In a bid to gain back the favor of fans and prove that their decisions are about what’s best for the player, and not necessarily the bottom line, Bungie offered up details on next week’s Destiny 2 Crimson Days event. The biggest news is that the limited time Crimson Engrams will only be available through gameplay, meaning that there won’t be any push for players to get out their credit cards once the well of earnable loot has run dry. Destiny 2 faced heavy criticism for this artificial cap during The Dawning event, which pushed players to Eververse to spend real money on a chance at getting the limited time items.
That’s not all that’s changing. Original Destiny players will note some key changes to Destiny 2 Crimson Days that make it more friendly to all Guardians. Primarily a PVP based event, Crimson Days brings a new limited time mode to the Crucible that Bungie describes as “2v2 Clash with a round-based twist.” In Destiny 1, it was called Crimson Doubles, but the announcement makes no mention of that name this time, so it may be changing.
The limited time mode will feature some unique mechanics for two players. Stay in close proximity to your partner, and both of your abilities will recharge at a faster rate, but stray too far apart and the enemy will receive a waypoint leading them right to where you are. It’s a pretty interesting change from Destiny 1 Crimson Days, where your partner’s death would superpower the remaining player. Those who want to play solo can still enjoy the mode. Bungie will be including matchmaking for anyone with friends that have yet to migrate back to Destiny 2.
A New Take on Rewards
Most of the rewards for Crimson Days can be found in the Crimson Engram, which doesn’t sound too far off of previous events, but there’s a pretty big change. Contents of the Crimson Engram are now on a “knock-out” list, which means you won’t get any duplicate items until you’ve earned all of the new gear. Players that want to grind for every limited time item can now do so with an attainable goal in view, rather than fighting random chance for the last couple of items.
Every Destiny 2 player will receive a Crimson Engram along with an Illuminated (Bright) Engram each time they level up during the event. You don’t have to play the new PVP mode if that’s not your thing. Make sure you’ve hit the level cap to get this bonus. Crimson Engrams are only earnable through gameplay and will not be available for purchase at Eververse. A rotating selection of specific items will be available for Bright Dust, but the random chance loot boxes that are Crimson Engrams will not be made available for sale. Any specific items bought on as a one-off through Eververse will count towards the “knock-out” mechanic and will not be part of the Crimson Engram loot pool again until you’ve earned all rewards. In addition, “Every reward item obtained from a Crimson Engram can also be dismantled for Bright Dust, including event-specific shaders.”
Five of the rewards will be granted from specific activities, showing Bungie listens to players who want more rewards from doing specific things in the game.
- Complete the milestone “Welcome to Crimson Days” by finishing five Crimson Days matches and visiting Lord Shaxx in the Tower to earn the Fire of the Crimson Days Emblem and the Tirastrella Ghost Shell.
- Complete matches in the Crimson Days Crucible playlist for a chance to earn the Undeterred Exotic Sparrow.
- Complete either the Leviathan Raid or the Raid Lair: Eater of Worlds to claim the Dieselpunk Exotic Ornament for Wardcliff Coil from the final chest.
- Complete the Nightfall Strike during the Crimson Days event to earn the Flaunting Dance Emote.
Bungie has done some impressive work with their event overhaul and making Crimson Days seem like a far more rewarding and player-friendly event than we’ve seen previously. A lot of these changes are direct replies to player feedback from the Destiny 2’s first event, The Dawning. As an avid Destiny player who is always looking for reasons to go back to the game, I safely say that Bungie’s announcements about Destiny 2 Crimson Days make me want to dance.
Last week, Bungie revealed a roadmap of development updates that will lead up to the release of Destiny 2 Expansion 2 in May. They also revealed details of the sandbox update they are currently working on, which will make everything in Destiny 2 faster.
Destiny 2 Crimson Days will begin next Tuesday, February 13, and end at the weekly reset at 9 AM PST on Tuesday, February 20
[Source: Bungie]
