You skipped Trials... (Destiny)

by squidnh3, Friday, March 05, 2021, 10:40 (1140 days ago) @ cheapLEY

Trials honestly needs a total rework at this point. I know it’s supposed to be the elite prestige PvP activity, but if they want it to be successful, it has to be something that regular players can stop engage in and have some fun and get some drops. I still think completely random matchmaking would be a huge step in the right direction, and it seems like it would be an easy change to implement to at least make the mode playable until they figure out what they really want to do with it.

I think a big part of the problem is the massive range in skill that has developed in this game over the years. When Trials came out in the middle of D1Y1, people didn't have the techniques and strategies they have now to manipulate and gain every possible edge with the best weapons and abilities. 6 years later it's no surprise there's a portion of the Trials audience that is dedicated to just that. But it's completely bifurcated the player audience for Trials - there's the "100 times Flawless this weekend crowd", and there's the "I just want a Messenger so I can got back to Strikes" crowd, and not a lot in between (I count myself as one of the few in between).

So how do you keep Trials meaningful and unique for the dedicated audience while making it rewarding for the part-time PvP audience? Totally random matchmaking could help (I thought that's how they should bring it back originally) even with that I think you'll still end up with a lot of lopsided early-card matches which are what drives the slow player exodus.

One idea I can think of would be to implement a dual card system (they have something sort of like this now, but it doesn't seem to get much use). There would be a "Trials Jr." card, where it's only up to 3 wins, no tokens and no drops, you get the weekly 3 win drop either from the bounty or 3 wins. That doesn't sound very rewarding, but it can't be because the key is you don't want any reason for the "big fish" to play it. Then there would be the normal Trials card, which works how it would normally work (3/5/7/Flawless), except maybe add tokens on losses and drops after games. So you'd get people in for a decent experience with the low stakes card, and maybe they'd try out the full thing.

That might work, or it might not and be abused. Another thing that Trials needs is ongoing, committed support from Bungie. They need to be willing to try stuff on a month-to-month basis. Making a minor change every six months and allowing it to languish in whatever state it ends up in is not helping at all.