I wanted to give feedback on the Trials changes. I also feel like context is important here; so whoever reads it understands the perspective and experience behind it. I've played a LOT of Trials between D1 and D2, considering how unsuccessful most of my Trials experience has been. I only made it flawless in D1 when I was being carried and was never able to get flawless in Trials of the Nine. The return of Trials of Osiris pre-Season of the Lost got more interesting. The majority of the experience was grouping with my friends and failing to go Flawless. As my friends gave up on bothering in the game mode, I started to queue into No Mic LFG groups on the Destiny App. Even before the bounty changes, I worked towards earning the loot with a few wins here and there. After a lot of painful play, I eventually made it Flawless a few lucky times - still unable to queue up with my friends (who I want to play with) for a successfully Flawless card.
I used to think the solution to Trials was a Flawless pool, once you go Flawless you only play other Flawless (everyone is familiar with this now). I also suggested locked-cards until Flawless or a loss appeared on the card (reduce gate keeping). - These were based on no other changes to the way players could earn rewards. I assumed that this would give my friends and I a chance to go Flawless once a weekend.
I earned all the non-Flawless-locked rewards prior to SotL but only 2 or 3 adept weapons. My play probably improved along the way but the mode felt like the most toxic, inconsistent mess; full of cheaters and network manipulators. I've always played on Playstation only and my understanding is cheating is far less rampant - it did not feel that way.
Cut to SotL:
- Week 1 was awesome. I queued up with some friends, went Flawless, and proceeded to win 7 additional matches on that card. Loot was great and the experience was good. It was awesome to be able to play with the people I wanted to play with. Some matches were difficult but they felt fair and connected. We didn't reset the card until forgiveness and a loss broke it (I have the rest off the loot; when adepts stop dropping, I don't see the point). The follow-up cards were more difficult and matches felt sweatier through the weekend. I managed a second Flawless, played all weekend, and enjoyed the experience. Matches after Flawless, both wins and losses were still fun and my friends and I didn't feel the barrier to entry.
- Week 2 the first card felt more difficult. We had a few losses resulting in resets, but managed to go Flawless. We then tested the water in the Flawless pool (this was either Friday or Saturday), and were met abruptly with a wall of players above our skill. I attempted a few cards through the weekend but couldn't get past 4 wins with my friends or solo. It was very disheartening when I had friends that wanted to play, but didn't want to play with me, as the Flawless pool was too difficult.
- Week 3 felt a lot like week 2; difficult matches but relatively balanced for first attempts to Flawless. It took the longest of the 3 weeks to get the Flawless card complete. Once Flawless, it felt like the Flawless pool was still active. I realize it wasn't supposed to be activated until Sunday but post-Flawless matches felt distinctly different. The control point was interesting but it didn't feel like Trials to me. Once the Flawless pool went active, I tried a few more rounds and still felt completely out of my league. Friends I also wanted to play with towards the end of the weekend didn't want to play in the Flawless pool.
All in all, Trials has improved with the changes. While the first week was by far the best experience I've ever had in a Trials game-mode, I understand that there were still players that felt a barrier to entry. I'm concerned that the Flawless pool divides the population and separates players that want to be able to group with each other. I don't like gate-keeping by the top 1% of players and would hate to see the mode fall back into that space. I also think the one-Flawless-and-done split won't help to retain player engagement in the mode. To be blunt, the pace of additional loot is too low if the goal is to keep the mode populated with multiple separate pools of difficulty. With all the play I've done I think the best thing for Trials is whatever keeps the highest population engaged in the mode. If the Flawless pool were to stay, I'd like to see what it would be like if it were locked to the card. A reset would give another fresh chance at Flawless but matchmaking would keep the matches balanced.
Your role as a moderator enables you immediately ban this user from messaging (bypassing the report queue) if you select a punishment.
7 Day Ban
7 Day Ban
30 Day Ban
Permanent Ban
This site uses cookies to provide you with the best possible user experience. By clicking 'Accept', you agree to the policies documented at Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
Accept
This site uses cookies to provide you with the best possible user experience. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the policies documented at Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
close
Our policies have recently changed. By clicking 'Accept', you agree to the updated policies documented at Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
Accept
Our policies have recently changed. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the updated policies documented at Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.