Since May 30, 2018, the Crucible Labs in Destiny 2 have been live. There, players can currently test the new Showdown mode. However, many Guardians are disappointed with the Labs. Many fans expected more.
The Crucible Labs invite players to test: Since the evening of May 30, the Crucible Labs have been available to fans. This is a limited-time PvP playlist where players can test experimental Crucible content in bursts. The feedback from participants is intended to help Bungie shape future game modes or improve existing ones.
Currently, the new Showdown mode can be tested in the Labs. However, the community is not excited about either the new game mode or the Labs themselves.
This is how Showdown works
What is Showdown? In Showdown, two teams of 4 face off in a quickplay match – the radar is activated accordingly. Showdown resembles the already known mode Doubles – only with eight instead of four players.
How is it played? The match is played in four rounds of three minutes each. Within the three minutes, the goal is to score more points than the opponents. Points are only awarded for kills. Assists do not count. The team with the most points at the end of the round time wins the round. The team with the most round wins wins the match.
A total of between three and five rounds are played – the match can last up to 15 minutes. If it is a tie after four rounds, a final fifth round will be played. The winner of the additional round also wins the match.
By the way: Progress in the PvP Labs games counts towards your weekly “Call to Arms” PvP milestone. Drops are also available in the experimental playlist. However, participating in test matches has no impact on the Valor rank. This cannot be increased in the Crucible Labs.
Community is disappointed
The Labs are not well received: According to initial reactions, the Guardian community is disappointed with the Crucible Labs. Most fans imagined something different. Many hoped for a kind of PTR-like testing environment where they could try out factors such as a changed time to kill, newly adjusted weapons, or tuned Guardian abilities.
These expectations were not met and will probably not be met in the future. Because as Bungie has already clarified, sandbox adjustments will not be tested in the Crucible Labs. Instead, the focus will be on testing new game modes and changes to existing formats.
This causes the Crucible Labs to lose all appeal, according to many Guardians.
The new game mode is not well received: Most players are not thrilled with the new Showdown mode that is currently active in the Labs. It is merely a slightly modified version of a known mode. At the very least, more creativity was hoped for. There is also no option to speed up the rounds.
Furthermore, the currently most successful strategy for securing victories leaves much to be desired in the eyes of many Guardians. Many teams simply camp as a group in a strategically advantageous spot once they are in the lead. By holding onto the point lead over time, they easily secure the round win.
Some take it with humor: Some testers can at least find something positive in it. Bungie deserves an award in their eyes for allowing this mode to be tested in the Labs at all. Because in this form, this format should urgently be avoided in the regular Crucible.
What do you think of the Crucible Labs? Did you expect more from this feature? And what do you think of the Showdown mode?
