaking system the leg work is already done.

There is also a sense of community in the Ubisoft MMO action-RPG game. It seems to provide an organic means to recruit people to your team for future ventures in the Dark Zone, should they seem fit enough in your first team-up encounter.

Speaking of The Division’s Dark Zone, the second beta has allowed for its own improvements. For one, tweaks made to going rogue that would make it difficult for players to collect their new wares whilst attempting to make it through the Dark Zone. There’s also the ability to team-up with others to finish missions or one can turn to treachery to reap further rewards. Of course, going rogue does have its price.

There are also new enemies and an encounter with The Cleaners faction. This is a group of rogue fire fighters making an attempt to “clean” out infected patients and start with a clean slate, per their faction’s philosophy, according to International Business Times.

These improvements were due in part by fan feedback and creative director Magnus Jansen cited The Division’s Dark Zone to be quite “the ambiguous open-world where you decide what to do.”

“This is the first installment. It’s never been done before and we’re starting from scratch and there’s no lesson to be learned from other games.”

With Magnus’ statement, surprises look to be in store for the game and new things like the matchmaking system, which is lacking in Destiny, is cause for better player engagement. So it looks like good things are in store for Ubisoft.

Tom Clancy’s The Division is set to launch on the PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on March 8.

[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]

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