I finished my first Magnificent set of Solstice armor in Destiny 2 this weekend, and so I’ve set out to get the glows done on it as well. I love the look of the armor this year, and knocking out the first few was a breeze; a Nightmare Hunt and Altars of Sorrow completion each take about ten minutes to do. But one requirement sticks out like a sore thumb. To complete your Magnificent armor’s glow, you’ll need seven wins in Trials of Osiris.
Let me be clear: Trials is for absolute sickos. It’s Destiny 2‘s hardest of hardcore PVP modes, in which two teams of maniacs compete to be the first to five round wins, with the eventual goal of getting seven wins in a row to get loot drops from the Lighthouse. I joke, but as one of the few PVP modes in Destiny 2 that actually penalizes losing, Trials attracts not just the sweatiest players, but also rampant cheating, paid carries, and basically the worst elements of any online game. It’s a mode I and many Destiny 2 players would prefer to forget exists, and I was quite happy to never step foot in it ever since it returned last season. Until now.
I don’t actually mind Crucible in Destiny 2, and I even love the Iron Banner. But my time with Trials so far has been miserable. It’s bad enough that you need seven wins, but matches themselves require winning five rounds. And since all I care about is the seven wins, not streaks, if my team is down a few rounds I’d rather just throw the match so we can try to find players closer to our skill level next time.
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The other requirements to complete the Solstice armor glow are nowhere near as challenging as Trials wins. As I already mentioned, Altars of Sorrow and Nightmare Hunts are a joke. Pit of Heresy is easy, if a little more time-consuming. The most difficult PVE requirement is a Master Nightfall, but even that is a pretty straightforward strike scenario. There are no Raid requirements, and players don’t even have to complete Pit with one fewer Guardian than the allowed number like they did for the similar objective featuring Shattered Throne in last year’s Solstice event.
Listen, I get it. It’s not like Bungie is holding a gun to my head and making me play Trials to get my armor to glow. I know that. But the inclusion of Trials as one of the objectives to do so just feels like a cheap attempt to boost interest in a mode that most players want nothing to do with. If Bungie wanted to up the Trials population, it would have been enough to require players to dip their toes into the mode. Why not just require seven Trials matches instead of wins?
I wouldn’t mind so much if the other Solstice glow requirements came anywhere close to the frustration of playing Trials. How about asking players to solo Pit of Heresy or complete a Raid challenge? As it is, throwing players to the wolves of the most broken mode in Destiny 2 feels cruel at worst and cynical at best.
