Published on: Dec 8, 2015 @ 18:11
Overview
With the launch of update 2.1.0, Guardians everywhere have been taking to Venus and Mars with flashy new Sparrows in search of new gear, reputation, and a boosting-good time. All who have purchased The Taken King are invited to join. Amanda Holiday has what you need to get started.
- Obtain your SRL Licence Quest and SRL Bounties via Amanda
- Earn a new Sparrow as part of the SRL Quest
- Upgrade your reputation by completing SRL Bounties
- Each Race can reward SRL gear and Shaders
- The higher your reputation, the better the post-game drops
- Helmets and Class Items can drop with up to 320 Light
- Helmets and Class Items with Light can be used for Infusion
Earn reputation to move up to S-Class where 320 Helms & Class Items will be made available. In addition to the Quest, Amanda Holiday offers a selection of Daily and Weekly bounties reward more reputation and rewards.
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Bounties
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Eververse
Tess Everis at the Eververse Trading Co. booth is not only selling new emotes, a victory wave specifically for SRL, but also the SRL Record Book, Vol. 1:
“Use the SRL Record Book to track up-to-date stats on this year’s SRL event! Save your best times and earn exclusive rewards. This item will only be available for purchase during the SRL event.”
The record book requires you to complete a series of challenges on both Venus and Mars. They reward the Momentum Shield, Defense, Gloves, & Boots, a cosmetically different take on what you can acquire for free, in addition to the Sign of Momentum emblem and Momentum’s Pride shader.
The SRL Record Book costs 1,000 Silver ($10) and is non-returnable.
If drops are unsatisfactory, Custom Horn Kits can be bought to obtain a random Legendary Horn from for 100 Silver, or for 500 Silver you can use the Sparrow Toolkit for a Legendary Sparrow.
The Custom Horn Kit – which can drop from the Nightfall – includes a chance at the EV-43 Lightrunner.
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Tips
Sparrow races are a 6 player free for all mode, feel free to cue up with friends, or go in alone! To win a race, you’ll have to finish three laps of the track in the shortest amount of time. Races generally last about 5 minutes.
Other guardians aren’t your only enemies. There will be a selection of obstacles (some of which are deadly) to avoid while racing to the finish line. As usual, falling off the map generally results in a fatal experience, and there are plenty of areas where this can happen. You might have seen gigantic fan blades obliterating guardians not aware of their surroundings. Pesky web mines can be found in several areas, which will reduce the speed of anyone unlucky enough to drive through them.
Additionally, enemies will be found at various sections of the track, requiring you to not only stay on pace, but also avoid incoming fire. Stand by for resurrection, ghost. Your only weapon to combat opponents will be your wit and of course the flying metal steed that you ride on. You can attempt to push/ram other racers into enemies, obstacles or unfavorable routes.
What happens if you do perish along the way? Well your Ghost will bring you back to life of course! You’ll simply be reset a bit behind where your misadventure took place. The same thing happens if you accidentally dismount as well.
There are numerous techniques to boost your way to victory. In addition to their new models, racing sparrows are equipped with the standard sparrow boost as well as the ability to perform tricks in order to regain some precious boosting power. Overdrive can also be used to get more instantaneous straight-line speed. There are also various boost-gates that can refill fuel. Be careful not to miss these gates, as your top speed will be significantly reduced for each gate missed, putting you at a disadvantage until you can recover at the next gate.
Learn which jumps are worth flaunting airborne tricks on, and just how much boost to conserve. Some areas will feature an option to perform a jump, or hug a corner tighter instead of passing through a gate. Evaluate your position and surroundings to determine which option will give you the best advantage over your opponents.
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Maps
Campus Martius on Mars, and Infinite Descent on Venus, both take advantage of enemies typically encountered on these planets, as well as both familiar interactive objects and obstacles.
