Here's what I think. Beware my Phalanx shield of text! Bungie is trying to engage their players across multiple forms of media in order to make the Destiny experience more immersive. They figured that forcing players out of their comfort zones is a good thing. I personally liked the idea because I like putting more effort into building my experience. Made me feel like I was actually getting something done. Matchmaking detracts from that because it does all the work for you, which I dislike. It encourages autopiloting. And can you truly become legend by going on autopilot? Can you truly become anything by going on autopilot? Not from my experience. Destiny has done something to me that no other game - MMO, instance-based, shooter, whatever - has ever done before. It made me feel like a part of something bigger, not just a number on a spreadsheet. Now, I understand that many players don't think like I do, nor am I demanding that they do. In-game matchmaking might have to be implemented in order to satisfy the community. But let me ask you all this first: Why is it that you want matchmaking and in-game LFG? Probably because you don't want to spend your precious time running around LFG sites looking for teammates. But why do you not want to do that? Let's go deeper. Perhaps it is because you are used to having the work done for you, maybe you just don't want to work for it. But I think it is something even more base, forgive the wording. You want to beat the game so you can go play other games. Let me tell you something. Destiny cannot be beaten. By design it is unbeatable. I think people are trying to beat it and are getting frustrated that they can't. I don't think that is how you enjoy Destiny. Not play it, [i]enjoy[/i] it. The fun is in the journey, not the destination. Because let's say you do manage to get max light level on all three classes, max those subclasses out, get all the gear, etc. You are going to have to do it all over again when the next expansion hits. There is no end to Destiny. It is constantly growing - yes, growing - bigger and bigger. It's like trying to scale a mountain that has a peak that rises with each step you take. Some people don't like that, others do. And it is because of this that I encourage players that play Destiny to break up their play sessions with different games. Finally beat that hard mode raid? Hop on over to BO3 and shoot up some zombies. Made it to the Lighthouse? Pop in Fallout 4 and explore. Don't just play Destiny by itself if you don't find enjoyment in constantly working on your legend or if you have a lot of spare time. Enjoy it in pieces. Baby steps. That being said, implementing matchmaking might have to happen anyways since, what u believe is, Bungie's intent did not translate to the community. It happens, so now they might have to bite the bullet and add it in to satisfy their players. But to them, and me, at what cost? Now for in-game LFG. I separated the two because one, matchmaking, doesn't really have a technical side to it. It is just a matter of applying the same matchmaking for strikes and the like to endgame PvE content. But in-game LFG has a technical issue, if j am thinking about it right. Destiny is weird kind of... "MMO." I say it like that because while it does have several elements of an MMO, it does not have a persistent world that players populate. Rather, it generates instances and then a certain number of players populate that instance. Not every player logged into Destiny are in the same instance, and that is where the problem is I believe. If someone is looking for a group in-game, how are they going to get players outside of their instance? Those players don't even know they are there. You can't just have text bubbles above the player saying "LFG." Not everyone is going to see it because they are in a different instance. Maybe they'll get lucky with a person or two in their instance, but it would rely on getting lucky, which is pretty much how asking random players in-game works now anyways. So here are a couple of solutions. One thing is allowing players to select their own instances. For example, channels 1-4 would be for solo players, channels 5-6 would be for PvE LFG, channels 7-8 would be for PvP LFG, and channels 9-10 would be for people who just want to chat. Now here's the problem with this suggestion: it limits the number of instances, which might result in lag, slow loading times and disconnections, because Bungie would have to accurately predict how many people will populate each channel to make sure that they don't go over-capacity. So here's my other idea. The bar below the hangar gets expanded to allow for a bot bartender. By talking to the bot, you can have him log requests for fireteams. This request is created using the same messaging system you use for communicating with players in-game so that it says exactly what you want it to. Maybe even allow a feature for those with mics to record an audio request. The bot then can share this request across all instances, so all players interacting with the bot can see the requests, even if the requester is not in their instance. Then, by selecting a request you'd like to respond to, it will open the messaging system associated with your console and you can send them a private message and see if they accept you. Now here's the rub on this one: how will the bot regulate the requests? What if a player puts in a request, then irl catches up to them and they have to log off? Should the request be taken down automatically? Because if it has to do with connectivity, what if a player who just made a request has a random drop in their internet service (TWC I am looking at you). Does this mean that they have to make the request AGAIN just because their service had a hiccup? (TWC doesn't have hiccups though, they have freaking cardiac arrests) Maybe the requests can be timed, so every 10 or 20 minutes you have to refresh the request. But is that reasonable? Discuss what you think. So, I support in-game LFG because it is an opportunity to expand the social space of the Tower somehow while also giving players what they want. However, I do not support matchmaking because of how it will detract from others' experience of finding people they really like working with. While it can be "just an option," consider this: "Eververse Trading is an option," but I see plenty of people saying it shouldn't even be here. Hopefully I didn't throw you off the map, this Phalanx will take its leave now. [spoiler]Unless you're Eris' rock or TWC. GTFO![/spoiler]