In Destiny 2 players can try their hand at the new Strike “Test Grounds” as a trial. The mission was initially scoffed at. But it quickly turns out: The mission is really hard and ruins the planned farming week.
This epic mission is about: Destiny 2 has received the new Strike Test Grounds as part of Season 13. The goal there is to board a kind of mobile fortress, a massive tank, and eliminate the champion of an alien turtle army in a ritual duel.
Over the last two months, the mission has been hyped. Guardians have proven themselves on battlefields and have beaten their way through the ranks of the Cabal to finally face the Emperor’s champion in the “final trial”. Meanwhile, the mobile fortress was often seen in the background, and players wondered: “What lurks inside?”.
The Strike has now opened its gates. And of course, the fate of the Earth, the Light, and everything is at stake. But the Guardians are not entirely satisfied with the mission now. At first, the final showdown was too easy, now it is too hard and ruins the planned farming week.
Bungie has released a spectacular trailer for the Strike Test Grounds:
Here’s why the mission was initially too easy: Owners of the Season 13 Season Pass have been able to play the Strike since March 23 and prove themselves as champions of humanity. The keywords from the trailer promised an epic challenge with “Prove yourselves worthy” and “Fight for glory”.
But Test Grounds is a short Strike and was anything but hard in the first week. The finely tuned killing machine Guardians raced through the mission. The champion of the Cabal simply sizzled under super abilities and rocket launcher salvos.
This is partly due to the Strike itself. But even more to the playlist in which it was available. Season Pass owners faced the Strike without modifiers and completely over-leveled – thus, the mission was not a challenge.
Guardians wanted to farm hard but are now struggling
These are the changes:
- The weekly reset has now made the Strike available to all Guardians of Destiny 2.
- Test Grounds is also the hot mission of the Nightfall for a week: Trial by Fire.
- Additionally, the Trial by Fire will drop double loot until April 6.
- On top of that, the popular hand cannon Palindrome is this week’s reward.
It seemed like a proper Strike week for the Guardians. But as Bungie announced in the early hours of March 31, the Strike is only available to owners of the Beyond Light expansion and the Season Pass as Nightfall (via Twitter). Free-to-play Guardians are left out while farming.
The eligible farming Guardians have another problem: the once scoffed Strike is suddenly the hardest mission in the game.
Here’s why it’s now too hard: Again, it partly depends on the playlist: In the Trial by Fire, there are numerous negative modifiers that make the Guardian’s daily life more difficult. The higher the difficulty, the more disgusting it becomes. However, the loot chances also increase significantly and especially at the highest difficulty, players are showered with weapons and rare resources this week. Here are some things players have to deal with in the Trial by Fire:
- Loadouts cannot be switched
- Vicious champions stand in your way
- Shields can only be removed with suitable weapons
- On the highest difficulty, the level is 15 levels above what Guardians can achieve through gear
Alright, the Trial by Fire is always hard. But why are professionals now saying that Test Grounds plays in a difficulty league with missions like The Corrupted and even surpasses them? These encouraging statements:
It’s hell. There are moments when you just want to give up. And I want to warn you. I don’t know how strong your fireteam friendship is, but it will be tested in this Strike at Nightfall.
Aztecross via YouTube
Test Grounds is short, but forces you to be slow or die
Although the Strike is very compact, it throws many enemies in your way. What provided plenty of fun a week ago, as you raced through the Cabal by the dozen, does not work in the Trial by Fire and certainly not at Nightfall. Here, a few hits can take you out of the game – since there are many enemy runs, there are also many malicious bullets.
A big problem is also the boss. He puts up a shield in combat that can only be broken from the inside. But the Colossus guards the shield generator with a stomp. Such a stomper can be easily dealt with by Guardians – but not in the Trial by Fire, here that’s often a death sentence.
On top of that, the champion of the Cabal is accompanied by other champions and a retinue. Especially in boss fights, these enemies are not welcome with special tactics. Have we mentioned that the Cabal also throws meteors at you and the arena provides hardly any cover?
MyMMO gives you a hint that you can also break the annoying shield with the inconspicuous exotic scout Heaven’s Wrath from a distance and you can also stand on the pipes in the boss room if necessary.
There are also positive reactions: Some Guardians enjoy the new challenge. Our reader Cameltoetem writes: “So the Test Grounds is quite challenging at Nightfall. It’s fun when it’s so difficult. Good thing from Bungie.” (via MyMMO).
Would you have thought that the Strike, which was scoffed at for being too short and easy, is now so hard for many? Do you have tips for other Guardians to make the ordeal a little easier? Or are you unable to participate in the challenge this week because you can’t play Test Grounds in the Trial by Fire? Let us know in the comments.
