Few games have dominated a category like Destiny 2 has done with the action MMO scene in the last few years, although in the overall free-to-play space, the Bungie product has endured stiff competition from the likes of the Overwatch franchise along its path to international stardom. Destiny 2's advancements in PvE and PvP gameplay have made the title a trailblazer in online gaming, attracting swathes of esports players and Twitch influencers with each new expansion release and Raid Race. Destiny 2's successes are exemplary for modern generation shooters, and with Overwatch 2's PvE story mode in the works and adopting more futuristic ideas, developer Blizzard could look to Destiny 2's Gambit Mode as a source of inspiration for more content.
PvPvE has been touted as the future of gaming in some circles, combining elements of NPC interaction and multiplayer gameplay, although the mechanism has taken quite a while to spread its wings and fly in the industry. Most gamers still prefer traditional PvP modes, and Destiny 2 is no different, with players investing large chunks of their playtime into Crucible. Gambit, on the other hand, has struggled for attention from Destiny 2's fan base, with the mode lagging well behind its Crucible counterpart in average time spent. A few reasons have been proffered for Gambit's struggles, and Overwatch 2 would do well to take note of the mode's history before any attempt at employing the PvPvE format.
Destiny 2's Gambit Mode Has Had a Turbulent Past
Gambit Mode's journey in Destiny 2 has been anything but smooth sailing, performing far below Bungie's initial expectations in just about every way possible. Usually, gamers are open to testing new mechanisms, but Gambit Mode has been unable to garner much optimism from the Destiny fan base, with most players preferring to spend their gaming hours testing out Destiny 2's other gaming modes. Bungie has made several attempts to fix the problems with the Gambit Mode to entice gamers' interest, most of which have proved unsuccessful.
Gambit Mode's balance has floundered since its inception, sporting problems with its Titan builds, invasions, and other minor bugs. Considering the fan base's numerous complaints, Destiny 2's developers set about to improve the mode's gaming experience, introducing a flurry of changes in The Witch Queen expansion in 2022. The upgrades aimed to reduce the occurrences of strong individual builds melting bosses and increase rewards for mote collection. Although the expansion brought a few notable improvements, like increasing respawn points and concealing a player's motes from an invader, it also raised a few problems that accentuated some of the most irritating aspects of the Gambit's gameplay.
To combat the problem of players defeating bosses too easily after a few Envoy wins, Bungie introduced damage gating, making Primevals practically invincible unless every Envoy on the battlefield had fallen. However, this mechanism overcorrected on the difficulty issue, effectively discouraging players from trying their hands at the Gambit Mode unless necessary. Not much has changed positively in Gambit Mode since The Witch Queen expansion fixes, with reports of persistent bugs in the gameplay as recently as January, in the weeks leading up to the release of the highly anticipated Lightfall expansion. Players made complaints of not receiving post-match rewards, Rank XP, and complete suspension from the game's servers in some cases.
Gambit's Struggles Could Open the Door for PvPvE Gameplay in Overwatch 2
The lack of player progression, coupled with Gambit's struggles in its gameplay, made it essentially unplayable. Players found it hard to invest their time in a format that didn't guarantee them rewards, and as such, Gambit's reputation took a further hit. The mode's misfortunes in Destiny 2 have led it to become one of the least played modes in the title, and the State of the Game address from director Joe Blackburn doesn't inspire hope that the mode will feature in the game's plans for the future.
The conspicuous omission of Gambit from the post raised eyebrows but utlimately did not come as a surprise, as Gambit - originally intended to be a part of Destiny 2's core ritual activity grind - has struggled mightily. However, the PvPvE mechanism's potential isn't easy to ignore, and Overwatch 2's foray into a PvE mode could open the door for future use of PvPvE in the title. Overwatch 2's introduction of a PvE mode comes on the back of the successes of its PvP format, which hit a player base landmark of 25 million within the first ten days of its release.
Despite the impressive numbers, gamers noted the drop in quality between the original Overwatch and its sequel upon release, and while Blizzard has made a handful of corrections to polish Overwatch 2's gameplay, the PvE mode could determine the title's fortunes for years to come. Blizzard has big plans for the story mode, intending to further Overwatch's lore through PvE, and adding numerous enemy types for players to test their skills against. In-depth information on the mode has been hard to come by, as the developer keeps mute about Overwatch 2's PvE content, although speculation has been rife in some circles.
With optimism high for Overwatch 2's PvE mode due to its reported depth, Blizzard could further Overwatch's lore with a foray into PvPvE provided its PvE mode lives up to expectations. Although meshing the elements of PvE and PvP is a difficult task, Destiny 2's experiences with Gambit should provide a detailed blueprint for Overwatch to create a successful PvPvE mode. While Gambit has a problematic reputation, the format's improvements - although minimal compared to its problems - should inspire confidence in PvPvE's overall potential.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.