Rock Band Rivals expansion had a huge update to the online multiplayer/quickplay option. Some updates mentioned on the Harmonix blog post include:
- Overhauls to Online Multiplayer
- Can now join Sessions via invite, searching, and Quick Join, or create your own Session
- Hosts can set details for Session, such as public/private, length, and which players can add songs
- Hosts can set preferred (but not mandatory) player stats, such as Skill level and Owned Songs
- Settings are saved as the default for future Sessions
- Can now drop in mid-song, no more waiting in the Green Room for a set to finish
- Text-based messaging added to online menu, allowing you to communicate without joining a Party
- Can be used in the Green Room, while choosing a song, during a song, or on the results screen
- Improvements to character animations
- Improvements to surround sound
- Added new song filter for current Challenge songs
- Greatly improved trill and tremolo lanes
- Fixed a visual bug during whammied sustains on guitar and bass
- New loading screen backgrounds and tips
This new Online Quickplay update included options to make the game play experience more versatile and simple to find a session. The matchmaking can be refined to find other players that have similar Rock Band game preferences and DLC. It’s simple to create or browse for a session with setlist preferences and DLC song count in common with other players or use the Quick Join option to join a session with your current instrument open. The update included a new menu of quick text communication to quickly inform others of your status or results (or taunt them) and the ability to drop-in mid song as a local player would.
There are a few things that I personally wish was different with the online update. In career mode and Rockudrama, there are options to vote on songs for a setlist. Voting is not an option in Online Quickplay sessions. The online mode still does not support a mix of local and online players. There is also not an option to play Brutal Mode online. I would love to try playing Brutal Mode with other players.
Full combos for vocals and harmonies sometimes do not register when playing online. I am unsure if this is bug with this update or glitch with online play in general at this time. What is interesting is the song will show as a full combo in the song library afterwards for songs that were not full combo’d previously even though the game reflected 99% gold stars at the end of the song during online play.
Another downfall I noticed is how difficult it is to find the instrument controllers for this game. Drum set and guitar controllers are high priced! As of this post, the Rock Band 4 Band-In-A-Box Bundle is as high as $640. Since the update was released, I’ve been looking for instrument controllers at a reasonable price to start recommending Rock Band 4 Rivals to people. Personally, I purchased a backup Rock Band 4 Wireless Fender Stratocaster Guitar Controller for Xbox One 
The updates to the online mode has made Rock Band sessions more entertaining and much longer. Personally, I think the update made the game so much better. I’m super thankful Rock Band 4 is still being updated and there are many people to play with. Unfortunately, if you are a newer Rock Band player and don’t have a large library of DLC songs or previous Rock Band export songs, it may be difficult to find players to stay in sessions longer sessions with. The only previous Rock Band soundtrack available for export is Rock Band 3. Fortunately there are instructions to assist with obtaining the Rock Band Disc Export Pack if you have played Rock Band 3 previously. Highly recommend anyone looking to play online regularly to download the free 10 free Rock Band Network songs available in the store and purchase the export pack if you owned/played Rock band 3 previously. The export pack is $14.99 and has 83 more songs to play and that gives more options for happily finding an online session. While session details preferences are not mandatory, a lot of sessions will have a shared DLC songs owned preference higher than some players library counts. It is understandable that people want to play online with most of their song library, however a small song library can make finding new people to play with awkward or difficult if you are newer to the Rock Band franchise and Rock Band 4. On that note, I am now accepting gifts in the form of Rock Band songs. 😀 I kid!
Overall, the Online Quickplay update in Rock Band 4 Rivals has been an enjoyable update that has made it easier to play with the Rock Band Community. Rocking remotely is so much easier.
