The clash was even for the Desert Perpetual Epic Raid, illustrating a World First attempt in Destiny 2 by Clan Elysium. Official DestinyTheGame Twitter gave a shout-out to Saltagreppo, Quazz, Vendetta, VileFate, OG, and jiffe for this new first-to-happen, the next chapter in the competitive Destiny 2 raiding scene.
In the case of World First races, the festivities are usually accompanied by a fair share of community drama and some mixed reactions as to how split the Destiny player base is on these high-stakes competitions.
What actually went on in the latest raid race? Well, Clan Elysium, and especially said clan’s celebrity player Saltagreppo, continues to dominate with all the World Firsts of Destiny 2. This ain’t their first rodeo. One player documented it, “Elysium are just simply the goats, and their silver belt domination is unreal.” The team has a reputation for always performing at the highest level, especially Saltagreppo, whom players would refer to as, “genuinely him bro.”
Detractors, indeed, are saying the win is far from being celebrated. With comments erupting in opinionated debates beneath the official announcement, accusations started flying from either side. The streaming requirement and possible circumvention of the same were at the heart of those controversies. “Why are you allowing him to hide parts of the screen,” complained GamingWithSilvertail, “That was against the rules, and he does this every single fucking time.”
The streaming requirement for World Firsts attempts has always been contentious. Some folks came into its defense, with one explaining, “It’s to help them verify the legitimacy of the run blockhead, but keep pretending there’s elitism present here,” while others questioned if the internet connectivity hardened into an unfair advantage, favoring those teams with better internet to the race.
There were outright cheater accusations thrown around too. “How’s possible a cheater team can win the world first???” asked Carlos, echoing statements from some skeptical players. Another commenter referred to Saltagreppo as “The man who’s ran with 3 banned cheaters, got caught red handed cheating and exploiting in the last raid race. F saltcheater.” These allegations go back a ways, the Destiny community has been debating the methods of Elysium and their legitimacy for a number of raid races now.
Anyways, I was saying? Oh, the drama never ends with these World First races.
For some individuals, outright apathy about the matter came to the fore. “Meh, let’s be honest. Nobody cared,” said RD7, and another player added, “Cool but at this point, who really cares? The state of the game is terrible, this was a race on a pre existing raid, and no one’s really going to compete against Salt besides a few people.”
The “pre existed raid” remark is in reference to the fact that it wasn’t a brand-new raid, but just an epic variant of existing content, which some players felt made the achievement less glorious. violetstorm_ had suggested that some World First wins may yield more prestige than others, saying, “4 of those belts are redoing the exact raid we already did. Vow of the Disciple however is quite the feat.”
The conversation also moved on towards larger issues concerning the current state of Destiny 2. One player said that their criticism was valid because “I think the player count would agree with me” on how problematic the game is, implying some see these World First races as red herrings away from bigger problems plaguing the game.
Technical difficulties in the midst of the race became another point of dispute. “If it wasn’t for the server issues they wouldn’t have won,” said ThatJesterOlive, “So many teams were on track for the lead but would run into issues.” Yet, this raises the question that were the problems with the infrastructure responsible for the outcome, rather than pure skill.
Meanwhile, the community’s reaction to criticism of the winners? Let’s just say they were less than diplomatic. “HOES MAD” was shouted out repeatedly to the critics, joined by a plethora of “you dropped this” memes with corny tiny violins and pictures featuring an anthropomorphic crying baby. So it seems that the Destiny community is still dead split on top-tier raiders.
They talked about how Saltagreppo often advocates nerfs to strategies and weapons he himself uses during these races. “He advocated for well and Div getting nerfed, he’s my hero,” goes one supporter, while others pointed to the hypocrisy by saying, “always complains that shit should be nerfed, shit HE USED for the day one.” This hypocrisy, whether real or perceived, is certainly a sore point for many in observation.
Even the Twitch drop system did not escape the drama, with Hyper0ne91 complaining he did not receive the Gnarled Tendrils Emblem despite watching for two hours. Because of course, even the celebration rewards have to be involved in the drama.
At the end of the day, whether you consider Clan Elysium to be legendary or controversial players, the fact of their dominance in the World First scene cannot be denied. They’ve built an image of excellence that is respected by some and queried by others, but no one can really ignore the consistent performance at the much higher side of Destiny 2 raiding. The community’s reaction to their latest victory just goes on to show how passionate players are- and divided- on competitive PvE content, streaming requirements, and what constitutes fair competition in the big bucks races.
Another World First wraps up, and one thing is for sure: The Destiny 2 community simply cannot resist a good competitive scandal, with Clan Elysium perpetually at its center. Whether viewed as heroes or cheaters, the impact they’ve created in the competitive Elders will be remembered, in keen interest observed by every player when any next serious challenge to their dominance in raid races is staged.
