With E3 fast approaching (June 10-12) and Bungie's announcement that we will be getting our first glimpse of PvP, I feel now is a good time to get everyone more acquainted with Destiny's competitive multiplayer (Player vs Player)... using all the information we currently have available. It may surprise both "newbies" and "vets" that Bungie has actually released a good bit of information on PvP that will help us frame this conversation and better understand Bungie's approach to PvP in Destiny. So here we go, in bullet-point fashion: [quote][b]"We're not making Halo, Destiny is a different game. The combat sandbox is different."[/b][/quote] - Lars Bakken, [url=http://www.bungie.net/7_The-Bungie-Januarycast/en/News/News?aid=11358]Bungie January Podcast[/url] [b]- Destiny’s competitive multiplayer will not be capped at 3v3.[/b] [quote]Eric Osborne: “There are several modes featuring more players that we’ve already talked about. Raids are a six player activity that will always be in parties comprised of your friends. Competitive multiplayer is not capped at 3v3.”[/quote] - [url=http://mp1st.com/2014/04/28/report-destinys-competitive-pvp-multiplayer-played-groups-threes/#.U2Afz_jSveI]www.mp1st.com[/url] [b]- Competitive Multiplayer must be unlocked[/b] by playing "at most a couple hours" of campaign and PvE. According to Tyson Green, Bungie Investment Lead, this will give players time to learn the game's mechanics and upgrade their character(s). [b]- You carry your weapons and gear into all modes, including PvP.[/b] [quote]Eric Osborne: "Like all our weapons, armor, and gear, it can also be customized for combat. Just about all of your gear in Destiny can be personalized, tweaked, or upgraded in some way. We want to give players the opportunity to tailor their weapons and gear to their style of play, and provide them with storytelling channels that speak volumes about what kind of persona they want to put out there to other players in the world. So, when someone finally walks out of a Raid alive and drops into competitive multiplayer with their spoils, other savvy players will instantly recognize the accomplishment."[/quote] - [url=http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/927/feature/7618/Destiny-Delving-Into-Bungies-Vision.html]www.mmorpg.com[/url] Lars Bakken reiterates this statement by saying: "Like Reach" your character will be the same throughout every mode and upgrades to character(s) will carry into multiplayer. In the [url=http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/12/09/revealing-the-details-of-destinys-competitive-multiplayer.aspx]Game Informer Competitive Multiplayer featurette.[/url] [b]- Competitive Multiplayer is played on separate maps [/b]made specifically for PvP. From the [url=http://www.bungie.net/7_The-Bungie-Januarycast/en/News/News?aid=11358]January Bungie Podcast[/url]. [b]- PvP is not emergent. [/b]You cannot ambush or force players into combat. [quote]Eric Osborne: "It's not emergent in the sense where if you're running through the world on your way to a destination or another activity, somebody can just force you into a PvP match." "You can't get ganked. You're always electing to jump into that activity. Some of the activities in the game will be rooted in the world itself, like, literally inside of the world itself, where you're going into a place. Others will be woven into the fabric of the story but will have a different entry point into that space. We want to make sure we're building scenarios where players can choose the activity they feel like they want to do right now, but also that it feels like it's part of the overall universe and it has consequence and meaning in the world." [/quote][url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-11-01-lets-talk-about-destiny]www.eurogamer.net[/url] [b]- Halo's "run and gun" style[/b] of rushing to find players and put shots on them without consequence is counterproductive. As dying effectively gives Supers to the other team. - DeeJ, from the January Podcast. Death earns the opposing team "light", which is needed to recharge Super abilities quickly. [b]- Success doesn't come from twitch skills alone[/b] [quote]"Skill is very important. It's not just your thumb skill, it's understanding how you're outfitting yourself, what choices you've made in your build, and how to use that properly. So getting around the map is different depending on what vertical movement mode you chose. Say there's a door to my right, and a staircase coming up to my left, and straight ahead there's this hole blown in the wall. Is the guy going to come up the stairs, or is he going to use glide to jump up through the hole in the wall? Then what's he going to use at that point? Do I want to plant my prox grenade on the ground so that he lands directly on it, do I want to hide in the corner, sprint towards him and melee him in the face? I don't know what's going to happen. There's such a surprising amount of depth to each encounter."