For the most part, Destiny's competitive multiplayer suite (known as 'the Crucible') has remained relatively unchanged. Sure, there have been tweaks here and there - weapon damage gets rebalanced, special ammunition spawn rates are changed around - but in terms of the core game itself, there haven't many big changes since launch.
However, Bungie's made it clear that the upcoming House of Wolves expansion is all about changing Destiny at its core, and the Crucible's new, highly-competitive multiplayer mode definitely follows suit.
The new multiplayer mode is called the Trials of Osiris, and represents some of the biggest changes that the team over at Bungie are making to Destiny's multiplayer. This isn't just another tweak; this is an entirely self-contained mode within Destiny - and the changes go a lot further than simply changing the number of players on each team.
Bungie is clearly going for something that's much more highly competitive that the current suite of multiplayer options, and from what the studio has shown, it's a completely different kind of Destiny.
At its core, Trials of Osiris is meant to be an extremely competitive game mode. Unlocks aren't tied to player performance, but consecutive team wins - you'll need to work as a well-oiled machine in order to succeed. Bungie promises that anyone will be able to jump into the mode and play, but it's clear that the Trials of Osiris are meant to bring coordination and cooperation to the forefront of Destiny's multiplayer.
Before players even enter the game, they'll have to receive a 'Passage' from the mode's new vendor. This Passage basically works as a progress tracker: each time the player's team wins, the victory will be added to the Passage. Win enough times in a row and you'll gain access to some of the vendor's new, extremely rare items. However, losses are also recorded: lose three times, and the Passage is voided. Any progress towards unlocking new items is reset, and the system forces players to work as a team or sacrifice any chance of obtaining rare loot.
Then again, if the rewards weren't worth the hassle, Destiny fans wouldn't bother playing the new modes. Thankfully, Bungie is making the Trials of Osiris a worthwhile undertaking: while it does take some time to get to the good stuff, fighting for consecutive wins is worth it once the higher tiers are unlocked. The really good loot doesn't open up until the fifth tier (in which players can unlock new Legendary armor sets), and it only gets better from there: expect to start unlocking some of the best weapons in the game at roughly eight wins.
The game itself is vastly different than any of Destiny's other modes. It's a far more tactical take on the game's tried-and-true combat: teams are limited to just three players each, and there are no respawns whatsoever. The only way to be brought back into the match is by way of a teammate, and once all three members are down, the round is over. The first squad to eliminate the entire enemy team five times is the winner.
It feels like a mix of Counter Strike's no-respawn, round-based elimination modes with Gears of War's Wingman mode: teams are small, and working together is paramount. There's a much larger focus on keeping your teammates safe while simultaneously pressuring the other team. During the few short games that Bungie showed off, there were some hectic back-and-forth matches, with one team reviving itself just in time to watch the other team do the same. It's all very fast-paced and intimate, and the two minute timer forces players to get right into the action.
As a result of the increased pace, Heavy Weapons and Supers are much more important than ever before. A single rocket can change the entire course of the match, and Supers can turn an entire round on its head in seconds. The Trials of Osiris finally puts the proper emphasis on Supers, gear and weapons - something that Bungie has been struggling with since Destiny first launched.
One possible hurdle is that Bungie is requiring teams to form up before entering a match. The team believes that Trials of Osiris isn't a mode that can be played with random strangers. As such, you'll need two friends to form a team before you can enter the mode, which could limit some players with shorter Friends Lists from playing. It's easy to assume that the Destiny forums will play a big role in assembling teams (as a similar restriction was placed on certain Strikes and Raids), though whether or not this leads to decent matches is still up in the air.
One last caveat is that, for the Trials of Osiris, Bungie is putting the emphasis on latency more than anything. You'll be paired up with people who have the best connection, though they might not necessarily be the best match when it comes to experience and equipment. Bungie has stated that this is to ensure that the matches are fair and fun to play, but there is a chance that some teams could get wiped out by a more well-equipped squad.
All in all, the Trials of Osiris is a promising change of pace for Bungie's shooter. There's a renewed focus on what makes players different from one another, and the mode rightly places the focus one working together as a team. It's the sort of thing that Bungie has tried to do with the Crucible for months now, and while the team has made some questionable choices in regards to matchmaking, the mode holds a lot of potential - with any luck, the Trials of Osiris is the multiplayer mode that fans have been waiting for.
The Trials of Osiris will launch alongside Destiny's second expansion, House of Wolves, on May 19.
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