Upcoming Destiny events – new multiplayer modes and Queen’s Wrath

(Checkout this link for the announcement from Bungie)

As with the Halo series, Bungie is doing a great job of adding unique content to its latest shooter, Destiny, to keep the experience fresh and exciting. Each weekend there has been a unique multiplayer mode and along with the recently released raid, Vault of Glass, there is going to be a new mode coming next week.

This weekend, Sept. 19-21, the multiplayer mode “Combined Arms” will be active. A team deathmatch mode, Combined Arms focuses on vehicular combat and also, heavy ammo drops will occur more frequently. I can’t wait to try out this mode and see if there’s a vehicle or two I haven’t gotten to drive yet. So far, the only vehicles I’ve found with weapons are Pikes and those larger speeders on Mars the fire rockets. It’d be really cool if there were larger tank vehicles or ones that allow two or more players to operate it – something like a Warthog from Halo, maybe.

On Sept 23 – Oct 6, a new feature called “The Queen’s Wrath” will be active. It doesn’t seem like this is an entirely new mode all to itself, but rather an extended event which will feature new bounties and more challenging missions which will be rewarded with Rare and Legendary gear. There isn’t a whole lot of specific info about Queen’s Wrath, but I would guess these missions will take the place of the Daily and Weekly Heroic Strikes/Missions and feature more intense stipulations. Luckily, it seems that these missions will guarantee Rare and Legendary gear so the reward will be worth the challenge.

Last weekend, the unique multiplayer mode was Salvage, a 3 vs 3 mode where teams battle for control of a relic. It was an interesting mode, not just because it pitted one fireteam against another (instead of 6 on 6 like Clash) but because the objective-based mode required a bit of strategy. For one, you’re able to revive fallen teammates in this mode, unlike Clash or Capture, and your respawn in a little longer than those modes as well. In Salvage, relics appear on the map frequently (one at a time) and to win it, you must first find it and set your Ghost to scan it. But, you get more points for completing a scan or stopping an enemy scan than just starting one, so it’s in your best interest to only start a scan if you know you can defend the relic. Salvage should be making a return to the Crucible playlist, especially since they still issue bounties for it occasionally. According, to the above link, I would guess Salvage will be next weekend’s unique Crucible mode.

In October, an entirely new Crucible mode will be active – the Iron Banner. Normally in the Crucible, players compete on a level playing field, meaning that regardless of levels, weapons and armor, each player has the same stats and weapons do the same damage. In the Iron Banner, players will be able to compete with their weapons and armor at full power. It will definitely be interesting to see just how many high level players come out of the woodwork to dominate in Iron Banner and those below level 20 without rare and legendary gear will probably just want to avoid it completely (unless you’re really confident or have a death wish). There isn’t any mention of the rewards from playing Iron Banner, though I’d bet you have a higher chance of getting rare gear by competing in this no-holds-barred battle.

But the best part about all these new modes and activities? They’re totally free. It’s great in this day-and-age of $15 map packs and microtransactions, companies like Bungie are committed to supporting their titles with unique content to keep the experience fresh, for free.