A wish has been present throughout the development history of Destiny 1 and Destiny 2, our author Schuhmann believes. PvE players should finally venture into PvP. With the new mode “Gambit”, this is supposed to succeed. Because “PvP makes you happy.”
Finally play PvP: Bungie promised players before the release of Destiny 1 grand worlds, great adventures, and a “space opera”, but it seems they themselves did not fully believe it. The raid was developed in secret and they had no idea whether it would work. Bungie was probably skeptical about many progress mechanics themselves.
I suspect that Bungie thought from the very beginning: “Well, people will play a bit of PvE and then spend their time on PvP.” But they never did.
Destiny 1 2015: 7/8 of the time in PvE, 1/8 in PvP
Destiny – not a full provider: Already in 2015 Bungie showed a pie chart illustrating how players spend their time in Destiny. Bungie wanted to sell this as: “Look how evenly people play everything we offer them.” But in reality, the chart said that only a fraction of the time are people actually in PvP; the majority of the time, about 7/8, they spend their time on PvE activities.
PvP skeptics: There may be various reasons why people reject PvP. Perhaps it is too stressful for them, or they prefer the PvP from other games, or some other specific reason prevents them from entering PvP. They may simply have no desire. In any case, Destiny 1 had its PvP skeptics, and Destiny 2 has them too. This bothers Bungie and is also understandable.
The PvE problem: Because from the reluctance towards PvP, a significant problem arises for Bungie that has persisted over the last four years:
- PvE content is relatively quickly exhausted – every strike, every raid, every story does not change but always remains the same and becomes boring
- The PvP content needs to keep players engaged during the drought of PvE: Because the Crucible stays fresh longer as each match is a bit different
And that’s how it was: And that’s exactly how it went in Destiny 1. During the long content droughts, PvP became more dominant each time. Since there was nothing left to do in strikes and raids,
- a portion of the PvE players turned to PvP
- while a large part simply stopped playing
Lag, sweating, and balance
The PvP problem: PvP in Destiny 1 struggled with three major issues:
- There were issues with lag and bugs from the start – the game was perceived as unfair
- Balance was always a topic for years – something was always too strong. Some play styles were always frowned upon: Whether it was grenades, shotguns, or certain skills
- And the elite PvP, the “Trials of Osiris”, became increasingly difficult the longer no new PvE content was released, as only PvP professionals remained.
Get off the PvE couch, come to PvE – we have cookies and Egyptian armor!
Bungie wants to convert PvE players: For Bungie, it has been a major goal for years to get players into PvP as much as possible. Because this way they also remain loyal to Destiny when there’s another drought in PvE. The attempt is somewhat like trying to turn cozy couch potatoes into joggers.
Previously, they tried to get players off the PvE couch. They wanted to lure them into PvP with attractive armor sets and good weapons. However, that only worked moderately well.
Destiny 2: Our PvP should be fairer – but became more boring
Destiny 2 and the PvP: This desire to emphasize PvP more also explains many of the changes to PvP in Destiny 2. They wanted to become more like a “classic shooter” and less like the arcade spectacle from Destiny 1. With the new PvP concept, they aimed for “eSport” and “fairness.” But this has led to exactly the opposite: PvP seems to be even less frequented in Destiny 2.
The Gambit mode is now the new idea: At the reveal of the new “PvE/PvP” mode “Gambit”, it became clear that Bungie has not given up on its grand goal. The mode is clearly designed to confront PvE players with PvP, to make it appealing to them and to “convert” them.
Bungie makes a commercial for “Gambit”: PvP makes you happy!
“Oh, this is so much fun for PvE players”: In the presentation, Bungie’s intent was apparent multiple times. The developers described, like in a commercial, the transformation of a hesitant PvE player who has nothing to do with PvP but then pays the opposing team a visit for an invasion and is then thrilled about it: The above video has been fast-forwarded to the relevant point.
There are statements like:
“I know people who just hate PvP. Then they attack and score multiple kills. They think it’s amazing. It’s fantastic.”
Along with images of happy women and men (featured image) are shown.
Do PvE skeptics really care? The question is whether this new mode can achieve that. When you ask PvP players what they wish for Destiny, very different wishes come up:
- Dedicated servers to reduce lag
- A separation of PvP and PvE equipment to resolve balance issues
- And a return to the faster gameplay from Destiny 1 – even “Go Fast” is still too slow for them
Get off the couch – play PvP and be happy!
PvP makes you happy: But … the Bungie employees who have just been converted to PvP look so incredibly happy! Perhaps the new mode “Gambit” deserves a chance. Players should be able to test the new mode at the upcoming events.
