Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Will Bring Huge Changes To PvP

When Destiny 2: Shadowkeep arrives at the start of October, many aspects of the game will transform. That includes Destiny 2's Crucible PvP modes, which have remained stagnant for almost two years, but are about to receive their biggest update yet.

Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith published his final "Director's Cut" today, a massive wall of text explaining how combat in Destiny 2 will change once Shadowkeep launches. And he devoted a significant portion of it to player-versus-player activities inside the world of Destiny 2, and how PvP in the sequel didn't quite capture the magic found in the first game.

He even included a brief mention of the much-beloved Trials of Osiris.

"When we were making Destiny 2, we talked a lot about making sure it felt like a sequel, bringing in new players, and simplifying the game—and Trials of the Nine created another casualty there," Smith said, referring to the way that activity supplanted the first Destiny's Trials of Osiris, an extremely popular competitive mode. "It happened on my watch, and if I could turn back time, I'd challenge us to do many things differently. If nothing else, I hope it's clear we are committed to learning from the mistakes we make and making it right."

One mistake, it seems, was ignoring how good 3v3 modes felt in the Crucible. So those are coming back in a big way when Shadowkeep drops.

To start, the Quickplay and Competitive areas found in the Director are going away entirely. A new playlist called Classic Mix will be added that includes Control, Clash, and Supremacy. Control will get its own 6v6 playlist, and there will be a weekly rotating 6v6 playlist as well as a similar playlist for 4v4 (for modes like Mayhem, Countdown, etc.). All of those are the fun, Quickplay-style modes.

On the competitive side, a 3v3 Survival mode playlist is coming to Shadowkeep, and yes, it will award Glory. Also showing up in the competitive column (and awarding Glory) will be a Survival Solo playlist. Interesting.

And finally, Bungie appears to be paving the way for Trials of Osiris to make its triumphant return. The studio is currently "working on four variants of 3v3 Elimination," which will be tested in Crucible Labs. And the studio expects one of them to eventually "find a warmer home." Like Mercury? Hmm.

Add some other changes coming to Shadowkeep's PvP modes – such as the way players are matchmade into Crucible activities, and some favorite maps (Widow's Court, Twilight Gap) being brought forward — and it sounds like a lot of the best parts of Destiny PvP are being resurrected inside Destiny 2. That's something a lot of players have wanted; we'll have to see if they still feel that way when they get their hands on it.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep comes to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on Oct. 1.