In Destiny 2, a new PvE mode called Reckoning has been launched, which positively surprised our author Tom in two ways.
That’s why I’m pleasantly surprised: In advance, Reckoning was announced as a new mode that was supposed to be some sort of extension of Gambit Prime – the big new Gambit mode of Season 6.
Many other guardians and I thought that you could only play Reckoning if you first won a Gambit Prime match, and that the mode would then be a sort of bonus. Bungie mentioned that winning in Gambit Prime was just the beginning – then Reckoning would come.
However, Reckoning stands on its own more clearly than expected – and even surprised me with two special features.
Surprise 1 – Seamless matchmaking
What is special about it? When I mastered my first games in Reckoning consecutively, I was impressed by surprisingly smooth matchmaking.
You play Reckoning with three other players. If you are not in a 4-guardian fire team, you will be paired with random players.
If a teammate leaves the mode, it doesn’t take long for you to get a new teammate.
After one round, the next round starts shortly after, with guardians continuously leaving the mode in between. But I was immediately assigned new comrades yesterday.
That’s why it’s special: This has already been discovered on reddit and received a lot of upvotes. Bungie has finally created a 4-player matchmaking activity that players can seamlessly join when others leave. This deserves praise.
Because matchmaking for PvE activities has been criticized repeatedly lately. For example, in The Blind Well, you often find yourself alone without the game searching for a teammate for you. However, this was supposed to be improved with the Update 2.2.0.
However, some players also report that matchmaking does not work smoothly for them. Especially when starting Reckoning for the first time, players are often missing. Additionally, users criticize that they are sent to matches where there is no hope of winning anymore. So, matchmaking doesn’t seem to be optimal yet.
Surprise 2 – Reckoning does not force you into Gambit Prime
What is special? As soon as you have the Weak Synthesizer, you no longer have to play Gambit Prime to participate in Reckoning. If you are not a fan of Gambit, you can now only play Reckoning and even earn powerful gear by successfully winning some matches.
Additionally, you can access the new luminous gear without having to play Gambit Prime.
This is how you get the armor and Synths: For the gear, you need Synths. You put these in a Synthesizer to create special particles. At the beginning of a Reckoning round, you deposit these particles into the bank in front of the pit. If you win the round, you receive a corresponding piece of gear.
This is special: You primarily obtain Synths through daily bounties for Gambit Prime. However, there are also “daily citizen duty Prime bounties” at the Drifter, which you can access for Synths outside of Gambit. For this, you must loot depots in Lost Sectors, for example.
Thus, it is not necessary to grind for the Synths and therefore the new gear in Gambit Prime. You can also get access with pure PvE content.
However, it must also be said at this point: The new gear is ultimately only worthwhile if you also want to play Gambit Prime. Because their special perks are specifically designed for this mode. You can find all the information about this here:
Reckoning as a fast-paced PvE mode
What is Reckoning anyway? Only annual pass holders can play Gambit Prime and Reckoning. In Reckoning, you travel through a portal into the big sphere that the Drifter pulls behind his ship.
Then you must quickly kill PvE enemies (the Taken) to master Reckoning. The Taken attack from all sides. Meanwhile, a timer is counting down. If you fail to push the kill counter to 100% within the time, the challenge is failed. Speed is of the essence because the kill counter falls as well.
You must move quickly, kill quickly, and preferably revive your teammates quickly to have enough firepower. At the end, there’s a boss that you must defeat within a short time. In this trailer, you can see the new mode:
How can you play Reckoning? You unlock Reckoning by following the new bounty from the Drifter. During the bounty, he provides you with a Weak Synthesizer. Only with this in your inventory can you play Reckoning.
Does Reckoning have more to offer? Reckoning will soon unlock further stages that will be more challenging and chaotic than the current “Stage 1”:
- Stage 2 will be unlocked on March 8
- Stage 3 will follow on March 15
By the way: According to reddit posts, you can use raid banners in Reckoning. There is a small crater on the right side where you can place the banner.
How do you like Reckoning so far?
