This week Destiny 2 has marked the return of Heavy Metal, a Bungie-helmed event. The feedback we’ve seen so far… is quite the mix. The event was announced with a simple tweet, “Brig vs Tank battles are back on the menu,” accompanied by an enticing image of some sort of mech action. But the players wanted to say a lot more.
In case you didn’t know already, Heavy Metal is a limited-time mode in which players use either a Brig or a Tank to battle mercilessly against each other. It is located in the Portal and Event Home, making it accessible to all players. Explosions, chaos, and large mechs to control abound. It should be a blast, shouldn’t it?
The contrast between the promotional tweet and the responses it garnered could not be any starker. The feedback is, to put it mildly, polarizing. There is a clear subset of players who are having a difficult time enjoying it. A certain GorillaKnockin did not mince words: “This gamemode is complete ass as a tank.” It really is quite the cold take and sticks with me.
And he most certainly wasn’t the only one voicing such opinions. Another player, costaricanhigh, described the mode as “so fucking lame and trash” and also remarked “you cant even win if you get the trash ass tanks.” On top of that, “no loot incentive to grind” felt like a common gripe to both me and other players. Personally, it very much feels like the wallet value is a lost cause. Wasted efforts completely. No profit and treasure vault, that’s what I think.
Speaking of whack matchmaking, someone Garf replied that “it seems they removed stack protection this season, randomly I’ll get 4-5 stacks on the enemy team with a bunch of randos on mine.” It means that you might get beaten up by a bunch of randos, and it’s quite unfortunate that you get stuck in the middle with a bunch of noobs. This is a really tough situation to be in.
Thankfully, it’s not all bad! Some other players seem to like it. Adam Stewart mentioned that he “Looking forward to more maps for this mode” and that “the loot drops have been great!” So I guess your mileage may vary. Maybe it depends on what team you get or just your personal taste for vehicular mayhem.
The comparisons to other Destiny events makes this event all the more stand out. In this case, it stands out for what it is lacking compared to the rest. TMash had a whole slew of questions pertaining to the whereabouts of fun, casual PvP. “Do you remember the days when you were at school or work, and the only thing you could think about was getting home to PvP and having the time of your life? What happened to that, to chilling in PvP with your friends and goofing off, and laughing together?” It really hit me. For some, the mode apparently does not have the magic touch to it.
As for the other events, everybody seems to be clamoring for the return of Sparrow Racing League (SRL). AmericanEX0 plainly said, “We want SRL.” Koopi said afterwards, “Sparrow Racing or sadface!” Clearly, the mode is fondly remembered, but Bungie hasn’t gotten around to it. Along with that, others are calling for the return of “Arms Week,” with Hiroyuki saying, “Bring back Arms Week, every week.”
Some players appear to be wondering if any changes were made to the mode since the last time it was available. Vorian_Rob asked, “Are there any mechanical changes made since the first one? Like ally player nameplates or a radar?” which is a fair question. If you are bringing back a mode that had a lukewarm reception, it would only make sense to try and improve the negative aspects of it.
Then there is the entire situation with that one tweet. Cam and TallNick2 separately commented on the incident. TallNick2 said that Bungie had to delete a tweet because it was advertising “Heresy” title card or something? Cam also called them out on it: “you guys seriously couldn’t just edit out the heresy title card huh.” A little bit embarrassing social media blunder from Bungie.
So, what would be the takeaway from this? The Heavy Metal event is now live in Destiny 2. You can visit the Portal or Event Home to witness this Brand V Tank combat for yourself. If you’ve been listening to the community, it’s best to keep your expectations low. The loot could be poor, the balance may be a bit strange, and you could be matched against a stacked team. However, if vehicle mayhem in the dumbest, wackiest form is something that excites you, I reckon you’ll like it. Or like Ricky Stewart, you’ll play one match and then binge on No Man’s Sky. As always, the choice is yours, guardian.
