Ice Q

Sure bud

You must not play much BAP then lol

I think for drop-ins that's fine. For club matches, and especially during the finals, I wouldn't want to see mid-game joining. Unless it's a player that disconnected and is rejoining the same match. It's possible that could be exploited.

I agree with this. Club games should be restricted to only club members being able to join mid game, where as drop-ins are unrestricted. I disagree with the restriction to players who have disconnected l, because sometimes my club is ready to go but have to wait 5 minutes for our last 1-2 players to join. That way the club can get into a game,  while the players who are coming late can join during or after the 1st period.

PlayoffError wrote:

I can't imagine being a new player, playing some games of drop-in and saying to myself "I want to play more of this".  

This right here. My proposed solution is to allow drop-in players to choose to match up with a real club exclusively. Right now, you need to keep searching for drop-ins until matched up with a club.

I started doing that this year as my friends and I have had a difficult time getting together consistently due to life, but joining random clubs has been such a great experience. I absolutely love matching with a couple of buddies in 3's who are just looking for solid defence. Made a lot of new online friends going this route and I think EA should allow us to search for only club matches for drop-ins. 

PlayoffError wrote:

The only thing I can think of is to remove player ranking from the mode entirely in an attempt to tone down the toxic competitiveness in what should be a casual mode, but I'm sure that would go over like a lead balloon.

One thing I think EA is missing is a way for the community to actually recognize good teammates in drop-in games. Right now, there's no mechanism to acknowledge the player who's making smart passes, staying onside, and playing as part of a team instead of trying to walk in and score every shift themself.

I've pitched this before and got pushback that it would be "abused" but I think that's only true if you allow negative voting. Keep it positive-only, and there's nothing to abuse.

How it would work:

1. End-of-game voting. After each drop-in match, during the post-game screen, every player can give a single thumbs-up to one teammate who stood out for playing the "right way"; good positioning, passing, not cherry-picking, avoiding offside, etc. No negative votes, no reporting, nothing punitive. It's purely a positive signal.
   
   
2. Visible recognition, per game. On that end game screen, every player's card shows how many thumbs-up they received that match. It's a small, immediate acknowledgment — you see in real time that your teammates noticed.
   
   
3. A badge for consistency. If a player earns thumbs-up votes often enough over time (not just once), they unlock a visible badge — shown in the next lobby before the game even starts that signals to the new group of players "this person tends to get positive votes from teammates." It sets an expectation and maybe even nudges behavior in that next game.
   
   
4. Decay to keep it meaningful. To stop the badge from becoming a one-time achievement people stop caring about, it would decay. If a player goes a set number of games without receiving any thumbs-up, the badge is removed. That keeps it tied to current behavior instead of being a permanent trophy.

The concern with most "vote your teammates" systems is that they get used to bully or grief people through downvotes or negative tags. By removing any negative option entirely — no downvotes, no reports, nothing that can hurt a player's standing — there's no lever for toxic behavior to hijack. Worst case, nobody gives anyone a vote, and the system just does nothing. There's no way to weaponize positivity.

Give the community a lightweight way to reward the players who make drop-in more enjoyable, and create a small incentive for everyone to actually play like a teammate instead of a ball hog.

I’m against removing/hiding rank from drop ins.  I play with a lot of different groups of friends but I also enjoy the randomness of drop ins as I’ve always been a bit of a lone wolf.  That’s how I’ve met and became friends with tons of other players throughout the years.

When EA does their “auditing” that’s when drop ins are a real S show.  That’s when a lot more people don’t give a crap so they F around and troll a lot more.  I play for fun but I’m very competitive and hate losing! I’m one of those players that will back out if I get a low level teammate.  They’re more likely to risk my RP which is why I primarily play because I like the grind to platinum/diamond/elite.  Take RP and that away from me and they’ve lost me as a customer/player.  

EA has done enough to bring in and keep new players IMO.

They’ve done special pricing/promotions making the game more affordable throughout the year.  They didn’t do that when I started playing WOC back in 12 or 13.

They’ve implemented several options of control schemes that make the game easier to pick up and play from the get go.  I didn’t have that option.

They’ve provided pre builds for newbies to use to help them compete until they learn how to build their own.  I didn’t have that option.  I had to grind it out for the ability to make my build better against better players with better builds.

