As anticipation continues to mount for Destiny: The Taken King, Bungie has stayed on the ball as far as informing would-be Guardians about everything related to the upcoming expansion's content. In fact, just recently, the studio let the public in on new details regarding the DLC's Strikes, as well as fresh information about collectible Ghost shells that affect characters stats and add perks. Considering such upgrades, it's arguable that Bungie has kept their diehard devotees at the forefront of their thoughts throughout the development of The Taken King, especially with the developer making sure to stay in the loop as to what fans want by asking them about their most wanted features for the action-RPG.
Bearing all of this in mind, Bungie is well aware that one of Destiny's most enjoyable aspects is the Crucible, so the company is striving to give fans the best and freshest experiences possible when it comes to the PvP multiplayer battles in The Taken King by including eight new maps for the mode. And as it happens, the fine folks over at Game Informer recently secured the help of Senior Multiplayer Designer Andrew Weldon to give people a better idea about what can be expected from each of these locations.
Before delving into the maps themselves, it's important to realize that while some of these places are indeed Crucible-friendly, they may work better for other game modes, for Bungie has been known to design environments catering to specific gameplay styles. At any rate, the eight new maps are called Bannerfall, Frontier, Crossroads, Sector 618, Ghost Ship, Exile, Memento, and Vertigo. The details that run down their varied strengths, weaknesses, and artistic designs are below.
Bannerfall
• A solid, mid-sized map suited for Control and Rift matches
• Layout is similar to Tower set in-between missions
• Large, open courtyard reminiscent of the Guardian Tower's, but with an angled back alleyway
• Bungie's Explanation: “At one time there was a fourth faction that held court in this tower along with the beginnings of the New Monarchy faction. You can see that in the banners on each side of the map. On one side you have the familiar New Monarchy logo, but on the other you have this unfamiliar logo that is still tattered and torn from when this faction used to exist."
Crossroads
• Vex structure on Mars with teleporters
• Perfect for Mayhem matches, allowing for great launches, and time to teleport away for special attack recharges
• Main body is separated by small island
• Bungie's Explanation: "It’s almost two maps, because there is an entire chunk that functions as its main body where the teams spawn, and then there is a separate island that is a gnarled mass of trees and roots set way off to the side. They’re connected via launchers that catapult you across the map as well as three sets of teleporters.”
Ghost Ship
• First Crucible map set in the Reef, and is a Fallen ship out of commission after a Hive attack
• Smallest map in The Taken King
• Best-suited for battles with fewest people possible
• Bungie's Explanation: "Ghost Ship features some low gravity effects, so dead Guardians and other objects will slowly float away."
Frontier
• Set far out on the city perimeter of Earth
• Semi-symmetric map with a train track running through its center and across a bridge for bottleneck combat
• Showcase Rift map with lots of clean sniper sight-lines
• Bungie's Explanation: “One of the landmarks on the map is a little gondola platform, which is actually the same gondola you see in Twilight Gap. The idea is that these two maps are connected to each other. In the skybox, you can actually see that little outpost up in the mountains.”
Exile
• Hive prison cell inside of one of Oryx's ships orbiting Saturn with architectural details resembling the Dreadnaught
• Long, narrow, and suited for Control and Clash mode
• Lower level gives combat a vertical feel, and complicated maze of corridors has tight corners
• Bungie's Explanation: “There are three main lanes through the map. There is the bridge side that takes you out past a window that shows you Saturn and some of the other ships in Oryx’s fleet. Down the middle of the map is a ramp that takes you through a circular room with a crystal in it. In that room is a dropdown, which allows you to enter a lower catacomb level.”
Memento
• Set in European Dead Zone
• Built with two larger buildings in a triangular shape, with larger courtyard in the middle
• Moderate size good for Control and Clash mode
• Bungie's Explanation: "Memento has a couple of significant elevation shifts where you can get some really strong high ground advantages.”
Sector 618
• Set inside the Cosmodrome wall, it has various floating platforms that could send Guardians falling to their doom, so there will be lots of careful jumping
• Square layout with two bridges intersecting with central chasm
• Unfortunately for Xbox owners, it's exclusive to the PlayStation 4
• Bungie's Explanation: "The core footprint of the map is the square created by the bridges . . . but on either side you have these multistage jump routes where you can platform up to the high bridge and then jump along the side to get the drop on another player. We wanted to give players a lot of different ways to move through space in interesting ways.”
Vertigo
• Vex structure set high above Mercury
• Symmetrical map
• Includes Cabal "bolted-on" architecture
• Bungie's Explanation: “One of the key features of the map is a one-way teleporter that spits players out on a really powerful platform on the other side of the map. That platform gives you great coverage of both ends of the map and really opens up some interesting gameplay moments. Vertigo’s one central control room is really crucial and gives you fast access to anywhere on the map.”
With so many up-to-date details to take into consideration in reference to The Taken King's new Crucible maps, it's no wonder why so many Destiny fans have maintained faith in Bungie's abilities. And with the promise of the forthcoming expansion's Fall Raid being the biggest yet, Guardians are sure to stick around for the foreseeable future.
Destiny: The Taken King is set to release on September 15, 2015, for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Source: Game Informer