Greetings MechWarriors,

We know many of you are having a great time playing IS vs. IS and Clan vs. Clan. Unfortunately, players are having long wait times when searching for matches in Faction Play due to:

A large portion of players grabbing their 100 loot bags in Quick Play. Too many simultaneous conflicts/matchmaking ‘buckets’ in Faction Play.

What are we doing?

We are working on a solution, but before I explain the solution it is important you know these points:

Currently, we cannot have multiple sub-factions VS multiple sub-factions within a single Conflict, as many in the community have suggested. For example, three IS Factions can’t face off together in one Conflict against the other 3 IS Factions

Reverting to just a single IS/IS Conflict, and initiating system-wide, automatic Contract Resets are not a solution due to a) some folks not wanting their Contracts reset and b) the potential for Unit leaders being away for the duration of the Event, with any other members of the Unit not having the necessary Unit permissions for adopting a new Contract. Resetting all Contracts would leave these players with no option but to leave their Unit.

What is the current solution?

The current solution is to return to the normal IS vs Clan Conflict, but have a rotation of IS vs IS and Clan VS Clan Conflicts throughout the event (one at a time) with reduced criteria for rewards looking something like this:

Oct 28th 12 AM UTC to Oct 30th 12 AM UTC Oct 30th 12 AM UTC to Nov 1st 12 AM UTC Nov 1st 12 AM UTC to Nov 3rd 12 AM UTC Nov 3rd 12 AM UTC to Nov 5th 12 AM UTC Nov 5th 12 AM UTC to Nov 7th 12 AM UTC Nov 7th 12 AM UTC to Nov 9th 12 AM UTC Nov 9th 12 AM UTC to Nov 11th 12 AM UTC IS VS CLAN MAIN CONFLICT REMAINS ACTIVE FOR ENTIRE EVENT Conflict Event Clan Wolf vs Clan Diamond Shark Conflict Event Marik vs Liao Conflict Event Nova Cat vs Ghost Bear Conflict Event Steiner vs Davion Conflict Event Steal Viper vs Jade Falcon Conflict Event FRR vs Kurita Conflict Event Smoke Jaguar vs Ghost Bear

The above solution will be in place today, and we will be monitoring your response on the forum.

The criteria for achieving the Faction Rewards would be lowered, and we would extend the loot bag event until to November 11th at 12 AM UTC.

What is the long-term solution for faction play events?

We identified some time ago that Faction Play needed to be 1 matchmaking bucket; which it typically now is with the single IS vs Clan Conflict. We either now need a way for Faction Play Loyalty Pledges and Merc Contracts to be less rigid, empowering players to participate in Faction Play Events outside of their Loyalty and Contract states, or the event system needs to be able to create a Conflict comprised of multiple Factions on each side. For example 3 Clans vs 4 Clans; 3 IS vs 3 IS; 3 Clan and 3 IS vs 4 Clan and 3 IS, or any other potential permutations.

Please be assured that this will be major a discussion we will be having internally in the coming weeks, and we will keep you informed as to the direction we are taking.

Regards,