‘Destiny 2’ Escalation Protocol Feedback May Spawn Larger Fireteams In The Future
Escalation Protocol has managed to be a bright spot and sore point for Destiny 2 at the same time. On one hand, the end-game public event has proven to be an incredibly enticing challenge to players. On the other hand, the limitations of three-player fireteams have left PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC players calling for larger options to group up in public spaces. Bungie responded to the community Thursday evening in its weekly update.
The problem with trying to put together groups of six or more players for Escalation Protocol in Destiny 2 is the public spaces were designed to hold nine players. Additionally, many of the player slots are reserved for when a solo player enters a player space and then has one or two friends join him.
Meanwhile, fireteams in public spaces are limited to only three Guardians. This has led some Destiny 2 players to come up with creative ways to find various workarounds. This includes entering a public space in a fireteam of three, then breaking up the fireteam, and inviting other players. This has also led to unfortunate instances where players not in the group have been asked to leave the public space so they can invite their friends to join an Escalation Protocol battle.
Bungie Responds to Feedback
Bungie Lead Designer Jacob Benton explained Escalation Protocol was not necessarily designed with nine players in mind, though that obviously has its advantages for Guardians around Power Level 270 or lower.
“Escalation Protocol was designed to be a high-difficulty endgame activity for a max-level, three-player fireteam,” Benton wrote. “Other players in the world can contribute to make it easier, but they shouldn’t be required as long as your team is highly skilled and coordinated.”
Benton further went on to explain that the team designing the event at Bungie was aware Destiny 2 players would find creative ways to get buddies into the same space as they did with the Court of Oryx in Destiny: The Taken King. However, the Lead Designer says the studio is going to monitor Escalation Protocol for future improvements when it comes to getting together with friends and other possibilities.
“We’re going to continue to monitor as more players progress up to max Power and are able to attempt Escalation Protocol at the difficulty it was designed for and we’ll determine what, if any action, is necessary,” Benton explained before revealing, “We also hear players are really enjoying large groups of players fighting against enemies, so we’ll use that feedback to inform our future plans.”
Destiny 2 players shouldn’t expect to see a nine-player PVE game mode anytime soon, however. Bungie currently has a long list of updates planned for its roadmap plus a major expansion planned for release in September. The community feedback event the developer hosted prior to the launch of Warmind was rumored to include a peek at some of the content coming, including an all-new mode.