The newbies of today have it a lot easier than when I started.  I heard tons of crap the first year or so I started which is the same for newbies of today.  A lot of it also comes down to different generations.  Us older players were more willing to “grind it out to get good”.  Younger players aren’t and want things instantly and easier.  This isn’t just for this game either.  I see it in every day life and on social platforms (whatever) too!  

EA_Aljo wrote:

That might actually make it worse. When there's no punishment and no rank to play for, it would probably encourage more trolling.

I honestly don't think the trolls care one bit for their rank or view losing it as punishment.   And as you said, better anti-griefing measures would go a long way towards dealing with them.  Even as someone who avoids drop-ins at all costs I'm aware of several trolls who have been active under the same accounts for years.  This just shouldn't be allowed.

EA_Aljo wrote:

Maybe just take rank out of full drop-in games and reserve rank increase/decrease for club.

That's what I was suggesting.  Taking rank out of the drop-in mode would at the very least alleviate some of the problems getting full games.  If what people tell me is true, one of the big issues is that people are so concerned about their RP they will back out of lobbies just because it looks like they may have bad/new players on their team.  

I’m east coast server the majority of the time and it’s usually between 7 to 10 or 11 or so.  Playing during peak times on a peak server is a huge reason. 

In terms of skill based/rankings it’s usually the low ranked players that complain about long wait times and not getting many games in. It’s much harder to find teammates and get into games if you’re a low level/skill.  If I’m playing with friends and we need a random to fill our team we’ll usually accept any player who is at least a P1.  Anyone less than that not a chance!  If I’m playing solo if I’m matched up with those low level players I’ll back out.  A lot of the community does this.  The higher your rank/skill and if you’re known to be at least a decent player the more teams are going to play with you.  Those are the simple reasons why it takes some players longer and harder to find games.  

What time are you usually playing and what skill level (rank) are you?  If you’re not getting full lobbies those are probably the two reasons why.  I usually play during prime time hours with friends and we get 4-5 games per night with and against full teams.  At least 5’s with or without goalies (our choice).

My club typically plays prime time. About 8 - 11 PM and most are games of 5s. We normally don't run with a human G. We will get matched up with the occasional 3 or 4 player club though. 

Skill rank isn't part of matchmaking so that wouldn't have anything to do with it. Possibly, it's just playing at an off-peak time or in a region with less players. My club is east coast US based so we're probably in a better position for more full match ups.

I like the idea of joining mid game but ONLY if you were already in the game and got disconnected for whatever reason.  I would hate to be playing a good game winning with friends only to have one get disconnected and replaced with a well known troll or scrub without our approval.  Then that replacement player is blocking our friends/teammate from rejoining.  

Agreed. I feel like this could be used to troll or maybe bring in a ringer at the last minute. I don't have an issue with bringing someone back that disconnected from the same game though. I'm sure there would be technical issues to deal with as well as there's always the risk it could cause a desync.

PlayoffError​ 

Long-term the best solution to this is to find a way to bring in and keep new players.  Drop-ins should be the mode that gets new players involved, but it's been a cesspit for years.  I can't imagine being a new player, playing some games of drop-in and saying to myself "I want to play more of this".  

Yeah. It's a difficult mode for new players for sure. This would be a challenge as it means better anti-griefing measures. Which I'm sure we'd all love to have. It's just too easy for one person to ruin the experience for everyone else.

I honestly don't even know if there's a solution.  The only thing I can think of is to remove player ranking from the mode entirely in an attempt to tone down the toxic competitiveness in what should be a casual mode, but I'm sure that would go over like a lead balloon.

That might actually make it worse. When there's no punishment and no rank to play for, it would probably encourage more trolling. Maybe just take rank out of full drop-in games and reserve rank increase/decrease for club.

EA_Aljo wrote:

Currently, there are various modes that split up the player pool. Which makes it harder to get 6s games full of human players.

Long-term the best solution to this is to find a way to bring in and keep new players.  Drop-ins should be the mode that gets new players involved, but it's been a cesspit for years.  I can't imagine being a new player, playing some games of drop-in and saying to myself "I want to play more of this".  

I honestly don't even know if there's a solution.  The only thing I can think of is to remove player ranking from the mode entirely in an attempt to tone down the toxic competitiveness in what should be a casual mode, but I'm sure that would go over like a lead balloon.