Is There PvP in Destiny Rising?

The Destiny series has consistently catered to a passionate PvP community. Engaging in Competitive matches or Trials of Osiris offers players a distinct competitive experience. If you’re a fan of PvP contemplating the new features of Destiny: Rising, you might find that the new title has less PvP content compared to the primary installments.

Destiny: Rising includes PvP, but this aspect is more of an auxiliary feature rather than a fundamental component of the game. The focus remains largely on PvE, where players engage in Strikes, raids, Singularity, and various quests to gather resources for their characters.

Below is a summary of all the PvP modes featured in Destiny: Rising, along with their mechanics and the rewards they offer.

All PvP Modes in Destiny Rising

Iron Bar

A chance to control those zones.

Iron Bar offers a standard 6v6 Control playlist on classic maps from Destiny, such as Meltdown and Vostok. This mode is available from Friday to Sunday and permits players to earn weapons, weapon parameters, and casual activity rewards.

To ensure fairness, Iron Bar implements a Fair Play modifier that impacts players’ abilities and weapons:

All character abilities are set to level one.
Enhancements for damage from weapons are disabled.
Character talents are not functional.
Artifact attributes and perks are turned off.

The time-to-kill in Destiny: Rising progresses slower than in Destiny 2, and abilities have reduced damage output. This is why players start matches with additional Heavy ammo for their Power weapons, along with opportunities to acquire more ammo during gameplay.

Shifting Gates

A refined Gambit experience.

Shifting Gates represents a PvPvE mode, reminiscent of Gambit from Destiny 2. Participants complete objectives and eliminate enemies to gather data, which must then be submitted at the terminal. Each match consists of six teams of three, all pursuing the same goal, allowing players the chance to contest and seize the data collected by other teams–this is the PvP element of this mode.

This larger-scale mode is consistently available, featuring dedicated ranking rewards and seasonal progress tracks, including opportunities to acquire Exotic weapons exclusive to Shifting Gates. Additionally, weekly challenges and options to utilize Pinnacle Energy add further layers to gameplay.

Shifting Gates also employs the Fair Play modifier, though its parameters differ from Iron Bar:

Gear restrictions apply.
Health, shield, defense, and ability strength are limited to Team Level one values.
Signature abilities and Supers are restricted to level one.
Weapon Mastery is fixed at level five.
Abilities and Talents are fine-tuned against players.
Weapons are capped at Gear Level one.
Modifications, enhancements, and Exotic catalysts are disabled.
Damage output against players is adjusted.
Attributes for artifacts are limited to perks only.

The primary distinction from Iron Bar is that Talents are active, which could influence gameplay dynamics. While this isn’t expected to lead to a pay-to-win scenario, players should be mindful of this when facing opponents.