Soft Opening - Thoughts on Gambit

I'm sure by now many of you have played the Gambit free trial offered by Bungie. The trial lasted 24 hours, but in that short time everyone was able to get in a LOT of games.

Gambit is the first PvEvP hybrid mode offered by Bungie in the world of Destiny. Eight Guardians, 4 on each team, are spawned on the Drifter's ship, the Drifter flips a token which shows the enemy type the Guardians will face, then you are sent to the destination (in the trial it was the same Earth map, the only one in the rotation).

The first few matches, I tried not to have a critical mind, instead trying to just enjoy the game, learn the mechanics, and help boost my team to a win. As the matches went on; however, I started to pay attention to the small details.

Overall, Gambit offers a very nice and welcomed break from the traditional Crucible styles of gameplay we've enjoyed (or haven't enjoyed, if salt levels are too high). There really isn't too much "bad" to say about this new gametype that will officially debut in Forsaken. I enjoyed every match, even though it became very repetitive playing on the same map. My fireteam encountered enough variety in the opposing team's strategy that we were kept on our toes throughout the matches. We adapted our strategies and made the most of it, winning some and losing some, but all had very positive things to say about Gambit.

Premise

The premise of Gambit is simple:

Spawn in, move to first engagement area where enemies are dropped in/spawned
Kill those enemies and pick up motes
Deposit motes to send "Blockers" to the opposing team's side
Deposit 75 motes to summon the Primeval
First to kill the Primeval wins the round
Best 2 out of 3 wins the match

Square off against a team of 4 guardians in the new "Gambit" mode

Pretty easy, right?

Pick up 5 motes, you have enough for a small blocker, 10 for a medium blocker, and 15 for a large blocker. "Blockers" are taken enemies that are spawned on the opposing team's side. At the same time, when a Blocker is deployed, the opposing team will not be able to deposit motes, thus denying them the opportunity to gain ground. In order to return the mote deposit box/tower/thingie, the team must kill the blocker.

At marked intervals on the deposit bar, a portal opens and allows a guardian to teleport to the other side. The mission here is simple: defeat opposing guardians, and if you are successful, they drop all motes they have not deposited (and those motes cannot be picked up). You have 20 seconds on the other side to do as much damage and carnage to the opposing team. If you by chance defeat all 4 Guardians on the opposing team, you are teleported back to your side. After 20 seconds, or in the event you are defeated on the other side, you are teleported back to your side.

The overarching objective is to gain and deposit 75 motes, which spawns a "Primeval". Defeat the Primeval and you win the round. Win 2 rounds, and you win the match. Be careful, though, as any Guardian deaths heal the Primeval.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Gambit is very smooth. You spawn in, head to the first enemy drop zone, and start killing mobs. The difficulty of the mobs isn't really that high. A well-thrown grenade and a flank route proved to be a good opening strategy to maximizing efficiency and motes.

Deposit enough motes and you can invade the opposing team's side to wreak havoc

If you have a good team of competent players alongside you, gathering motes won't be that difficult. Work out a strategy with your team, and you should do just fine.

Gambit is a race, but it is certainly not a sprint. It is a marathon! Simply killing mobs as fast as possible and gathering motes will be effective to a point, but you do need a strategy with your team to be the MOST effective.

Story

It is very clear there is a back story to Gambit and the Drifter. The Drifter's voice over lines often refer to embracing the darkness, and he takes shots at the Vanguard as well. Couple this with the "Season of the Drifter" drop that will come in Spring of 2019, and we know that there will be more to come.

The biggest "thing" to notice is that the Drifter has the capability of controlling Fallen, Cabal, and even the Taken. There is much more to come on this, I'm sure, and we wait with anticipation to learn more.

Deposit enough motes and you will send a Taken blocker to the opposing team

In the roadmap that was released by Bungie last week, they also state that Gambit will evolve with the Spring 2019 content drop. Again, we must wait to see exactly what this means. Maybe a 3-team Arena environment?? (That would be chaotic and SOOO much fun!)

Another thought on the story of Gambit comes in the definition of the word:

"...a device, action, or opening remark, typically one entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage."

As Guardians, specifically in the lore, we have frequently faced choices which require us to make some sort of sacrifice in order to help the greater good. The Weapons of Sorrow often detail how our use of the weapons actually assists our enemies in some fashion. Read the lore tab on Whisper of the Worm if you would like a little taste of this concept.

The Drifter is a new vendor for the Gambit game mode, and is sure to have a story behind him

My questions would be:

"How does this gambit provide an advantage, who is making the sacrifice or taking on great risk, and who benefits from this advantage?"

Issues

As said above, there are not many issues with Gambit. I do feel that some weapons will need to be adjusted for this game mode (ahem Sleeper Simulant). Of course, I don't fault any Guardian for using a weapon that proves to be very effective at completing something in Destiny 2, but getting one-shot when you have a large amount of motes piled up is frustrating to say the least.

There was some "rubber banding" of mobs, but I'm sure that is something that will always be around in one fashion or another. This wasn't a large enough concern to dampen the enthusiasm of playing the game mode.

Final Thoughts

Gambit is a game mode I will thoroughly enjoy. We will have mode-specific loot and the Drifter will become a vendor. Infamy will be introduced, much like Valor and Glory, allowing us to become Legend in this mode as well.

When Forsaken drops, Gambit won't be the first mode I dive in to, but after a long grind on the story mode, I can most certainly see the allure of playing a few matches in Gambit.

Gambit will be fully released on September 4th with the release of Destiny 2: Forsaken.

What are your thoughts on the game mode? What do you look forward to the most, and was the trial of Gambit enough to have you come back for more post-launch?