With the release of Grandmaster Nightfalls this week in Destiny 2, players are now able to climb to the uppermost levels of Guardian Ranks. But there’s something curious about the whole Guardian Rank system — you can make it to Rank 11 without engaging with PVP at all.
The most that Guardian Ranks even acknowledges the PVP element of Destiny 2 is by asking you to speak to the vendors associated with the Crucible and Trials of Osiris. You aren’t asked to play these modes at all, much less get good at them. That raises the question — does Bungie not consider PVP an essential aspect of Destiny 2 anymore?
At this point, some Crucible players are likely saying “of course they don’t.” The lack of new maps, adjustments to matchmaking, and allowance of broken artifact perks in PVP all contribute to a feeling that the Crucible just isn’t a priority for Destiny 2. Still, it’s odd that the Guardian Ranks system doesn’t introduce players to PVP at all. Other aspects of the game, like Seasonal Challenges, do push players towards at least occasionally dipping their toes into the Crucible, Gambit, and even Trials of Osiris. So if Guardian Ranks are supposed to demonstrate a player’s mastery of everything that Destiny 2 has to offer, then why not the Crucible?
Maybe Bungie feels that the Seasonal Challenges and Pinnacle rewards are enough of an incentive for players to get into the Crucible. But the fact remains that there is really no good onboarding method for Destiny 2‘s PVP. Unless players are willing to dive into external sources of information, they’re unlikely to get any better. Guardian Ranks could help introduce players to PVP beyond “here’s where the vendors are in the Tower,” by pushing them to actually play some matches and maybe even score a win or two.
Would that be so bad? PVE-only players might be up in arms about this, but consider that PVP-focused Destiny 2 players who want to climb Guardian Ranks currently have to play nothing but PVE. Unless Bungie really intends to gradually downplay the Crucible over the next few seasons, it only seems right that Guardian Ranks should require — if not victories — then at least participation in Destiny 2‘s PVP modes.
