Voice Comms Won't Fix SoloQ (And Toxicity Isn't Why)
I've made this argument a few times across different threads over my time on the forums, but I realised I never consolidated it into its own post, so I figured why not kill some time by doing just that!
There's a certain mindset I've seen a few times now, revolving around this idea that BHVR are simply refusing to acknowledge the clear solution to the solo queue problem; they need to acknowledge the inherent power and advantage of voice comms, and just go ahead and add it to the game already. I find this a deeply flawed viewpoint, as well as finding the common counterargument - typically revolving around the inherent and unavoidable toxicity this feature would bring - somewhat unconvincing as it avoids the larger problem. That's what I'm going to try and explain my viewpoint on here.
If we're starting from the premise that we need to address the balancing issue of solo queue versus SWF by increasing the information that solo queue players have, then adding voice comms isn't even an option for doing that, let alone the best. If the issue is that some players have information and some players lack information, making balance as a whole harder and harming the enjoyment of the players on the 'lack' side of the divide, then a solution which only works some of the time for some players isn't going to fix that at all.
Let's take a hypothetical scenario. Let's say that you're a solo queue player after BHVR implement voice comms into the game, and you - like myself - play on the EU servers. After you load into a match, what has to happen for this new addition to improve your experience and fix the balancing issue you were on the short side of the stick for earlier? Disregarding toxicity entirely, even though that's a pretty obvious huge barrier here, I'd say it's the following:
- Everyone in the lobby has to own a microphone.
- Everyone in the lobby has to want to use that microphone, and be able to do so.
- Everyone in the lobby has to speak the same language, something far from guaranteed on EU servers.
- Everyone in the lobby has to know what to convey and when, and doesn't jam the comms with useless chatter or background noise out of their control.
If any one of those points fail, then not only does your hypothetical match not improve, but we're right back at square one with our proposed "overall balance" problem: Some players have information, and some players lack information, through avenues that aren't in their control. At best, all we've achieved is shifting the ratios of how many players are in which camp, but since we're still leaving players who want to coordinate and engage with the mechanics given to them out in the cold, I'd say that's nowhere near good enough.
Now, obviously, there's no amount of game design that can convince some players to actually pay attention and work as a team, and so I don't think that should be the goal of fixing solo queue. It's semi-often said that the true strength of a SWF is being able to choose your teammates, and I wholeheartedly agree, but since that's not the problem we can fix then I feel we should focus on making sure basic information is shared among the players who do want to put in the effort - something voice comms simply won't achieve. Too many variables would completely undercut the impact, and very few of them are under the control of our hypothetical player who really does want to try and help out the team and play altruistically.
None of this is to say that the solo queue problem is unfixable, mind you. There's plenty that can be done via having the game provide information to players itself rather than relying on the players being able and willing to communicate it, my main goal here is just to demonstrate that voice comms are not the magic bullet for fixing solo queue issues that some make it out to be. Toxicity is only the icing on the cake, the reason it goes from neutrally not improving anything to negatively making things worse.
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