Since Gears of War 2 launched, it has earned massive complaints over problems with the multiplayer lobby, specifically with the length of time it takes to get a match started. While the launch weekend was generally okay, it has been pretty bad since then, and matchmaking can take a very long time indeed.

Epic has addressed this issue and apologized, calling the situation "unacceptable." Senior producer Rod Fergusson has stated that no one problem can be singled out as the cause, implicating "a number of factors" for the multiplayer frustrations.

Fergusson has promised that a permanent fix is underway, hopefully to be launched soon. In the meantime, the Epic man has provided some helpful hints to try and ease your online pain. Such tips include trying different playlists, starting matchmaking in parties of two, three or five, and hanging on to a party once you've played with it. 

The full list of suggestions is included after the jump, so hit that if you want to make your Gears 2 playtime more bearable until the patch comes. I wonder ... will the patch be released before Castle Crashers'? The answer, as we all know, is yes.

"If you're experiencing long delays (longer than 2 minutes) or you're seeing your matchmaking search restarting over and over again, please try a different playlist as that indicates a possible population issue with the currently selected one.

The problem seems to be heightened for parties of 1 and parties of 4 so please try to invite at least one friend into your party before matchmaking. And of course the fastest way to play is to have a full 5 person party before looking for a match since you won't have to find any teammates beforehand. Fortunately our new "What's Up" feature makes finding Friends who're playing Gears 2 online easier.

Also, after a match, if you'd like to continue to play with the 9 people you just played with, simply press Y to look at the previous match stats and press X to invite them all to your party so you can continue to play in a Private match if they accept. Private matches, while not arbitrated, gives you the flexibility to set exactly which map and mode you want to play along with customizing other aspects of the game.

And as always, please ensure that your router is set correctly so that your NAT is considered "Open" by Xbox LIVE as "Moderate" and "Strict" NATs make Xbox LIVE matchmaking more difficult. There are many guides available online to walk you through the process of correctly configuring your router for Xbox LIVE so I won't go into the specific details here."