Hood: Outlaws and Legends Will Fix PS5, Xbox Series X Lobby Wait Times
Sumo Digital's medieval PvPvE game, Hood: Outlaws and Legends, has had a number of issues with long wait times in its lobbies across various platforms since its release a little over a week ago. While many thought that Hood: Outlaws and Legends's issues were simply down to a low player count on the servers, the developers have suggested that is not the case, and that the issue has been found and resolved.
Long matchmaking times can be the bane of gamers and developers alike. Even titles such as Call of Duty: Warzone have suffered issues with matchmaking times, showing that lower player counts aren't always the issue. A blog post by Hood: Outlaws and Legends' game director surrounding the game's launch has finally shed some light on the long wait times plaguing players, as well as offering some other details regarding a new map, game mode, and Outlaw.
In a blog post from game director Andrew Willans, the developer explained that while Hood: Outlaws and Legends' matchmaking has had some problems, they have "identified the issue that could cause long waiting times in the lobby even with the game’s high player counts." While many had speculated that low player counts were causing the sometimes 10-minute wait times, this was evidently not the source of the problem.
While the resolution of the matchmaking issues may be the main takeaway from the blog post for many gamers sitting in unending lobbies, it also focused on some other aspects of Hood: Outlaws and Legends' launch. Namely, Willans notes that the developers will be releasing a balance patch that will aim to level the playing field between ranged and melee combatants, with the melee classes currently overperforming. He also mentions the release of the new Mountain map and "an exciting new game mode" for season one of the game, and a new Outlaw in season two.
The developer suggests that much of the underperformance of ranged characters is down to an issue with low sensitivity on consoles having a "negative impact ranged Outlaws’ win rates." Many players have been complaining about the maximum sensitivity for ranged characters being too low on console versions of Hood: Outlaws and Legends, so this will likely be a welcome change. Willans does point out that Hood: Outlaws and Legends is fairly balanced for an initial release, with win-rates for all Outlaws hovering around 50%.
Communication from developers is always important, and this blog post certainly shows that Sumo Digital is taking player feedback into account when it comes to balance changes and improvements. Long matchmaking times can be a death knell for a new game, so fans of Hood: Outlaws and Legends will be happy to hear that low player counts are not the issue. The release of the new Mountain map will likely help to maintain players' interest as well, and with a new Outlaw coming out in season two, many will be excited to see how the meta develops for Hood: Outlaws and Legends unique PvPvE gameplay.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Focus Home Interactive
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