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E3 2018: Air Assaults Check Out Destiny 2’s New Mode


On the edge of space, it is a dangerous, and often deadly move, to gamble your life. But, when you are facing the forces of darkness from the nether-regions of the universe, any move seems like a good one. Bungie recently announced its massive expansion to spearhead the second-year of Destiny 2, called Forsaken. 

Launching in September, Forsaken looks to put players on very edges of space, in a Western-inspired bitter tale of vengeance, where the lines of lawlessness and righteousness are blurred. While the story is under wraps until the end of the Summer, Bungie is introducing a brand new game mode that will certainly entice players looking for something new. 

This new game mode is called Gambit. At the Activision booth at E3, representatives of Seattle-based Bungie Studios introduced myself, and the Air Assaults of Stack Up, to Gambit. After about 15 minutes of interstellar combat, we came away from this mode both impressed and wanting more.

As an avid player of Destiny 2 myself, I was intrigued by this new game mode. As we waited for the demo station to clear, an introductory video played, describing Gambit as an interesting hybrid experiment. Gambit combines the very best of PvP and PvE in a 4v4 setting, requiring players to work together to face an opposing team that they will hardly ever see. 


Gambit requires players to hunt enemies, build obstacles, disrupt the enemy team, and eventually, slay a giant beast known as a primeval. Whoever gets to the primeval and eliminates it quickest wins the match. How this all works is through motes of light. 

During the match, each enemy slain will produce a mote of light. If a player collects enough motes of light, they can use the receptacle in the center of the map to deposit the motes and send an obstacle to the other team. This will include deadly effects and enemies, including the possibility of being transported to the other team as an invader, a super-powered guardian that can wreak havoc.  The more motes that are banked, the deadlier the obstacle the enemy team will encounter.

The demo had us all as warlocks, meaning there wasn’t any time to customize our play styles or access different classes. However, we could choose different firearms, including the very highly anticipated bow and arrow.  

The bow & arrow is a brand new weapon for Destiny 2 and will arrive when Forsaken launches. The arrows are imbued with light and the swiftness of the weapon allows players to move fast and strike with extreme accuracy.  At first, I was a little baffled that a bow & arrow was being used in a game featuring aliens and laser cannons. However, this weapon would prove to be quite decisive in a few moments. After a quick loading screen showing our vessels heading to Earth, the match began.

The Stack Up team hit the ground running, facing Cabal forces head-on. Right away, the fighting got tough, and I pumped rounds of my auto rifle into the enemy. The situation was extremely fluid, with cannon fire and explosions erupting throughout the map. I collected a small amount of emotes and deposited them, sending a small obstacle to the enemy team. With the overwhelming amount of enemies, I was gunned down, losing whatever number of motes I collected. At the respawn, I decided to try out the Bow and Arrow, which was extremely deadly.

Reminiscing about my times with the nanosuit in Crysis, I was moving lightning fast and quickly taking down Legion Leaders. Suddenly, the Taken arrived, and soon I was surrounded by the lost-souls of Taken troops. I used my bow and arrow for long-range and my auto rifle for medium to close range. Of course, I used my special abilities as a warlock as well. I was gunned down multiple times, but the rest of the team seemed to be working like clockwork, slaying as many enemies as possible, but we managed to bring about the primeval.


Suddenly, as the timing couldn’t have been worse, a guardian, emblazoned with a violent red appeared. The alarms went off and we were alerted that an invader had appeared. These guardians can be eliminated, but they don a powerful over-shield and buffed weapons to eliminate the opposition. The invader was buying time for their team in an effort to reach the primeval first. He gunned me down, but fortunately, the team managed to eliminate him. We all fought the primeval together, but alas, we did not defeat the beast in time. The enemy destroyed their primeval first. We lost the match.

The next round began, and I definitely a sense of synchronization and fluidity with the game mode. Familiar enemies appeared, and the team came out like true Warlocks. I used my bow and arrow much more frequently, striking headshot into the skulls of Legion forces. I challenged myself to max out the number of motes a player can carry, which is 15. I deposited my motes, and sent a hell of an obstacle against the enemy team. We were making great strides, burning through enemies. Their darkness-infused bodies vaporized at the sight of us, we warriors of light. The primeval appeared, and we pumped everything we had into the foul beast.

Alas, it would come to be that we would lose the match. An invader came in and successfully disrupted our team. Even though we had a huge lead on the opposing team in defeating the primeval, the enemy team must’ve used their specials simultaneously to slay the monster so quickly. It goes to show that in Gambit, victory is not guaranteed, no matter the level of your gear. With that, the demo concluded.

As we departed the demo station and the Activision booth, the Air Assaults gave immediate feedback to positive acclaim.” It feels like something fresh and new,” one air assault said, and the others chattered brightly about the game mode. 

For myself, I couldn’t help but want to play that particular game mode even more. I started to imagine what my guardian, a Level 26 Exo-titan male, would be able to do in gambit. It was agreed that Bungie had something very new on their hands and it was great. Destiny 2: Forsaken will launch on Tuesday, September 4th, one day after PAX WEST, for all platforms supporting Destiny 2. In addition to the gambit mode, the expansion will also consist of an entirely new area, 9 additional supers, and devastating new Exotic weapons.  

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