My Tekken 8 Experience: Navigating Connection Issues and Ranked Play
My overall Tekken 8 experience so far has been a little rough. I honestly haven’t really found the motivation to play more than just on Sundays with my friends and going into Ranked is usually quite the struggle, but not for the reasons you might think.
The Connection Conundrum
The main reason why I find Ranked so annoying is the fact that it’s very hard to find a good connection that isn’t console wired. Here I thought PC would be a safe bet, but the one thing you should always stay away from is PC WiFi. Even if the indicator is saying it’s OK and you’re mentally prepared for the random lag spike that WiFi presents you with due to the inevitable packet loss, it usually seems to mean that the person is playing on a laptop. A laptop that cannot handle the game. It could also be SteamDeck now that I think about it, but I am not sure if SteamDeck would be classified as console or PC based on the in-game classifications. Doesn’t really matter though, it’s just always a bad time.
You have better chances with PC wired of course, but it can still be a laptop that can’t handle the game and you’re in for the same rough ride. Console WiFi is, as always, hit or miss anyway and thus the only thing you can bank on is Console wired. Which is just weird to be honest. It’s like finding a unicorn in a herd of donkeys.
Tekken 8 Disconnect Dilemma
Now, this is just a connection thing. On top of that, I’ve seen people rocking anywhere from 2% to 24% disconnect rates. This is insane! I feel like there should be at least a filter to not be matched up with people that have higher than 0.9999999999% disconnect rates. If you think 1% is too harsh a criterion, I don’t know what to tell you, but if you get kicked off 1 in 100 games, I think your connection really isn’t suited for online play in games, where your connection directly influences the enjoyability of the game for your opponent.
Either way, it should be a filter and not an automatic lock-out. Secondly, I’d like to have an option that PREFERS people that play BO3. I constantly get matched up with people that will dip either if they lose, or if they just barely managed to scrape out a win. I am not judging them, the option is there, it’s part of the game and they are free to play the game within the confines of the game’s options, as they see fit. It is frustrating though, to be sent back into the queue after what feels like every single match. It’s relatively rare to find someone who is willing to play out the set unless they are winning.
Quick Match Quandary
Play Quick Match instead, yeah that would be an option, however, it’s actually the same. I don’t know why people RQ or run away from full sets in a non-ranked environment, but they do. Ranked, in this case, actually at the very least matches me up quicker, so that’s the one I am going with. Since I can’t queue up for both at the same time in this game (no clue why).
I’ve made it to Shinryu with Reina last week Monday, so there’s some progress at least, but due to all of these issues I don’t really feel the motivation to keep playing, thus I honestly still don’t know how the game operates. I don’t punish anything, as I am not putting myself in enough situations (e.g., not enough play time) to get used to them, I barely know any combos and the list of things I lack just keeps on going.
Potential and Pitfalls
The game is fun, it looks great, plays great and could be absolutely amazing, but between the lobby where I cannot choose to fight someone specific, the aforementioned issues between Ranked and Quick Match on top of the already very strange leniency on machines that cannot even run the game, it’s just difficult for me to keep jumping on with the intention to improve.
It’s like owning a Ferrari but only having dirt roads to drive on. Sure, the car is fantastic, but if you can’t enjoy it the way it’s meant to be enjoyed, what’s the point? Tekken 8 has all the makings of a brilliant game, but the surrounding infrastructure and player behaviour are dragging it down.
Conclusion
In summary, Tekken 8 is a game with immense potential marred by connectivity issues and player behaviours that detract from the overall experience. While I’ve made some progress and enjoyed some aspects, the frustrations often outweigh the fun. I hope future updates address these issues because, at its core, Tekken 8 is a fantastic game that deserves better. For now, I’ll keep playing on Sundays with my friends, but my dreams of dominating the ranked ladder will have to wait. Here’s hoping for smoother roads ahead!
