While a very successful kick-start of the new era for Bungie's main game, Destiny 2: The Final Shape isn't all pomp and circumstance. In addition to being nonsensically time-gated, the "new" seasonal format is again. Other issues, such as the new Vanguard Ops playlist, are also present.
Not the playlist per se, though: Vanguard Ops has mostly accomplished what it set out to achieve! For those who are anxious to just play a few PvE missions in Destiny 2, it's a complete one-stop shop. You launch it, initiate the matching process, check in on your current Pathfinder, and begin taking down humanity's adversaries. Ah, the wonderful things hehe. No, all of this is just fine; exactly what we needed, and a natural progression from the previous Strike playlist(s), Destiny 2.
Rather, the problem stems from the fact that Vanguard Ops is no longer only focused on Strike missions. And now it includes Battlegrounds as well. There are heaps and loads of Battlegrounds that come from four prior seasons, not just one or two. Each season included at least two, if not more, separate Battleground objectives. The most of the time, what you end up with are Battleground missions, to the extent that we are now without a dependable Strike playlist.
Battlegrounds
has taken over the Vanguard Ops playlist.I feel compelled to reiterate that, in principle, I have no problem with this. Battlegrounds are enjoyable to attempt to interact with since they are well-designed tasks with a lot of opponent placement. However, they are also intended to be quite diverse combat situations that don't unfold in the same manner as a standard Strike.
Battlegrounds is definitely not that, in contrast to a Strike, which is made up of a sequence of precisely calibrated encounters that flow into one another with the odd traversal/combat hybrid tossed in for good measure. Rather, you'll find yourself in three or four battle venues with rather distinct goals scattered throughout. Your typical Battleground resembles from 2016.Now that I think about it, Doom in that sense.
It's also important to keep in mind that during the last two years, Bungie has produced a staggering twelve Battlegrounds and very few Strikes. I'm not kidding either. The Battleground tasks we were given starting in the Season of the Chosen are listed below:
- 4 Battlegrounds – Season of the Chosen
- 3 PsiOps Battlegrounds – Season of the Risen
- 3 Heist Battlegrounds – Season of the Seraph
- 3 Defiant Battlegrounds – Season of Defiance
In all fairness, Bungie has made investments in the Strikes itself as well. We got seven brand-new strikes and revised five or six previous ones at that time. According to my count, there are now 16–17 Strikes and 13 Battleground missions in the current Vanguard Ops cycle. Note that you could want to play one mission type over the other at a particular moment because of their distinctions, which might cause irritation when you are unable to make a decision.
It hasn't worked well to combine Strikes and Battlegrounds into one playlist
.On paper, a significant improvement Destiny 2's primary PvE gameplay playlist including festive treats seems like a great concept; the more variety, the better, and Battlegrounds add a ton of visual appeal and awesome fighting to the mix. The opponent density of Battlegrounds has been highly complimented by players, making them particularly suitable for completing Pathfinder objectives. Then, why would you not want Battlegrounds in Vanguard Ops?
The solution is really rather straightforward. Battlegrounds lack the high level of curation, purposeful design, and flow that characterizes strikes. This is acceptable since, after all, the two pursuits are quite unlike. The fact that we no longer have a playlist just for Strike is not great, however. Instead, in Vanguard Ops, you get to roll the dice to see whether you land on a Battleground or a Strike. Though theoretically this should be OK, the way Battlegrounds function differs from Strikes in that regard:
- encounters are longer and more drawn-out
- virtually every combat encounter is set in a combat arena
- specific arenas have objective-based padding to keep things going for longer
On the other hand, Strikes are missions.. Occasionally, you'll find yourself fending off a swarm of Hive in a dimly lit location just before unlatching a door secured by a puzzle. In other cases, you may have to pursue a boss across the Vex network before engaging it in direct battle. The more formulaic approach of Battlegrounds lacks the great variation in execution that comes with Strikes, not to mention how much quicker they are.
Is it OK to divide the Vanguard Ops playlist into two smaller playlists?
Right now, I'm not sure what would be the best course of action. Without a doubt, Bungie could continue to push more and more Battlegrounds into Vanguard Ops as they become available. As an alternative, they may choose to divide Vanguard Ops into playlists specifically for Strike and Battleground. From the perspective of the players, this could be more effective, but more incentives would need to be included to encourage players to interact with the Battleground playlist.
The majority of gamers would probably If all that's needed to complete the ongoing Pathfinder activities are activity completions, then always select the Strike playlist because of its simplicity and quickness. Battlegrounds are enjoyable, but not very enjoyable. is the real-world indicator of an activity's effectiveness in a live-service title, not efficacy.
All things considered, it ought to be clear that the way Vanguard Ops are managed has to be changed. As it is, players that want to interact with a random assortment of Strikes cannot do so since the playlist presents Battleground after Battleground fairly often. It's not ideal that Vanguard Ops inserts participants into a Battleground since I've seen players quit. What, do they just keep going on missions till one of the strikes up? Fantastic fun, huh?
In any event, Bungie will need to react in some way, and tragically, the Vanguard Ops playlist may not work out as it is now.