I believe we can all agree that the main problem of the game is unbalanced teams, and steamroll matches, nobody enjoys being the only human player on your team or rushing through an enemy team of clueless bots.
The main reason why this happens is because the game creates a new lobby every 60 seconds or less in each campaign. If there are only 1-2 human players on each side in the queue, the game adds bots to the lobby.
Notice how you basically never join ongoing matches.
But it’s just physically impossible for every player in the world to be put in a fresh lobby every 60 seconds in 5 different campaigns and 10 different queues.
That means that during your average 20-minute fight the game has created at least 20 lobbies in this campaign and 100 lobbies across all campaigns.
Is it reaistic to assume that all 100 simulataneous lobbies can be populated with real players?
I don’t think so.
And for whatever reason the playercounts are never revealed.
Solutions:
-
Permanent servers with a browser instead of disbanding single-match lobbies.
For references, look at BF4/1/V: you have servers with map rotations. The first match you join there might be ongoing, but the second match will start right after the first one ends, and henceforth you will start each match from the beginning.
This would also ensure that more human players would be grouped together in this onging server rather than splitting them across numerous new lobbies.
Additionally, not disbanding the lobby after each game would keep the players together and allow you to keep playing with the people you like, or switch server if needed. Obviously, you’d be able to leave at any point just as well.
Such servers may be single-campaign servers or [Mixed] where maps from all campaigns would be chosen randomly, however the factions would be relevant to such maps.
This is the primary solution I see. Though if it’s impossible due to game code restrictions: -
“Join any campaign, any faction” matchmaking option with XP boost.
Self explanatory, has been suggested numerous times. Would allow players who prefer playing against real humans in random campaign over bot farming in their preferred campaigns to join together.
Again, preferrably without lobby disbanding, just keep the maps rolling. -
“I agree to wait as long as it takes for a full human lobby” matchmaking option.
Personally, I would remove bot-conrolled squads from the game entirely, since in their current state they contribute nothing and are only an annoyance.
But if all abovementioned fails, at least I would like to see an option to avoid playing with/against bot squads and give those who are ready to wait 2,5,7 minutes instead of under 60 seconds to have an competitive human lobby.
PS
In one of his recent posts Keofox @1942786 mentioned that it is planned to teach bot squads to spawn on rally points instead of default spawns to make their behaviour more human-like.
Personally I believe that hiding bot squads to look more human is a step in the wrong direction and we should strive to lessen their presense instead of hiding it.
Hope you see this post.
PPS
I remember Quadro @8894782 has been supportive of the “Play Any” idea, maybe this and other ideas could get some exposure too.
The entire matchmaking system seems to be the core of imbalance/steamroll/player population issues.