Bungie and Major League Gaming are kicking off Destiny’s new expansion—and a new metagame—with a mix of live and online Crucible tournaments, beginning with yesterday’s inaugural MLG Destiny Exhibition in Columbus, Ohio. Peaking at around 65,000 viewers in the fifth and final game, the match brought together twelve PvP players from the Destiny Twitch and YouTube communities to preview the game’s new six-on-six “kill confirmed” mode, Supremacy.
Alpha Team, consisting of Bodies, Luminosity, SayWallahBruh, SirDimetrious, TripleWreck, and Viole, ultimately took home the win against Bravo with a confident 5–1 series. The competition was fierce, though, spanning all four maps from the September 20 Rise of Iron release, as well as the familiar “Bannerfall.” Playing for Bravo Team were iFrostBolt, KJHovey, Li’l Sonic, nKuch, RealKraftyy, and True Vanguard.
Destiny continues to grow and evolve as it approaches its third year.
Participants competed on PlayStation 4 consoles using a private test build of the upcoming expansion provided by developers at Bungie, and were allowed to import their existing Guardian profiles and gear for use in the event. (It sounds like a few specific items may have been banned from tournament play, however.) The exhibition showcased a diverse array of loadouts and play styles—lots of Nightstalkers and Bladedancers. Eyasluna hand cannons and Grasp of Malok pulse rifles. Nova Bombs, sniper rifles, and “Wombo Combos” (the Nightstalker’s formidable double-grenade feint).
For a game with some known issues, Destiny continues to grow and evolve as it approaches its third year on the PS4 and Xbox One, and its grassroots competitive scene has kept it near the top of the Twitch directory despite the occasional lull between content updates.
Crucible events like the weekly Trials of Osiris three-on-three elimination mode (currently on hiatus) and the monthly Iron Banner playlist have remained key parts of the game’s appeal since its 2014 release, and the inclusion of private matches and a Competition License in Destiny year three hints at some interesting esports experiments to come. The game’s PvP meta is perhaps the best it’s ever been, all things considered.
The audience is ready to support Destiny esports.
Supremacy looks to shake up the tempo of existing Clash mechanics by introducing Crests, which must be seized to either score or prevent your opponents from scoring. Much of the early feedback on Twitter suggests that the default six-versus-six Supremacy may be a bit too chaotic for tournament play, but Twitch chat and the player base alike seem to be appreciating the mode so far. It makes for fun spectating, and it adds an objective that lends itself well to a game with lots of wildly powerful Super abilities.
Judging by yesterday’s turnout, it looks like the audience is ready to support Destiny esports.
