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When Rogue signed a Destiny 2 team ahead of the game’s release early in September, I wasn’t convinced.
The game’s Crucible gameplay, while fun in its own way, didn’t seem like a natural fit for esports, and there’s currently no way for organised teams to compete, unless they manage to accidentally bump into each other in a Crucible playlist.
Having played some of the casual competitive mode, I stood by my apprehension. It’s a tighter game in motion than the original Destiny, but it’s very watchable.
However, the game’s competitive playlist hints at a potential esports future for Destiny 2. The game is more team focused here, with Survival and Countdown both slowing the pace of the game down, making each death matter as it drags you closer to failing the round.
Countdown plays out like Counter-Strike, if counter-terrorists had jetpacks and carried swords. One team is trying to plant a bomb at one of two objectives, while the other team is trying to stop them. Once you die you’re out for the round, but you can be picked up by a friend. Survival is team deathmatch, although with just 8 respawns between the team before you start dying for good.
Lone wolf play doesn’t work here and instead you’ll want to hunt in a pack. Not just because that keeps someone close to revive you, but also because the pace of the game means you’ll want to bring all of your firepower to bear on each target you encounter. Action is slow and steady, easier to cast and easy to parse for casual observers with clear numbers and a status bar at the top of the screen all time letting everyone know who’s alive, what’s going on with the game and if any of the players have their all-powerful super ready to use.
It delivers something fairly unique, a science fiction shooter with powerful and outlandish weapons, the moves at the pace of a tactical shooter, but also lets a man start tossing flaming hammers or fire off a small black hole. Destiny is pure AAA spectacle, and it could offer something unique in the FPS space.
The game still isn’t Halo, and perhaps never will be as a competitive title, but there’s something to Destiny 2’s competitive playlist that is enthralling to play, and would no doubt be tense to watch.
Bungie has said that they have no grand esports designs, and would like However, it’s up to Bungie to take the very first step, adding custom lobbies so teams can skirmish and compete against each other would open the path for a competitive community to form around the game
