Everyone talks about matchmaking changes being necessary, but we're ignoring the root of the problem.

So much discourse about SBMM, LBMM (that one definitely needs some tuning) and the disparity between skilled and geared players and people still progressing and playing casually, but so far only a handful have identified and talked on the root cause of the issue: The way your playstyle drastically changes as you progress

Many people talk about high level players approaching matches like a battle royale, while those further behind in gear and progression are still playing an extraction shooter, but they don't talk about **why.**

I agree it is a problem when both types of players share a lobby, but this can be mitigated and it has before in other games, why would we not want the same for Marathon? As it stands, high level players do this to have the entire map to themselves, and if you wipe a whole lobby, I definitely think you deserve whatever loot you can find and bring out. But it's a toxic cyclical meta that bolsters those at the top and shuns those at the bottom even lower. LBMM doesn't help, as even if you die you still level up and are more likely to face lobbies like that again.

Just like the Ouroboros, this incentivized way of play consumes itself until engagements are no longer dynamic, people refuse to engage with the map and events, and matches turn into long stalemates that are inevitably fruitless. It doesn't help that POIs have long sightlines and engagements boil down to sit and wait at range until you have a definitive advantage, because you lose nothing by doing so. For most, this isn't fun, its a waste of time that could have been spent in actually playing an extraction shooter, and we're seeing the result of that in real time.

I'm not advocating for removing hardcore elements and strategy. Engagements should favor patience and positioning, and misplays should be punished. However the severity and extremes this game takes it to easily takes the fun out for those still progressing.

My solution? Add more strategic elements and deepen the systems we have now.

Matchmaking is a bandaid solution and dwindling player counts make it difficult to support in most regions. What we really need is incentives for these high level teams to approach the game and by extension, the map in a different way than they do now.

For example, Why would I not want to wipe the map on dire before I do the Anomaly. As it stands, I lose nothing by spending my time chasing people, and I gain everything as I increase the odds I can get that done safely in the first place. Instead, timers on these events, increased loot rewards and better mini events (supply drops, tox clear and secured all are not worth for the effort it requires.) could encourage high level teams to engage with the gameplay loop this game started as instead of solely hunting people. It introduces a new decision, where these teams have to choose between killing everyone for possibly minimal reward, or make it to said events in time for a guaranteed better reward.

Something as simple as a secured resource, but the bots scale in difficulty up until it reaches gold status and drops better loot. People with bad gear would get wiped if they're overwhelmed, or take too long and get third partied, or even have a timer within which the AI needs to be cleared or you'd have to attempt that stage again. You could cash out at any time so this event stays relevant for those with less gear, but does require good equipment to take on to the max amount. If something like that was on a timer before expiry, all the people with good equipment would want to attempt that before its gone, and they can duke it out in that POI while people with less gear know where to avoid, and can move around the map accordingly.

As it stands, the maps are wholly empty and high level teams have no reason to spend their time engaging with the games main systems of PVE, looting, and most events. Only the still progressing players are at a disadvantage by being the ones encouraged to spend their time behind these things, and so they become fodder just for playing the game the way it wants you to. It gets worse when you factor in spawns, contracts, salvage and gear disparity. These things combine to create an uneven playing field.

TL:DR, we need more things on the map for high level players to spend their time on, so players still progressing can get by with enough awareness and map knowledge. Camping a box until 5 minutes into a match should be a strategy that you have to sacrifice something to do, or else people will continue to do it because its the most logical thing to do.