This Week at Bungie - 8/16/18

The latest TWAB has a LOT of details inside, touching on topics such as Gambit and its reward system, Crucible and its ranking system, social aspects of Destiny 2, and some info on Forsaken preparations. Take off the floaties, and let's dive in to the deep end of TWAB:

Gambit

Gambit will introduce a new rank system called "Infamy". This will work much like the Valor system currently seen in Destiny 2 - winning earns you points, losing earns you less points. The rewards will offer unique Gambit weapons and armor. Ranks require more Infamy points than the last, there are still win streaks which cap out at 5, and joining a match in progress will not reset your win streak.

Destiny 2: Forsaken PvE/PvP mode - Gambit

There will be Gambit bounties which offer Infamy, and a nice weekly Bounty, once you reach rank 50, that offers a ton of Infamy points and a piece of powerful gear.

Bungie wants this new mode to offer replayability and a competitive yet casual environment. The focus of Gambit is not so much on communication as it is in other modes, but has a heavy emphasis on strategy and tactics. No matter your play style, Gambit has been designed so that most people will have a role to play. Skill is still important enough to have hardcore players return, but also allow players with not-so-much skill an accessible game mode they will want to play. The design is said to also make it possible for teams that have fallen behind a way to get back into the game. Less salt, more gaming...

Crucible

Glory will see some revisions made as we venture into Season 4. Higher ranks might be more easy to achieve and the weekly award had its gains doubled.

Radar is returning in the Competitive playlist, and Control and Clash will be added to the mix.

No more loss streaks, and losing in the Competitive playlist won't reset your Valor win streak.

The top rewards will be awarded through quests, and the quests will be tuned towards Valor and Glory engagement. These quests will not reset at the end of the season.

Crucible ranks and rewards

Redrix's Claymore will no longer be obtainable in Season 4, but fret not if you've already earned it, as you will still be able to equip and use the weapon. They will also introduce Redrix's Broadsword which features a similar talent arrangement, but different lore than the claymore. Each drop of the broadsword will have fixed Outlaw and Desperado rolls, but barrels, magazines, and Masterworks perks will be random. Once the weapon is earned, random versions will drop from Crucible engrams. Additional bonuses will be given to those who earned the Claymore in Season 3, and those guardians who earned the claymore will see Crucible engram drops of the broadsword without the need to complete the new quest.

A top 3 finish in Rumble will be counted as a win with the associate Valor rank points attached.

Social Changes

Beginning in Forsaken, fireteams that formed through matchmaking in Strikes, Gambit, and the Crucible will stay together once that particular activity is complete. The exception to this is if the mercy rule is applied, or the score is WAY out of proportion, then players will be returned to matchmaking to find a better fit.

In Forsaken, if you disconnect from a Guided Game, your spot will be saved for up to 3 minutes, allowing you to return to the activity. Afterwards, the Seeker slots will be filled with others that are currently in queue.

For Guided Raids, your checkpoints will carry over into the normal versions of the raid, allowing teams who have the unfortunate situation of a disconnect the ability to continue the raid in normal mode.

Clans

Forsaken will provide clans more reasons to play within their ranks and make the perks more interesting.

Clan XP will be rewarded differently. Hawthorne will provide three daily bounties that can be completed with or without a clanmate for a small amount of Clan XP. Once your character reaches level 50, there will be three weekly bounties that offer larger amounts of Clan XP, but these must be completed with your clanmates.

Clans and Social interactions

New rank rewards will be introduced in Forsaken:

  • Rank 3 offers increased resilience when at least one clanmate is in your fireteam
  • Rank 5 grants a chance to receive more Etheric and Baryon resources when collected in the Reef
  • Rank 6 provides a Masterwork Core when the weekly clan milestone is completed

Crucible Labs

Details of the next Crucible Labs mode, Scorched, are provided. This is a mode with complex systems and rulesets:

  • You get a Scorch Cannon
  • Everyone else gets a Scorch Cannon
  • Everyone shoots everyone with Scorch Cannons

Maybe sarcasm doesn't translate well in text?

This mode begins Tuesday, 8/21 at 10am Pacific with Free-for-all. Friday, 8/24 at 10am Pacific will offer a 6v6 mode.

The Space Between

It was confirmed last week that Solstice Armor can no longer be upgraded at the conclusion of the Solstice of Heroes event. However; if you have earned the Resplendent (Legendary/purple) armor set in the event, you can still complete masterwork objectives post-August 28.

If you have not completed the green and blue sets of armor, get on that! Like, immediately, as the 28th is only 11 days away. Elemental orbs will only be generated during the event.

Valor ranks will still reset at the conclusion of Season 3. Don't worry, though, as you will still be able to get the Masterwork completed, you'll just have to start over.

Beginning on August 28th, all players will need to accept Update 2.0.0. The time between the 28th and September 4th will have some known issues:

  • Exotic weapons lose their +5 power mod, Legendary retains the +5 mod until the 4th
  • Nightfall strike scoring unavailable until Sep 4th
  • New weapon slots/classifications will be live for all players. Keep an eye on your Postmaster as some weapons may disappear from inventories
  • Make sure your Postmaster is clear by the 28th to prevent loss of items
  • Some power weapons will become Kinetic, losing their elemental damage
  • A few weapons will have their elemental attributes changed and locked to a specific type for Year 2
  • All other Energy and Power weapons will have their elemental attributes locked for Year 2

A very informative TWAB this week as we inch closer to Forsaken. As we arrive on the precipice of Year 2, expect to see much more detailed changes. So far, Bungie looks to be making all the right moves, learning from past experience and notifying the player-base of what to expect. I, for one, am all for restricting the grey area. Makes it SOOO much easier...