Destiny 2 fans made their concerns about the seasonal artifact being enabled in the Trials of Osiris competitive PvP mode clear, and development studio Bungie has heard their requests. The developer will keep the artifact disabled in Destiny 2's new-and improved Trials until a limit on its extra power bonuses is implemented, according to game director Luke Smith.
Bungie confirmed that Trials of Osiris would finally return to Destiny this week. The competitive PvP mode debuted in the original Destiny, and has proven to be a long-standing desire for fans since Destiny 2's original Trials of the Nine failed to impress. Fans took the news well, but a subset of Guardians grew concerned that a more recent addition to the game would throw a wrench in the mode's original design.
Seasonal artifacts, introduced alongside last year's Shadowkeep expansion, allow players to boost their characters' power levels indefinitely past the game's cap by earning additional XP levels through the Season Pass and beyond. Trials of Osiris, unlike the game's traditional Crucible PvP, gives players advantages based on their power level, meaning that if the seasonal artifact was enabled, players with enough time and dedication to grind out excessive power levels could theoretically have an advantage far beyond those who simply hit the traditional level cap.
The developers originally intended to keep power levels earned through the artifact turned on, as eagle-eyed fans figured out with the Trials of Osiris trailer released earlier this week. After a significant outcry from players, Bungie quickly changed course after the reveal, with game director Luke Smith confirming through Twitter that the initial release of the mode would keep artifact levels disabled until the team could implement a level cap.
The change in strategy for Trials of Osiris puts the revived game mode more in line with the original version, which debuted in the original Destiny's House of Wolves expansion. Guardian teams of three fight against each other in an elimination match, with the ultimate goal of winning seven matches to gain passage to the exclusive Lighthouse social space and some of the most powerful rewards in the game.
The original version of Trials ran over weekends from Friday to Tuesday in Destiny 1, which also appears to be the case for the revival, launching on Friday, March 13. With worries of the artifact providing players unlimited power put to rest, Guardians can focus instead on maximizing their Destiny 2 loadouts and getting their teams prepped for the battle of their lives.
Destiny 2 is out now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
Source: Luke Smith on Twitter