Crimson Days is over and depending on who you ask it was either a rip roaring success, or a real mess of a live event from Bungie. We’re here to give you our view based on countless hours spent playing together through the Crimson Days playlist.
Firstly let’s talk about how convenient Crimson Days was this time around. In Destiny 1 you couldn’t compete in Crimson Days without being in a Fireteam of two. This meant that the event was totally locked off to any players who didn’t have anyone they could team up with in the real world. The matchmaking in Destiny 2 for Crimson Days made it so easy to jump into matches. The fact that I was even able to compete is pretty astonishing, because time is not a luxury I have, like many Destiny 2 players, so the simple convenience of matchmaking made the event accessible not only to me, but so many other players.
The actual game mode of Crimson Days was very interesting. It forced players to stick close together or be revealed to the enemy. This made it difficult to pincer the enemy team, and equally easy to destroy them and be destroyed by them because you’re all stuck in a single line facing each other. The buff provided to players when they’re in close proximity is something that doesn’t really exist in other games, but it’s an interesting concept that feels like a benefit, because of the actual buff but also the advantage of being able to work with a team mate, and a hindrance, because you can’t leave that team mate or you’re compromising the team’s strength and position.
While we’re on the subject of the game mode, the maps that were in the Crimson Days playlist were all perfect. Each one, including the revamped but renamed The Burnout, contained areas where the conflict between both teams was intense and exciting. It felt like at any minute the scores could turn and the enemy would suddenly overtake you by eight points, but you could also do the same to them.
A bad point about Crimson Days, and I know it’s one that’s a source of controversy for Guardians, is the loot system. I felt like I only earned Crimson Engrams when I lost a match, and when I decoded them I ended up getting a lot of the same stuff. I did however, earn three exotic Sparrows, all of which look the same, and an Exotic Ornament for the event. While the cosmetics you could earn from Crimson Days are awesome because they were created specifically for it, and affect more than items such as Sparrows but weapons you use all the time as well, I feel like there should have been some specific armour and weapons.
The lack of items like armour and weapons specific to Crimson Days shows that Bungie thought we wanted skins for our current armour and weapons more. While that might be true of many Guardians, I know there are others who want to have a complete armour set from an event, which Bungie did offer as part of The Dawning.
Overall I think Crimson Days was a success, but it wasn’t without its flaws. There’s definitely room for improvement with the loot system for it, but the matchmaking, game mode changes, and maps all came together to create a really fun live event. Let us know what you think in the comments.
Image Source: Playstationifestyle
