The wait is over. In Destiny 2, the weekly reset on February 13th kicked off the Crimson Week. The Valentine’s Day event draws Guardians to their screens with fresh rewards and a new game mode. What has specifically changed? How does this event play? Is it worth starting Destiny 2 for the Crimson Week?
With a slight maintenance delay, the week-long festivities honoring Valentine’s Day in Destiny 2 began yesterday – on Tuesday, February 13th: The Crimson Week is on.
The highlight of the Crimson Week is a 2vs2 Crucible playlist. Through this playlist, you earn Crimson Engrams, which contain all sorts of cosmetic event items. However, the Valentine’s Day event doesn’t offer much more. Is it worth checking back into Destiny 2 for the 2vs2?
2vs2 PvP Mode – the Heart of the Event
The “Crimson Week” playlist in the Crucible is the first PvP mode in Destiny 2 that deviates from the standard 4vs4 format.
The game mode is 2vs2 Conflict, and it is round-based.
How does the round system work? Each round lasts 2 minutes, within which a winning duo should be found after 4 rounds. In other words, the team that wins 3 rounds first wins the entire match. For a round win, you need to score more points with your partner than the opposing team after the regular 2 minutes have elapsed. You earn points by defeating opponents. One point per kill.
What happens in case of a tie? If you end a round tied with your opponents, there will be an extension where you need to capture a control point or eliminate the opponents to win. Respawns are disabled during the extension.
Should it happen that the rounds also end in a tie – meaning 2 to 2 – there will be an extension round. Again, a control point must be captured or opponents eliminated to emerge as the match winner. Respawns are not possible during this extension either.
The new PvP mode has the following features:
- If you are close to your ally, your abilities recharge faster.
- If you are too far away from your ally, a waypoint becomes visible to opponents, revealing your position.
- Revives are not possible. After a kill, you automatically respawn after a few seconds.
If you don’t have a partner for the PvP matches, you will be matched up with someone by Bungie, fitting for Valentine’s Day. There is normal matchmaking. Level advantages are disabled in the Crimson playlist.
Does the Valentine’s Day Event Convince?
Sven thinks:
I must admit, the Crimson Week didn’t really touch me upon its announcement. While it marks a further small step in the right direction, in my opinion, there are other factors that are responsible for Bungie driving players away in droves, rather than a lack of events and cosmetic rewards.
The game suffers most from fundamental issues such as the lack of end-game content, the current weapon system, trivial loot, or the generally casual-friendly orientation of the game These grievances remain almost entirely untouched by the innovations and improvements that this event brings. Therefore, I started the Crimson Week with a large dose of skepticism.
But after an intense evening in the Crucible, I was surprised to find – the event is a lot of fun contrary to all my expectations!
I find the new 2vs2 mode refreshing, it definitely does the game good. Rarely have I had so much fun in Destiny 2 in the Crucible as I did last night.
Why does the 2vs2 mode convince?
The new mode feels faster than the matches in the previous playlists. The recharge time of the abilities is just right compared to the Mayhem mode for my taste. Sure, I am now often hit by grenades, but I can also use them more frequently myself.
Weird as it may sound, there are many more tactical possibilities than in the regular 4vs4. You can now confidently separate from your teammate and effectively flank an opponent without running headlong into certain death. This way, I could often hold my own last night against two opponents at once – even if they were acting close together. Almost all matches were exciting.
This brings back the desperately missed Destiny moments from the predecessor, I felt – also due to the new old map – at times thrown back to the good old days that so many of us wish to return. I was also happy about some of the rewards, such as the exotic Crimson Sparrow, which I finally got to call my own after about 10 matches.
In short – I had a lot of fun with Destiny 2 again after a long time. So much that this fun made me forget for a brief moment all the real problems the game is facing.
2vs2 Won’t Keep Problems Forgotten Forever
The most important question here is, for how long? Because the mentioned problems are not gone – they are only masked by the fleeting fun of the current event, and I fear that this fun will end quickly with the conclusion of the Crimson Week.
Of course, I would now prefer to chase armor and weapons with random rolls and gameplay-relevant stats instead of just purely cosmetic stuff. Of course, I want Bungie to finally deliver bigger improvements and more substance than just weakening the in-game shop and a new PvP mode.
But one thing I clearly felt last night: For a brief moment – but Destiny 2 still manages to let the brilliance of its predecessor shine through from time to time. This shows me that Destiny 2 is not dead yet. Not for me.
I keep my fingers crossed, toes, and whatever else can be crossed, that Bungie will ultimately manage to finally deliver the gaming experience we all so desperately long for and that the franchise also deserves.
So is it worth starting Destiny 2 again for the Crimson Week? Yes, definitely for a while. Grab your buddy, play a few matches in 2vs2, and have a few hours of fun together. But the fundamental problems of Destiny 2 are still not resolved.
Have you played the 2vs2 yet? What is your opinion on it?
