The Cycle: Frontier Patch 2.6.0 adds changes in matchmaking, cheat victim compensation, and more

The Cycle: Frontier wraps up the year with its last patch for 2022, Patch 2.6.0, which includes various changes and adjustments to fix and solve some of the more significant issues that have been brought up by the community. The Cycle: Frontier will have maintenance for 2.6.0 on December 14th with exact times to be communicated separately. To get a glimpse at the new content coming for Season 3, take a look at the recent The Cycle: Frontier Dev Update video: 

Matchmaking was identified by The Cycle: Frontier as one of the most problematic aspects of the game based on feedback from the player community. This issue was particularly problematic for players who were just starting in the game. To address this issue, the following modifications to the matchmaking system will be implemented as part of Patch 2.6.0:

• Duos and trios now also have beginner buckets – A squad only gets into a beginner match if ALL squad members are beginners.
• The number of matches that players spend in the beginner buckets has been extended.
• Matchmaking is now based on PvP K/D (Kill Death ratio). What we hope to gain from this:
  • Give players who may be terrible at PvP a chance to succeed. Give players who want PvP and want to duke it out with other skilled players what they seek. This should limit the amount of frustration a new player encounters, as we also checked the gear that is commonly used by players with a high PvP K/D, while still giving the opportunity to encounter different playstyles on your adventures on Fortuna III
  • Another bonus of using this method is that it will be more difficult to exploit or ‘cheese’ than the previous methods of matchmaking. 

This also means that the buckets of the different maps have been adjusted once again, including the absolute separation of squad sizes in Map 1:

• Bright Sands Buckets:
  • 2 different buckets for Solos, Duos, and Squads (so 6 buckets in total).
    • This means: You should NEVER be in a lobby with squad sizes other than your own on Bright Sands.
• Crescent Falls Buckets:
  • Same as before
    • Solos only, for players that are still having a hard time
    • Good Solos, with some Duos
    • Good Duos, with some Trios
    • Good Trios
• Tharis Island Buckets:
  • Solos, with some Duos
  • Good duos & Trios

The Cycle: Frontier Patch 2.6.0 also made adjustments to the Cheat Victim Compensation system, ensuring that no packages will be lost on their way to players. This feature has also been updated such that the system checks and rewards players for items that were in their safe pockets when they landed on a planet. The following AI parameters have also been fine-tuned in Patch 2.6.0 to alleviate player frustration when encountering them for the first time:

• Reduced Rattler Beam damage by 30%
• Reduced Tick damage by 35%
• Striders have been taught how to wait their turn and we introduced a global cooldown for Strider attacks to prevent all from attacking at the same time when surrounding the player

You can read more about the miscellaneous changes and other bug fixes made as part of Patch 2.6.0 on The Cycle: Frontier website. As a part of the Frosty Frontier Fest, The Cycle: Frontier will have a Community Challenge for all Prospectors, more details on that will be revealed on December 21st.