‘Destiny’ Sparrow Racing League Debuts: What You Need To Know
The Destiny December update brings the inaugural Sparrow Racing League event to the PlayStation and Xbox shooter. This is an event that the community has requested since the game’s original launch, and Bungie has finally come through. This article was put together to explain what racing fans should expect in terms of the event and its rewards.
When Does It Run?
The Sparrow Racing League will run for three weeks from Tuesday, December 8, at 1 p.m. ET through the Weekly Reset that will occur at 3 a.m. ET on Tuesday, December 29.
Where Do I Go?
You’ll want to visit Amanda Holliday in the Tower hangar. She will provide access to the Sparrow Racing League (SRL) for all Destiny players with The Taken King. She will also be your one stop shop for the SRL License Quest and SRL Bounties.
The Sparrow Racing League consists of six man matchmade racing events on two courses specifically designed for racing. The normal difficulty course is set on Mars, and a harder difficulty one set on Venus.
Each race takes three laps and will feature enemies sprinkled throughout the course, along with obstacles, jumps, and boost gates. Learning the course and how to hit as many boost gates as possible will be the key to winning to maintain max speed. Missing a gate will reduce your speed, but that is not always a bad thing if you catch a shortcut. Additionally, you don’t want to take a gate at a bad angle going into a sharp turn or while out of control. That can cost more time than gained.
Additionally, the boost gates size depends on what place you are in. The player in first place will have narrow boost gates, while the last place player will have very wide boost gates/
The gates also return some fuel to the Sparrow, which is used for strafing and overdrive. Performing tricks can also add fuel.
Weapons and super abilities cannot be used during Sparrow Racing. However, players can bump each other out of the way of a gate or off a cliff to gain an advantage.
The Sparrows you already have will work in the races. You do not have to get one of the SRL Sparrows to compete. Just pick your favorite and go.
Tip: Use both thumbsticks to help manuever around corners. Use the left and right bumpers to strafe. A well timed strafe around a corner can not only help you take the corner sharper, but also give a boost.
What about Quests?
The first quest you will receive from Amanda Holliday is to earn your C-class racing license. This can be completed by simply competing in five races. Complete this quest to receive your first SRL Sparrow.
B, A, and S-class license quests are available to increase the SRL reputation rank and earn better rewards. Completing all the quests also grants the ability to purchase Legendary Sparrow Racing gear from Amanda Holliday – Gauntlets, Boots, Chest Armor, Helmet, and Class Items.
Here’s the breakdown of the Quests:
SRL: Class C License
- Requirement: Finish five races.
- Reward: EV-40 Snowscream
SRL: Class B License
- Requirement: Hit 60 gates in a single gates and get 100% gates hit overall. The latter will take about four races of hitting approximately 60 gates.
- Reward: Circuit Gauntlets and Circuit Striders (Boots)
SRL Class A License
- Requirement: Finish in the top 3 ten times and hit 15 consecutive gates.
- Reward: Circuit Chestplate
SRL Class S License
- Requirement: Win 3 races and complete 3 races without your Sparrow being destroyed.
- Reward: “Winner’s Circle” emblem and Circuit helmet
What about Bounties?
There are, of course, bounties offered by Amanda Holliday to earn Sparrow Racing League reputation rank, experience, and more. There are daily bounties and weekly bounties with the weekly bounties to complete 10 other bounties. This rewards a Racer’s Toolkit, which comes with SRL armor and possibly a horn to equip on your Sparrow and annoy opponents.
Crucible bounties not centered on kills can be completed in Sparrow Racing League.
What are my Rewards?
The Sparrow Racing League acts much like normal Destiny Crucible or even Iron Banner events. Players will be rewarded with Rare or Legendary gear, Horns, Motes of Light, Shaders, and/or Strange Coins at the end of each race.
The SRL gear is solely limited to Sparrow Racing armor. However, you will increase your chance at better rewards with a maxed SRL reputation rank. This gives the chance to drop Helmets and Class with up to a 320 Light level.
Additionally, you will get Crucible and Faction Reputation points.
Really, Horns?
Horns deserve their own section, because they are a little bit different from all the other rewards. These are effectively like the masks from Festival of the Lost. Rare horns will disappear after the first SRL event ends on December 29, while Legendary Horns will remain. Everyone will receive the “Happy Horn” by default.
To use a horn in a race, simply press Circle on the PlayStation controller or ‘B’ on the Xbox controller.
Rare Horns can be upgraded to Legendary by dismantling a Legendary Horn and receiving a Horn Relay. Attaching the Horn Relay to another Rare Horn will then upgrade it to Legendary.
Per Bungie, the only SRL gear that has Light are Helmets and Class Items. Additionally, they can be infused to a higher Light level, if desired.
Chest Armor, Boots, and Gauntlets do not come with Light level, but do have racing perks along with Helmets and Class Items. Here is the breakdown of the perks.
- Gauntlets – Side boost takes less fuel.
- Boots – The amount of fuel you gain from performing tricks is increased.
- Chest Armor – Reduced cooldown after the Sparrow is destroyed.
- Helmet – Use left stick to pitch the Sparrow forward or back while in the air. Pitch forward to fall faster, pitch back to fall slower. There is also a second perk usually associated with gaining bonus Super energy.
Those that don’t mind spending real world cash on in-game items can turn to the Eververse Trading Company. She is offering the following.
- SRL Record Book, Vol 1 – 1,000 Silver ($10)
- Sparrow Toolkit – 500 Silver ($5) for a guaranteed random Legendary SRL Sparrow.
- Custom Horn Kit – 100 Silver ($1) for a guaranteed random Legendary horn and possible Legendary SRL Sparrow.
- Victory Wave emote – 500 Silver ($5)
The SRL Record Book will likely be the most controversial item in the bunch due to its price. The book tracks your best laps, race times, tricks, races won, etc. It also offers rewards for completing certain objectives. These rewards include exclusive Sparrows, SRL Armor, emblems, and shader.
The items acquired from the SRL Record Book do not provide any competitive advantage, but offer fancier visual flair.
[Image via Bungie]
