Matchmaking in Destiny is the source of one of the biggest design controversies still raging in the community. Bungie has infamously excluded the raid content and weekly strikes from matchmaking since the very beginning. This is all going to change: update 1.1.1 will bring matchmaking to weekly strikes.
According to the weekly update posted today on Bungie.net, guardians can now play through weekly strikes with matchmade strangers. This is a complete 180 from Bungie’s usually stubborn, uncompromising stance on the subject. Design Lead M.E. Chung has the rationale:
We wanted the Weekly Heroics to be a challenge that pushed you and your buddies, but what we observed was that these strikes don’t demand the same cooperation of a cohesive pre-made group. The overwhelming community response was such that many players didn’t have the numbers on their friends list to experience the activity on a weekly basis.
This means, of course, that players will be barred from solo runs through the weekly strike. The Nightfall strike still has no matchmaking, and the two raids similarly remain untouched.
Regarding the raid issue, Bungie said they “are thinking hard about how [they] can help make that an easier experience in future releases.” This could mean a number of different things, as Bungie is famous for dodging questions in this manner. Players have been asking for raid matchmaking since the day its exclusion was announced.
Among the other changes coming in 1.1.1 are updates to Xur’s weekly inventory, tweaks to the Iron Banner map rotation, and fixes to Grimoire Card (read: most of Destiny’s lore) drop rates.
Destiny’s first expansion, The Dark Below, dropped back in December. House of Wolves will be the second expansion, and it’s rumored to be coming in March.