Bungie has outlined details of a special Valentine’s Day event coming to Destiny, which will include a new Crucible mode. Also shared were details on PvP matchmaking and lag, as well as dates and info on the next Iron Banner. Yet all of this is unlikely to sate a dwindling community starved of end-game content.Speaking in the Bungie Weekly Update, community manager Deej explained that the Valentine’s Day event, which is called Crimson Days and kicks off on February 9th, will be “on a scale close to Festival of the Lost”. Festival of the Lost ran last year during Halloween, tasking Guardians with challenges in return for a series of masks modelled on characters from the Destiny universe.Arriving alongside the Crimson Days event will be the Destiny’s February update and a new 2v2 Crucible mode called Crimson Doubles. Bungie said the PvP mode will feature “a special twist, born of new gameplay and mechanics that only battle-tested star-crossed lovers will appreciate.”Further information on Crimson Days, Crimson Doubles and the February Update, are promised in the near future.The event and the information contained within the Weekly Update is consistent with what Bungie has been promising for some time. Towards the end of last year, the studio outlined that its focus had shifted to smaller events created by its “Live Team”. Crimson Days, and stuff like Sparrow Racing League and Raid Challenges, is what players should expect for the time being.Yet it’s not enough for many of the game’s players. With a dwindling player-base starved of new end-game content, Guardians are leaving in their droves. Based on the community’s reaction to this latest update, Crimson Days is unlikely to make a significant difference.Even those who enjoy playing PvP Crucible modes have been complaining since the December update, with lag and matchmaking criticised. In the Weekly Update, Bungie also addressed these issues.On the subject of matchmaking, Design Lead Lars Bakken admitted that the way match-ups are made has been changed in recent months. He stopped short of saying that the game now employs skill-based matchmaking, but it amounts to the same thing. Crucible teams of broadly equal skill are now matched to make games more even.On paper, this is great. Everyone enjoys a close match. But it can also lead to issues with lag. Because if matchmaking doesn’t prioritise putting you with players who have a decent connection, it’s more likely that your teammates and your opponents are going to be teleporting around the map.On this front, Bungie is promising changes too. “We’re looking through all the new data now, and we’ll be taking measures to improve the experience,” said Bakken.It’s unlikely that these changes will arrive before the next Iron Banner, a PvP event that regular players recognise as being particularly lag-infested. Bungie confirmed that Iron Banner will return between Tuesday January 26th and Tuesday February 2nd.Up for grabs during the PvP event will be the Iron Banner Fusion Rifle and Scout Rifle, as well as a selection of armour. You can see exactly what armour pieces will be made available to each class in the Weekly Update.Bungie is widely believed to be focusing on the creation of Destiny 2 this year, which if the franchise’s original roadmap is to be believed will arrive in September, two years after the launch of the original game. However, the studio has already begun diverting from those early plans.According to a leaked roadmap created prior to Destiny’s release, two further significant add-ons were planned for this year - one built on the Vex race and the other focusing on the Cabal. However, Bungie has already hinted that this will not be the case. As well as events like Crimson Days, Guardians can expect just one add-on “larger than anything you’ve seen since the release of The Taken King.”Considering Destiny has been terribly content poor since the game’s last expansion, that’s not promising much. However, with Bungie refusing to share any official plans for 2016, and Destiny 2 (or whatever it’s going to be called) still not publically unveiled, it’s all hardcore players have to look forward to. Crimson Days, if it’s similar in format to Festival of the Lost, will do little to tide players over.Bungie’s frantic delivery of new Destiny content has been hugely impressive since launch, even if the quality has been patchy, and players with upwards of 800 hours invested in the game (of whom there are a lot) have definitely had their money’s worth. Yet as the year goes on, the droves of players moving onto different games looks set to continue.
OK ive put about 2000 hours in this game and I need more stuff to do come on bungie sort it out and dont make me pay for another copy off the game.....
