Destiny 2's Assistant Game Director Teases Major New PvP and Gambit Changes Coming Soon

Destiny 2's Assistant Game Director, Joe Blackburn, went to Twitter this morning to share some of the major changes coming to Destiny 2's PvP within the next year. It was quite surprising to see a Twitter thread like this with only 20 days away from the big Destiny 2 Showcase Bungie teased last month. If these changes are a sign of Destiny'2 future, then I am more than excited. Here is a quick overview of all the PvP (and Gambit!) changes we can expect in the next year!

The first major change is actually arriving on August 24th when Season 15 begins. Trials of Osiris will be receiving an entire revamp. While Blackburn does not go into specifics, he does mention that they will share more information about it on August 24th. One thing he does confirm however is that "three-peaking" will be a thing of the past next season. This has been a long requested change in the Destiny community for years, so seeing it finally get changed is a relieving to many fans. Back in February, Bungie teased they were working on ways to adjust the reward structure for Trials, as well as investigate ways for solo players to participate in Trials. It seems we will have to wait for August 24th for more info.

Blackburn went on to announce that the PvP team over at Bungie is beginning to work on new maps and modes! Destiny fans have gone almost two years without a single new Crucible map. While a new map will be arriving next year, players can first expect two vaulted Destiny 2 crucible maps to return in Season 16 with the launch of Witch Queen, with an entirely new map in a new environment to arrive in Season 17. (Which could be anywhere between March and June of 2022.)  In addition to that, Blackburn announced that a Destiny 1 Crucible map will be remastered for Destiny 2 in Season 18. (Similar to the return of Rusted Lands and Exodus Blue.)

Blackburn also made the announcement that players can expect new maps and modes to be released every year. One of these game modes is a returning fan favorite game mode from Destiny 1, Rift. If you are unfamiliar with Rift, it is similar to Halo's "Assault" game mode. There is a spark in the center of the map. Players need to pick up the spark and plant it at the enemy team's rift for points. Destiny 2 does not have many objective based game modes, so it will be nice to have Rift back in 2022.  Players can expect more than Rift coming in 2022, as Blackburn mentioned that the team is working on multiple brand-new game modes for next year.

The last thing Blackburn mentioned about PvP was that after the Trials update next season, Bungie wants to look at other "broad systematic improvements the PvP ecosystem needs." and they want to aim for changes like this year every year. Hopefully, this means Iron Banner will get a little love, considering Lord Saladin's monthly Destiny event is incredibly lackluster with an outdated reward structure.

Surprisingly, Blackburn even mentioned the "never talked about" game mode, Gambit. In the long term, Bungie will want to start working on new Gambit maps, but those maps should not be expected in the near future. As of now, Bungie is currently working on changes for Season 16, specifically changes to Heavy Ammo, the Primeval Phase, Invasions, and more.

This was an excellent tease ahead of the Destiny 2 Showcase on August 24th, and the reactions from the Destiny 2 PvP community seem to be overall positive. While many players still find it frustrating that there will not be a new Destiny 2 map in two and a half years, players are still happy with the transparency given by Blackburn. We can expect more announcements on August 24th!

~Protheon

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