How does Trials of Osiris change Destiny?
When Bungie released Destiny‘s latest expansion, the House of Wolves, they included a new PvP event called the Trials of Osiris. Described as the penultimate in competitive arena gameplay within Destiny, Trials of Osiris is a 3v3 elimination game that offers immense reward for those who can win 9 games in a row, and severe punishment for those who continually lose. Even though it just launched, this competition is already driving a wedge within the Destiny community.
What makes Trials of Osiris a fun, and incredibly inventive, game type is its risk vs reward system. The Trials of Osiris’ rewards range from smaller loot items at a couple of wins with no loss, to a trip to The Lighthouse on Mercury and Exotic-flavored loot. On the other hand, if you lose three games then you’ll have to restart your Trials Passage completely, and forgo any tier-related rewards you were about to receive.
It’s these stakes that make moments like this all the more rewarding for one team, and frustrating for the other:
The teamwork that Trials of Osiris demands is a first for Destiny PvP, given the high stakes and elimination style of gameplay. In terms of Destiny‘s PvP experience thus far – which has still been excellent, in my opinion – Trials of Osiris is an incredibly competitive and rewarding breath of fresh air. It’s also caused division among a normally close knit community.
What happened to the Destiny community?
The Destiny community is up in arms against one another for a multitude of reasons, but it largely boils down to two sides to a very strange coin:
- One side is upset at those who have won 9 games flawlessly, visited The Lighthouse on Mercury, and are now coming back and playing Trials of Osiris again, which prevents lower level players from flawlessly running 9 games themselves – you’re too good, so we don’t want you to play anymore;
- The other side, however, counters that a lot of the former complaints come from a community that has become too used to ‘cheesing’ its way through Destiny‘s variety of PvE challenges – if you aren’t good enough, either get better or don’t play.
The best place to see examples of these arguments is on r/DestinyTheGame, particularly in this post discussing that many are simply angry that they can no longer cheat their way through difficult portions of Destiny. Such threads have split a line directly down the middle of the community.
The Destiny community, especially after the release of House of Wolves, is normally as friendly as they come, with players constantly offering suggestions and tips to help each other through difficult Strikes and Raids (with the occasional bad apple that only wants level 34 players with maxed out Gjallarhorn). It seems that the Trials of Osiris, while trying to encourage teamwork and high-stakes rewards, accidentally triggered bouts of elitism and oppression on both sides of the fence.
How can we fix it?
Unfortunately, this sort of problem doesn’t necessarily ‘go away’ because it relies on human error – regardless of which side of the argument they support, people will always argue in their own defence. The only way to stop is if everyone can work together and play the Trials of Osiris the way it’s meant to be played: with teamwork.
Here’s an example of what every Guardian should aspire to be:
This may mean that some players don’t immediately get to Mercury, and will have to work on improving their PvP skills; but this also means that those players who are inherently better should work on helping the former players out. PvP isn’t for everyone, but that doesn’t mean the community has to tear itself in half over it.
From one player in the Destiny subreddit discussing players cheesing their way to The Lighthouse:
“What I was trying to say is that for a lot of the people I’ve met playing this game, and for myself, the fun comes from challenging yourself. When you challenge yourself and improve, it feels fucking fantastic. To those of you who got to the lighthouse through dedicating yourselves to the goal, I applaud you. But when someone isn’t able to accomplish what you have, please try to respect that they’re likely trying just as hard as you. That’s why they enjoy the game.
Don’t call them failures. Encourage them to keep trying, like you did. What’s easy for you now might not be easy for them. What’s difficult for you is likely easy for someone else. How do you want to be treated by players much better than you?”
Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on, it’s up to you to help solve this problem. You and every other Guardian.