Big changes are coming to the Crucible when Destiny 2 hits PC and consoles this fall. But not everyone is sold on the PvP changes we’ll see in the sequel to Bungie’s massively successful shooter. And a new interview with the head of the Destiny 2 Crucible team confirms fans weren’t the only ones with concerns about the game’s foundational changes.
The Crucible has played an outsized role in Destiny’s popularity over the last three years. Raids are frequently praised for their bold design choices and narrative elements, but the Crucible is what kept millions of players returning to Bungie’s shared-world shooter day in and day out during the months of downtime between each new expansion. So it's not necessarily shocking to learn that some would be concerned about structural changes to that half of the game. But a new Daily Star interview with Crucible design lead Lars Bakken offers an inside look at the pushback the Crucible team experienced when they decided to switch to a 4v4 format.
“I mean there’s a lot of people that internally were like 'why would you change this thing that people obviously enjoy' and the answer is it’s not as good as it could have been,” Bakken told the Daily Star. “The answer is even though we created something that you know millions of people loved, I was never happy with what we created and I always wanted to make something better and so it was easy for us to talk about how can we make this better.”
Crucible changes have been a major focus of pre-launch Destiny 2 coverage. IGN published several gameplay videos in recent weeks, as part of its month-long focus on the game, including tours of new Crucible maps and modes. Bakken’s interview with the Daily Star also addresses other concerns, like being forced to drop players if/when a raid group decides to squeeze in a few rounds of PvP and Destiny players who still aren’t sold on the Crucible changes.
For an early look at the Crucible changes we’ll see in September, we’d recommend spending some time with the Destiny 2 beta when it begins later this week. And for more on the upcoming testing period, take a few minutes to review the Destiny 2 open beta trailer released last week.
Destiny 2 is in development for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The upcoming Destiny sequel heads to consoles on Sept. 6 and the PC port debuts Oct. 24.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Destiny 2 news in 2017 and however long Bungie supports Destiny 2 in the years following launch.
