They're definitely still there for me. Australia here.
Firestorm is a mixed bag, latency wise. At the moment the probability of joining a solo match with less than 200 ping seems impossible. Not sure if it's a technical issue, AU solo servers are dead, or they're just so clogged up that I always land in an international server. Either way, ping averages for solo AU are 200 - 350, no exceptions. Squad is a different matter entirely; either I'll get 160 - 250 ping, or I'll land in a local match. And you can feel it. No lag on picking up items, no movement stuttering, satisfying hit detection. The 160 - 250 ping matches are a mess like solo, and I suspect also international servers.
So yeah, I don't know. Battle Royale games all have this issue (PUBG is still more or less fucked in this regard for Australia), but the entire process of matchmaking and queuing needs to be completely overhauled for this genre. Clearer communication of what I'm connecting to, why I can't join immediately (like if I'm waiting to connect to a full server or in process game), and strict region locking options.
It makes me sad because it was fine at launch. First 24 hours were solid as hell. Now solo Firestorm is impossible and unplayable. Squad is a gamble. And I have no idea what the exact issue is or what's being done to resolve it.
This is what stopped me playing PUBG, mind you. For at least 6 months AU servers were fucked, and wait times were literally like....15 minutes per match. No thanks.