Campus Martius features the familiar red and rocky terrain that we would expect. The course is solid and there aren’t many opportunities to fall off the map. There are areas featuring heavy enemy presence who you’ll have to actively avoid. Additionally, those giant fans we talked about are found along a large, straight section of this track, with boost-gates in between. It takes good situational awareness and timing to maneuver between fan blades, dodge enemies, avoid web mines, and pass through boost-gates. Rocky formations lead to tight corners, ramps with big jumps, and sturdy obstacles that have to be utilized properly to maintain top speed and increase your chances of winning.
Infinite Descent features dense organic, jungle contrasting the rigid, orthogonal vex architecture. The Fallen are also present here. Treacherous terrain and narrow cliffs make falling off the map a more serious hazard here. Navigating these tricky jumps which can be especially hazardous when racers are crowded together. The entire course follows and overall linear descent ended by a Vex warp gate that loops to the final stretch right before the finish line where the course repeats for the next lap. Watch out for waterfalls that obscure the path in front of you, and be wary of Vex Hydras and a Fallen Spider Tank.
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Rewards
If you weren’t hooked by the concept of sparrow racing alone, Bungie has added the always alluring motivation to play: Loot. In addition to SRL loot, you’ve got standard Crucible rewards, and you can now use 3oC to have a chance at Exotic Engrams!
Horns
- Sparrow Horns can be rewarded for completing Sparrow Racing activities, Quests, and Bounties, or from opening a Custom Horn Kit purchased from Eververse Trading Co.
- Activate by pressing the “Circle” button on PlayStation controllers or “B” button on Xbox controllers.
- Legendary quality Sparrow Horns will still be available to be purchased from Eververse Trading Co. after the Sparrow Racing League event ends.
Racing Gear
- Rewarded for completing Sparrow Racing activities, Quests, and Bounties, or from completing the SRL Record Book purchased from Eververse Trading Co.
- Both Rare and Legendary Sparrow Racing Gear pieces will still be usable once the Sparrow Racing League event has ended.
Emblems, Shaders, and Legendary Sparrows
- Rewarded for completing Sparrow Racing activities, Quests, and Bounties, or received from Eververse Trading Co.
Rewards are earned at the end of matches, ranking up with Amanda Holiday, and by completing the weekly bounty. The weekly bounty requires completing 10 daily bounties in a week and guarantees a legendary piece of SRL gear which is highly biased towards a piece that has not yet been acquired. Maximize weekly bounties for three guaranteed legendary gear drops throughout the SRL.
Increasing ranks in the SRL while progressing through the SRL questline yields better post-match rewards and opens up purchase options from Amanda Holiday, which very similar to Iron Banner in this respect. Legendary gear purchased from Amanda Holiday is initially low light-level and costs 75 Legendary Marks for the helmet, and 50 Marks for the other pieces.
SRL armor has perks that will benefit your stability and speed on the track:
- Helmets (one or the other):
- Increased control while airborne on a sparrow by giving them the option to pitch their sparrow forward or backwards for decreased or increased time in the air. Use this to optimize air time for tricks or to more easily position yourself during tricky jumps.
- Reduced Time needed spent holding the “summon” button to hop on to your sparrow. Useful if you’re constantly being blown up.
- Gauntlets reduce fuel consumption during side-boost maneuvers allowing players to strafe more before needing to regain fuel.
- Chest armor reduces the pesky summoning cooldown after a player’s sparrow is destroyed so that they can get back into the action quicker.
- Boots increase the amount of fuel players get from successfully performing tricks.
- Class items increase SRL reputation gains.
Then we’ve got Sparrow Horns, which are just an auditory upgrade. Horns will be obtainable throughout the event. An equipped horn can be used by pressing the crouch button.
Horns are generally obtained as rare items which will expire at the end of the SRL event unless upgraded with a Horn Relay, basically like Glue on Masks. Everyone gets a free legendary “Happy Horn” from Amanda and it can be acquired again from the Sparrow Kiosk.
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SRL, is it Fun?
We’ll be talking about our own experiences with SRL on the podcast, but for now, please be sure to share your thoughts about what you like and what you think has room for improvement.
Also, share any tips you’ve got for staying in the lead!