[/quote] - Lars Bakken, lead multiplayer designer - [url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/seven-facts-about-destiny-you-might-have-missed/1100-6417896/]www.gamespot.com[/url] [b]- Destiny will never reach a final level of balance[/b] [quote]"We have an evolving understanding of balance. In the past you might have characterized our idea of successful balance as getting it to the point where we could [stop working on the game] and it would be perfect. Nobody had to touch it anymore and it would just be a shining gem for all time. But the problem is, those games don't hold a community the same way as a living game like League of Legends or Dota 2. Those games can build these amazing communities around them because they're changing and evolving. There's a metagame that develops over time. The thing that was awesome before is not so awesome now. The thing that you didn't think about before is suddenly the best idea you ever had." "That kind of dynamic balance where the game is ebbing and flowing, changing and circulating, we understand that and want more of that now. We want to build a game that's always exciting and entertaining, and not just exciting and entertaining because it achieved a final singularity point."[/quote] - Tyson Green, lead investment designer - [url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/seven-facts-about-destiny-you-might-have-missed/1100-6417896/]www.gamespot.com[/url] [b]- Everything in multiplayer is designed with a counter in mind.[/b] [quote]"We definitely believe that something can be powerful as long as there's a way to deal with it. That's a hard balance to strike, but that's the reason we play the game every single day. We're constantly looking at these things to make sure there's no one thing that's so extremely powerful that no one is ever going to deal with it." "[For example], when you use your vertical movement modes, you're actually getting rid of your ability to be in combat for a short amount of time. So if you want to double-jump, if you want to glide, you're putting yourself in what we call weapon-down. You're making a tactical choice at that point. Like, I want to take the high road right now and get away from combat, but I can't just sit in the air and fire on people. That's now how it works."[/quote] - Lars Bakken, lead multiplayer designer - [url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/seven-facts-about-destiny-you-might-have-missed/1100-6417896/]www.gamespot.com[/url] This next portion comes from the [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/News/News?aid=11100]Sept 2013 Bungie Podcast[/url]: [b]- Certain weapons can only be earned in competitive multiplayer and vice versa.[/b] [b]- You can change your loadout mid-fight[/b], however Destiny will have mechanisms in place that discourage you from doing so and make it more cumbersome. [b]- Unlike in Halo, weapons are not found on the map[/b]. You bring your character's build (including weapons) into PvP as mentioned above. [b]- In place of that system we have ammo drops.[/b] Which are found on the map. Making map-control still key to success. [b]- Ammo management is VERY important.[/b] Primary ammo is the only confirmed ammo type to respawn after death. Heavy weapons will respawn empty. You drop your ammo when you die. [b]- Ammo is divided into three generic, color-coded categories[/b] that correspond to the three weapon slots. Primary, Special and Heavy. - From the [url=http://www.gameinformer.com/b/podcasts/archive/2013/12/26/special-edition-podcast-bungie-destiny.aspx]Game Informer "Special Edition Podcast: Bungie's Destiny"[/url]: [b]- The "speed" of gameplay varies from activity to activity, mode to mode.[/b] Some modes like story-missions have a slower cadence that lets you really take in the world. Others, like strikes are meant to be quick arcade-like, clear the room experiences. PvP's pace was described as somewhat reminiscent of Halo 2. Faster, but map control is still important as well as being tactical. A truly skilled player can still turn a fight around with a couple well-placed shots. [url=http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/12/09/revealing-the-details-of-destinys-competitive-multiplayer.]Lars Bakken echos this sentiment[/url] by saying: Destiny is "definitely faster" than Halo. "More lethal than Halo." If you can catch a guy with his pants down, you can take him out more quickly. It will be "harder to get away".