The return of Destiny 2’s Guardian Games in 2024 brought with it the best rewards the event has ever seen, courtesy of items like the Skimmer, but that alone isn’t enough to keep players engaged. In fact, widespread sentiment suggests many players are done with the concept entirely.
“Can we finally admit that the concept of Guardian Games doesn’t work?” read one post that picked up traction on Reddit yesterday. “I get the appeal of a ‘Clash of the Classes’ kind of thing, and maybe it would work as a one-off activity that was on rotation every now and then. As a full fledged event that lasts three weeks, though? Nah.”
There are several reasons for the contempt Guardian Games has earned since its introduction to Destiny 2 in 2020 with Season of the Worthy. One of the largest, outlined by u/Christophisis in the post, is how fabricated the competition is. “Since its inception, the outcome of this event has been based almost entirely on the method the class scores are ‘balanced’. If it’s based on the total number of players of a given class doing a given thing, Hunters will always win. Period.”
As a commenter added, the competition is “mostly just a bounty grind.” Classes score points for their team by depositing medallions in the Tower, and all of the most valuable ones are locked behind Contender Cards purchased from Eva Levante. “It’s less ‘which class is better’ and more ‘which class has more people willing to mindlessly grind medals.'”
“This is one of those things that are fundamentally flawed in concept,” said another player. “Bungie doesn’t like admitting it and will double down every time.”
But flaws with the class balance (ones that have been pointed out in years prior, as well) aren’t enough by themselves for the negativity to have reached such a fever pitch. Instead, it’s new issues like the grind for the permanent Skimmer and the Focus Activity system that have exacerbated the discourse.
Destiny 2 players love the Skimmer. It’s the franchise’s first new personal vehicle, and has a mobility and cool factor that Sparrows lack. But getting a permanent one for free requires completing one of three quest steps, all of which either require a lot of grinding or that you play the right class at the right time. The latter requirement, earning three Focus Activity winners packages, has already effectively pushed everyone into only playing Hunter while the Focus Activity is live.
“The fact that people are legitimately forgoing their main to play on Hunter just to get the skimmer faster is enough to damn this year’s games,” wrote one reply. “The balancing is the worst it’s ever been.” This was supported by a player who said “I think dangling the carrot of the Skimmer tied to the winning class really pushed it too far.”
The bias is showing in the results—Hunters have been comfortably winning Guardian Games throughout the first week of the event.
Bungie could balance the classes to curb Hunters’ continued dominance, but while players still need Focus Activity winners packages, more of them than ever are earning their Medallions on Hunter. The Destiny 2 team already had to implement scaling changes to the Focus Activity over the weekend, and it remains to be seen if the permanent fix slated for this week will meaningfully move the needle on the class winning each Focus Activity window.
It’s difficult to imagine what the future holds for the Guardian Games. Everything beyond the launch of The Final Shape for Destiny 2 is unclear other than the presence of Episodes in place of the seasonal model. Which events will stay and go as the new era is ushered in isn’t a big point of conversation, but personally, I’d love to see a return to a refurbished take on The Revelry event that Guardian Games replaced.
