Destiny Devs Reveal Crotas End Secrets

Although Destiny developer Bungie has been fairly vocal when it comes to upcoming content like new raids, new events, and new patches, they very rarely look back. More specifically, we’ve yet to hear Bungie spend too much time explaining why specific elements of Destiny were designed the way they were.

This week, however, a group of three Bungie developers took to the Crota’s End raid with three members of the ‘Dads of Destiny’ clan and livestreamed the event to the public. The raid run itself wasn’t particularly interesting, as the fireteam downed Crota in a timely manner, but what the Bungie devs had to say about designing the raid was.

As the fire team went through each section of Crota’s End, the Bungie devs offered some interesting tidbits about their design. They revealed that the entire raid was designed with an “action movie” feel in mind. Some had wondered whether Bungie was surprised that players could complete it so quickly, but turns out that was their plan all along.

The Abyss

Destiny Patch Before Crota End Hard Mode

According to the Bungie developers, The Abyss section was hard to get right. They wanted to get the thrall spawn timers such that they were always a nuisance, but never overwhelming. The devs also revealed that the Lamp lighting mechanic from The Abyss is something that they may incorporate into future content, specifically the idea of coordinating movement.

The Bridge

The bridge was apparently meant to give players a chance to learn how to wield the sword. Ideally, each player would get across and take out a Gatekeeper, and that would eventually be enough practice for the final showdown with Crota.

Unfortunately, most players have found clever ways to bypass using 6 swords to get through the section. Many can just get a hold of one sword, fly across the chasm, and be done with it. We doubt that’s what Bungie intended.

Indiana Jones Hallway

The hall with Shriekers and Thralls was meant to have an Indiana Jones feel to it as the team tries to beat the closing door. Bungie had hoped to make it so players would have to slide under a door to get to the chest, but the closing door is what we got.

Destiny Dark Below Hot Fix

Song of Ir Yut

Ir Yut has always been a point of contention for Crota’s End raiders, even after Bungie gave the section a loot drop. During the stream, the Bungie devs revealed that the fight was original supposed to be a gear check, so players could see if their weapons and armor were up to the task of taking down Crota. Unfortunately, no one thought to ask why the team has to kill a seemingly random amount of enemies before the checkpoint takes effect.

Taking Down Crota

The only real interesting tidbit from the Crota fight was that Bungie put the Gatekeepers in the top rooms because they didn’t want players to get up there. In their mind, they didn’t want the fight to get “boring” and so they tried to keep people from going to a very safe vantage point. They also probably didn’t want players cheating their way through the encounter.

Crotas End Hard Mode Release Date

Overall, it was an interesting stream to watch, if only for the tiny design details about Crota’s End. However, the Bungie devs did talk a little bit about Destiny in general, specifically with new content and updates. The developers said that there are multiple teams working on different sections of the game, so while players may only know about an upcoming weapon patch, there is more in the pipeline. They also revealed that Queen’s Wrath needs a lot of work, and therefore players shouldn’t expect it anytime soon.

More Before House of Wolves

And finally, the developers did talk about House of Wolves, or rather that the DLC won’t be the only event for Destiny players to look forward to. They wouldn’t say what events are in the pipeline, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see more Iron Banner and there’s still the Trials of Osiris PvP event.

Destiny House of Wolves DLC

Ultimately, the Bungie developers were well trained with regards to what they could and couldn’t say. Some streamers and the Dads of Destiny prodded, but the bigger questions were never answered. Still, it’s interesting to hear straight from Bungie why they designed the raid in the manner they did. At the very least, it should help paint the experience in a different light.

Do you think Bungie should bring back the Queen’s Wrath event? How do you feel about their motivations behind specific raid sections?

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Source: Twitch (via Reddit)