Changes to the public matchmaker
Players who join public matches will now be merged with other players more often. If a public game is waiting in the pre-start lobby with open slots, matchmaking can send you straight into that session instead of opening a second queue.
Seeker replacement
If the Seeker leaves mid-match, a bot can now take over that role so the round continues for everyone else instead of ending on the spot.
Fixes
Task progress toward opening the portal should now stay in sync for everyone in the match (bots no longer inflate the bar on non-host clients).
Matches should no longer go over the 6-player cap. Bot fill was sometimes adding extra players while someone was still loading in, which could break the roster and the end-of-match screen.
Bots & public matches
We’re still refining bots, and there are still maps that don’t support them.
Very small human groups in public matchmaking are more likely to land on bot-friendly maps filled with bots. Larger parties (4 or more players) will land on a map drawn from a broader set.
We believe bot capabilities will grow over time, and more maps will be filled with them.
We didn’t turn them off, we’re still running experiments and collecting data so we can keep improving them.
