Published on: Aug 17, 2015 @ 14:33
In Game Informer’s latest Taken King video, they show off much more Crucible gameplay, and Lars Bakken shares a few nuggets of new information:
- “Blink is not going to be quite as good as it was before.”
- When Trials isn’t active, Elimination will be.
- Combined Arms isn’t getting an update (at least not immediately).
- Mayhem will be a rotating playlist.
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Rift
Similar to a “Neutral Bomb Assault” as we’ve come to understand. You’re on the clock once you grab the spark. You can’t go defensive and just camp. You’ll have maybe a little over a minute before it becomes unstable and kills you.
The “shot clock” is a great idea. There will undoubtedly be unbalanced matches, and this prevents teams from aggressively grabbing the spark only to simply camp in a Defender bubble or some such nonsense.
Mayhem
Video showed just how quickly Super and Grenade recharges. Super looks like it will be fully charged in around 45 seconds, even without kills. Grenade recharges (at an unknown level of discipline) in about 5 seconds. Curiously, second grenade seems to recharge as fast as the first! This may be Mayhem-specific.
I have honestly no idea what to think of this game mode. It could be perilously unbalanced, especially with the relative efficacy of certain offensive Supers compared to others. Honestly, I doubt we’ll see many Sunsingers/Defenders in Mayhem. And the Grenade recharge is a little out of control; you won’t be able to take two steps without running into a grenade. But hey, maybe that’s how it should be! Mayhem will be a riot, regardless.
“Rotating Playlists”
The days of waiting for your favorite Crucible game mode may be over! At the very least, Elimination will be available during the time in which Trials isn’t, and we fully expect to see other game modes like Salvage become a much more permanent part of the rotation.
I honestly see what Bungie was going for with titrating their game modes initially. The problem was, frankly, that there wasn’t enough variety to afford to do this. Once Rift, Mayhem, and Zone Control are added, we’re starting to get to the point where their initial plan to get you hyped for a timeframe in which your favorite playlist is available would have been great. Unfortunately, it’s a little too late for that, and I think most players would prefer if they scrapped the miserly attitude and just made everything available all the time.
Getting Vehicular
No plans for Combined Arms to make a return, or any announcements of new vehicles or vehicle-focused game modes.
Disappointing? Maybe – but I’d say most people don’t play Destiny for the fantastic vehicle play. If this gets introduced down the line at no extra cost (crosses fingers) then it’d be a wonderful surprise. As it stands, I’m glad they dedicated their resources to the more essential stuff.
New Planets?
“Who knows if we’ll ever go to Mercury. We may never go there as a destination – as a PvE activity.” But Lars doesn’t rule anything out! He notes that Bungie sometimes likes to foreshadow future plans with teases.
Well, they’re betting heavily on the Dreadnaught to be enough for The Taken King. It really seems antithetical to the Guardian spirit to lock us into the only the planets immediately surrounding Earth, so I hope exploration is something that Bungie looks into for future installments. Not that Mars isn’t a beautiful dusty locale but…
Bounties
Shaxx will be introducing us to the Crucible, as previously stated. He’ll have a line of quests to get new players acclimated, but with rewards that are substantial – that truly “pay out”.
One of my favorite announcements. The Crucible has always had a peculiar, disinterested entrance barrier. Bungie is currently saying, with their lack of incentive or explanation: “Sure, you can play Crucible I guess.” Having a strong figure like Shaxx to take newbies by the hand and integrate them into the PvP experience is a great idea. What would top it off? If they got their very own matchmaking until they were ready for the big-time. Other 1st person shooters have done stuff similar to this and it’s been almost universally well-received. It’s a small gesture but would show they truly want to make PvP appealing for all.
Re-Balancing
The days of Thorn dominating are nearly over! What’s more, Blink will be receiving an unspecified nerf at some point too. Whether this will change the frequency at which you can use it, the distance or speed of the teleport, or some combination of factors, is unknown.
Thank God. 2.0 can’t come soon enough. The little play I saw of Shotguns in the PvP footage gives me a lot of encouragement. Their OHK range looks greatly diminished, and even the slug-firing Tex Mechanica looks like it requires a headshot to be lethal at range – an excellent skill check against Shot Package junkies looking for a quick fix.
Chill Out
“If you take it too seriously, you’re gonna be frustrated…sometimes it’s the baggage you bring in from other games. If you sorta play it to relax and have fun it’s an amazing experience.”
Kinda a weird note to end on, if you ask me. The music swells, and Lars hedges about competitive players taking things “too seriously”. This is coming from Bungie, the guys who made Halo — one of the most competitive PvP shooters of all time. I get that they want to make Crucible accessible, but no one likes to be told how “seriously” to take something. I play Crucible to relax sometimes, and I play Crucible to win others. Both are viable ways to play.
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Conclusion
Well, 5 minutes went by fast! Some more conclusive footage and a stronger interview make this week a little more substantial, even if it was short. Lars seems to understand what the Crucible needs, and I have high hopes for the first iteration of Destiny’s PvP experience when TTK drops.
Finally, check out this cool new gear:
New Exotics
King’s Fall (raid) shotgun?
