‘Destiny 2’ Brings Control Multiplayer Back At A Faster Pace For PS4, Xbox One, And PC
Control was a multiplayer mainstay in Destiny and will be back for Destiny 2 when it hits the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this September. However, it is coming with some changes that will make for faster paced matches than the original version, per new information Bungie shared with IGN.
As previously covered, Destiny 2 is changing all multiplayer activities to 4 versus 4 matches from a mix of 6 versus 6 or 3 versus 3 in the original game. Playing with four less Guardians naturally forces some changes to Control while the developers appear to have made other decisions to make matches go faster.
The 15-minute slog fests in the original Control will be shortened to only 8 minutes for Destiny 2. That’s nearly half the length of a normal match and will drastically speed up matches. The mercy rule will still be in effect, but this is something that will be tweaked through the beta and likely post-launch as well.
How Control points are captured is another significant change to speeding up matches. Matches will start with points A and C automatically captured. This puts players on both sides on the move and into confrontation immediately instead of spreading out over the map with three possible capture points at the beginning.
Destiny 2 will no longer require players to first neutralize an enemy control point and then capture it. Additionally, the capture speed can no longer be increased by multiple Guardians standing on the capture point. This was done to prevent players and teammates from clumping up, which will likely reduce multi-kill super abilities in Control, and offer more tactical options to players. The time to capture a point has been decreased to make up for the other changes.
Scoring has also been simplified for Destiny 2‘s version of Control. Kills with one control point held earns one point, kills with two control points held earns two points, and kills with three control points held triggers a “Power Play” mode for three points per kill. The total number of points to win looks like 70 or 75 based on the IGN video.
Finally, the smaller team sizes mean smaller maps too. The “Endless Vale” map revealed today is described by IGN as about the same size as “The Burning Shrine” and “Anomaly.” The initial multiplayer map used at the Destiny 2 reveal event and E3 is also about the same size. This suggests a move to smaller maps overall, which will also make Control matches faster paced.
The Destiny 2 beta will go live for PlayStation 4 pre-orders first on July 18 followed by the Xbox One on July 19 with 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT start times for both days. The open beta for consoles will then follow on July 21 and the entire fun will end at 12 a.m. ET on July 24 (9 p.m. PT, July 23).
A PC beta is planned as well. Exact dates and times have not been nailed down yet, but it is expected to become available this August.
The beta will feature the “Homecoming” opening mission along with the “Inverted Spire” strike for PVE activities. PVP will feature Control plus the brand-new Countdown game type. Destiny 2 beta players will also have access to the sub-classes including the Dawnblade Warlock, Arcstrider Hunter, and Sentinel Titan. Bungie will also have a brief one-hour preview of The Farm social space on Sunday, July 23 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
[Featured Image by Bungie]
