Destiny 2 will experience some changes to PvP with Shadowkeep. Franchise Director Luke Smith addressed changes in the Crucible in the third part of his blog series and also mentioned the Trials. PvP players have been waiting for this mode, the Trials, for a year already. And they will likely have to wait even longer.
What are the Trials? The Trials were a weekly PvP event in Destiny 1 and at the beginning of Destiny 2. With the arrival of Xur, the Trials opened on Friday evening and disappeared again with the Weekly Reset.
While the event was known as “Trials of Osiris” in Destiny 1, it was named “Trials of the Nine” in Destiny 2. Additionally, there were some changes compared to its predecessor that were less well-received by players:
- The last Trials weekend in Destiny 2 took place on August 24, 2018. Bungie sent the mode back to the drawing board.
- Most recently, Bungie commented in February 2019, stating that the return of the PvP mode would still take some time.
- Now there is new information from the chief, Luke Smith. He honestly admits to having made mistakes.
Destiny 2 broke what wasn’t broken
What does Smith say about the Trials? In his blog series, Luke Smith now addressed the PvP and the Trials in general. The Trials of the Nine were not the hero the developers hoped for. They made too many changes to a formula that wasn’t as broken as they assumed, even if the player count for the mode had already declined in Destiny 1.
Smith takes responsibility for this himself and writes, if he could turn back time, he would challenge the team to do many things differently. Bungie is determined to learn from the mistakes they make and to make things right.
The Trials of the Nine are still indefinitely on hold. In the blog, the “Nine” from the Trials of the Nine is particularly highlighted. Some players see this as a sign that the mode could return in some form.
Changes in PvP in Destiny 2
What other PvP changes are coming? With Shadowkeep, the existing PvP playlists are being overhauled:
- The previous Quickplay will be removed and replaced by Classic Mix. The playlist includes the modes Control, Supremacy, and Clash, and has matchmaking based on connection.
- Competitive will be replaced with a 3v3 Survival mode that rewards you with Glory points. There will also be a Solo Survival that also awards Glory.
- 6v6 Control will become a standalone playlist. Bungie believes this mode is the perfect entry point for new players coming to Destiny 2 with New Light.
- There will be weekly 6v6 and 4v4 rotation playlists. These include the modes Clash, Supremacy, Showdown, Lockdown, and Countdown.
- Some maps that didn’t perform well in PvP will be removed from matchmaking. Which ones they are has not yet been disclosed.
Additionally, Bungie is currently working on four variants of 3v3 Elimination with different approaches to revives and Heavy ammo. The mode is still being developed, but the developers want feedback from the players, which is why Elimination returns to the Crucible Labs. This is the test playlist for PvP modes.
To test Elimination on familiar terrain, the popular PvP maps Widow’s Court and Midnight from Destiny 1 are returning. So far, the two maps have been mentioned in connection with Crucible Labs. Whether they will also be available for other modes is still unknown.
In the fall, there are also plans for changes to skill-based matchmaking. This is primarily intended to help new players who are expected with the free-to-play transition.
