Destiny 2 has finally enabled crossplay across platforms since Season 15. Our MeinMMO author Philipp Hansen is surprised and, despite his fears as a console player, dared to enter PC lobbies. How did that turn out?
This feature is finally here: Season 15, the Season of the Lost, started on August 24, 2021, in Destiny 2. It brought a new story, fresh weapons, and exotics along with major balance adjustments for the Guardians. Another highlight is finally crossplay.
Thanks to crossplay, players can finally save the universe across platforms. It doesn’t matter if a Guardian is playing on an old PS4 or a brand-new PS5, the other player joins from Google Stadia, and the next one is on PC (Steam).
This was concerning: Everyone finds themselves in the same Destiny world to play together – but also to fight against each other. Crossplay brings great opportunities, but it also caused a lot of anxiety among many Guardians even before its release. The part about “fighting against other platforms in PvP” immediately raised thoughts of unfair advantages due to different input devices or fears of cheaters.
I dove into the connected world and want to share my first impressions of crossplay with you.
Old friends reunited in a new season of Destiny 2
I have to say it directly: Crossplay works great in PvE, hats off to Bungie. Especially at the start of a season, Guardians are used to many bugs and issues – but playing with Guardians across all possible platforms went smoothly.
You hardly feel in-game whether a player is on your platform or coming from a completely different system. Those expecting stutters and constant disconnections will be pleasantly surprised.
In my case, crossplay reunited me with old Guardian buddies who had been away for a long time but were never forgotten. We lost touch because some took a break from Destiny, while others switched from console to PC – and you probably know that yourself.
Not just me, but many Guardians on reddit agree that crossplay has been implemented excellently. The post “Crossplay is one of the best things that has ever happened to Destiny” received 7,700 upvotes in less than a week, and in the over 600 comments, there is mostly praise (via reddit).
This little change surprised me: Bungie announced before Season 15 that crossplay would be gradually improved. Missing features such as cross-platform communication are supposed to be added later.
Because right at the start of crossplay, one had to awkwardly chat with his Guardian friends over Discord – at least you can’t invite Xbox players or PC users to native PlayStation parties. Just one week after the feature’s launch, Bungie added crossplay voice chat quietly. And the quality is even surprisingly good.
The almost hidden change really surprised me. Without any major announcement, the voices of 2 Steam friends came through my … PS5 controller. At first, I didn’t know whether a higher power was contacting me because I had only been using my headset to talk, not Sony’s Dual Sense.
I screamed: “Only damn cheaters are on PC in PvP!”
Like many other console players, I was very worried about the balance between Guardians using mouse and keyboard and my clumsy controller usage. Added to that was the worry that “only cheaters play on PC” and every match is decided not by skill but by nasty hacks.
This is how the Crucible went with crossplay – Day 1:
- What do you think? The match was stereotypically bad for me. I was the only controller player in the lobby, and my keyboard buddy and I faced a full 6-man team with 4 randoms. Saladin ended the match early as it stood clearly at 10 to 75.
- In round 2, the same story: Again against a large team that never missed, won every duel, and I felt like I had just become a Guardian today, not since 7 years – when I had earned “Not Forgotten,” damn it!
- My judgment was clear: “All cheaters on PC!” I shouted that loudly into the headset and dismissed PvP with crossplay. It is clear that everyone who is better than oneself must be a cheater – that is a first-rate shooter wisdom.
I, the fool, had obviously made 2 mistakes: I was much too hasty with my judgment and also forgot that we were playing Iron Banner in PvP. Since Destiny 1, Guardians know that Iron Banner is not a standard. Regularly, in the event mode, the connection is questionable, you dominate hard or get dominated hard, and things don’t always go fairly.
This is how the Crucible went with crossplay – Day 2:
- The next day, my PC fellow sufferer from the day before and another PC colleague from old days convinced me to take a crossplay detour into Iron Banner again. “Apparently, it’s never this bad” – well, the PvP against mouse players gets one more try.
- Again, I was the only controller user in otherwise pure M&K lobbies (Mouse and Keyboard).
- But lo and behold, in the very first round, I landed in 1st place on the leaderboard.
- The following rounds played out like normal PvP – sometimes you dominate, sometimes you get dominated.
What I really noticed, though, was the strafing. Even on PlayStation, I experience that opponents strafe – i.e., move back and forth while shooting. But on PC, that enemy movement was 2 levels faster, and the enemies were practically dancing.
But thanks to the aim assist, I was able to counter that quite well. While there is also aim assist on PC in Destiny 2, those using a controller have more aim assist than with a mouse and additionally a “stickiness” of the reticle. However, you have to deal with more recoil and counter much harder.
For a final conclusion, it is still too early, and the soon starting Trials will likely present the biggest challenge. But I encourage everyone to try out PC lobbies as well. Don’t scream “cheater” right away like I did.
Disable crossplay in Destiny 2 for the Crucible?
What you need to know about matchmaking: When playing PvE content like strikes or meeting Guardians in the vast patrol areas, you are encountering players from all possible platforms. You can see in the menu under fire team which platform other players are from by the symbol.
In PvP and Gambit, it looks different. Even if you have crossplay enabled, Destiny automatically splits the lobbies:
- PC players (Steam) will always remain in the Crucible and Gambit among themselves by default.
- Guardians on PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and Google Stadia, group together in one pool.
- If you turn off crossplay in the menu, you will only meet Guardians from your own platforms.
- As a console player, you can only face PC Guardians if you are in a pre-made team with a PC player. Even if you have 5 Guardians on consoles and 1 Guardian on PC in the team, you will always end up in PC lobbies, says Bungie.
- The Trials of Osiris take on an extra role: According to Bungie, crossplay must be enabled for participation in the trials (via Bungie.net).
So you don’t have to worry that you’ll end up in a lobby consisting of malicious PC players who will ruin your day with their aim God skills.
Crossplay has buffed the strongest weapon for solo Guardians
How great the Companion App is now: With the release of crossplay, Bungie also updated the official Companion App. For a long time, the most important LFG function was malfunctioning. While you could find players via the app, you couldn’t invite them directly into the fireteam.
Since Season 15, it works flawlessly again, even better than before. The player search is now crossplay-wide. I can create a fireteam in seconds, select from a large list exactly the desired activity (like dungeon, nightfall, or crucible matches). Just as quickly, players from various platforms join me – previously completely trouble-free.
Even if, like me, you mostly enter “No Mic Needed – KWTD” (you don’t need a headset, you just need to know what to do) and, for instance, venture into a dungeon with strangers while casually watching Netflix, it works great. I also like to use the tool to simply look for a missing teammate when there’s a void in my friends list, it works excellently even for raids.
Have you already tested crossplay in Destiny 2? Let us know if you have the same fear of PvP against other input devices as I do, or if you approached it much more openly. Also, tell us in the comments how Bungie could further improve this feature.
If you have an opinion on Destiny 2, are knowledgeable about the news situation, and want to be part of the team at MeinMMO, we have an offer for you: MeinMMO is looking for a writer (m/f/d) for Destiny 2 to work from home
