Ok, so I loved Destiny PvP. I am a long time Halo player and was middle of the road when it comes to Halo (K/D around 1.3-1.5 depending on the Halo version). I feel like a lot of the people who did not enjoy Destiny’s PvP were people who were primarily comparing it to Halo, and felt like the kill times were far too high killing the joy of engagements. This post contains my observations from my 60ish Crucible matches from the Beta. I think the Crucible was a lot of fun, and I am very excited to see how it plays through the level progression.

In Destiny, kill times are somewhere between Halo (long) and COD (short). I heard a lot of people complain that “luck” was the problem, or first seen first dead was the issue. To be honest, those claims blow me away. When I first stepped into the Crucible, I was amazed at how they blended together the features to create an incredibly fun, balanced and unique kind of FPS competitive multiplayer. Why was I shocked by claims that PvP was about luck? Primarily because of the design of the radar and the strategic options we are given through our Guardian’s abilities.

The Radar: I freaking LOVE Destiny’s Radar. It requires thought, map knowledge and discourages camping. Whoever was on that brainstorm team at Bungie - you deserve a raise. I heard people actually say that the radar promotes camping?! WHAT?!? (Sorry, I love the radar so much, I get kind of passionate). The design of the radar is a perfect balance between ease of use and learning curve. For example - In Halo, everyone is on the radar as a bright red individual blip. Unless you crouch (which encourages and benefits crouch camping like crazy). The radar is super easy to learn and use, but it is maybe too useful (gives too much info, while even benefiting crouch campers). In Destiny however, the radar does not tell you exactly where someone is, OR how many people are there! It means you have to use map knowledge, teamwork, or take a risk before engagements. I used the radar to position myself, because I knew the map and the hallway layout, I generally knew exactly where someone was, and I could choose to engage offensively or defensively based off of my current situation (Do I have a super? Heavy ammo? Grenade ready? Is there a spot I can jump to?) Before the engagement even begins, I am fighting the fight strategically. You do this some in Halo, but it is a big part of Destiny. I was always thinking, and I was always thoughtful. Yet, even when I lost an engagement, it rarely felt cheap, unlucky or frustrating, even though I was investing so much thought into my approach. I did get Fist of Havoked by the worst player on the other team sometimes, BUT I let the guy run up on me (in Destiny, you have plenty of time to kill someone before they run up on you. I heard waaaaay to many people say “You die too fast!” and “Some guy ran up on me and Fist of Havok’d me! So cheap and lucky.” Why not just kill them before they kill you because we die so fast in Destiny? Sounds to me like what you are describing is balance.) Destiny is about choosing YOUR approach, weapons, and position and beating other people who are doing the same thing. If you just run in without thinking, you will lose. The Radar is brilliant IMO.

The Strategic Options: I heard countless times how Bungie described approaching PvP with strategy. I remember Lars and Urk talking about the movement modes and map positions in the Jan or Dec Podcast and I thought… I have no idea what they mean. But the moment I started my own Guardian and he started to gain abilities and I started to learn the maps and flow. Destiny’s engagements are complex. Yes, if you both just stand there shooting at each others heads, the engagement is over quickly. But, say someone gets the jump on you. You do realize you have options, right? First, if you use your radar you should have a general if not very specific idea of where the enemy is. In this case, let’s say you don’t know where they are. You still have options. Run, slide, jump, glide, double jump, whip out a shotty and slide in close, duck around the corner whip out your fusion rifle and kill them in one charge, drop your grenade as you duck out, pull out your super and make them regret attacking you… These are just a tiny handful of your options, at LEVEL 8. I’m getting pumped for the game just thinking about it. The whole idea here is this: You pick what you do. You pick how you play. You change and think dependent on how other people are playing. I don’t know of any game that allows this and does it so damn well. COD? Talk about a game where you die quickly, unknowingly and have no idea from where… That game is all about twitch. How about Halo’s Swat? Wasn’t that really popular? And isn’t that definitely, “First Seen, First Dead” I have play a bit of COD, but a TON of Swat through the various Halo’s. Destiny is 1000x more deep than Swat, which is the definitive, first seen, first dead.

A Halo 4 Comparison: I played all of the Halo’s. I am most fond of 2 and 3, but I enjoy Halo Reach a lot. Halo 4, not so much. They got it wrong IMO. The biggest (and most relevant to this discussion) thing is that power weapons are every -freaking- where. Why is this a problem? Because the time to kill is so long with normal weapons, but it is so fast with power weapons. This model works when there are only a few power weapons (Halo 2, 3 and Reach), but it does not work when the regular weapons take so long to kill. Halo 4 is the epitome of frustrating to me. I die in an engagement, respawn with a “normal” weapon of my choice and H4 grenades (read: a joke) - I then run into a guy with a power weapon and have almost NO CHANCE. Now, this make’s sense for power weapons when they are rare, but not when they are everywhere. Once a team gets control, they keep it and it piles on. In Destiny, there is an abundance of powerful abilities and weapons, but the normal weapons are still deadly. I could kill a guy who had a heavy machine guy, if I played him right, if I just ran in, would most likely die (because I am playing to the strength of HIS weapon). In Destiny, you need to play to your strengths, and the strengths of your weapons, but everyone has a chance to strategically win. Will you get Nova Bombed unexpectedly, maybe, but if you know it’s a possibility, is it ever unexpected?

Last, but not least. I am pumped for the other Crucible game types. 3v3 sounds fantastic. Salvage sounds amazing. Revive’s turned on sounds great. I think Destiny and these game modes have the potential to pull in a huge audience to the PvP. Throw in Iron Banner, Trials of Osiris, and Unranked Matchmaking, and there is a spot for everyone. Also, one last point. I played about ⅓ of my matches in a full party of 6, ⅓ in a party of 2-4, and ⅓ solo. All experiences were fun, but obviously the full party of 6 was the most fun (and the most wins).