Bungie has officially announced the Halloween event that will celebrate the Festival of the Lost and the introduction of a new PvP mode named Red Rum(ble) meant to be terrifying happy. The completely free of charge event is going to run from October 21 to November 11, and it is available for all players. What do the players have to say? For many guardians, it seems to be more of a trick rather than a treat.
Red Rum(ble) is a free for all Crucible where the players fight each other, summon a dreadfully scary Headless One and try to frighten the others in the game. It definitely sounds good in theory but the players’ reactions have been – are you ready for this – just chaotic! Really chaotic.
The first thing that the players did was to express their concerns rather bluntly. It seems that the spawns are absolutely horrible, and one player even went to the extent of saying that these are “the worst connections and spawns since destiny 1 on the 360.” Ouch. That really hits the new mode’s reputation hard. Additionally, one more issue is raised as to the fireteam – the mode permits teams to queue together for what is supposed to be a free-for-all experience, thus providing unfair advantages, which has already been pointed out by several players.
One guardian spoke his mind: “When a free for all allows fireteams, it’s not really a free for all.” Another one went on to add in an ironic tone, “Yes, nothing is better than entering a free for all and competing against a fireteam instead of individuals…” It is clear from these comments that the irritation is genuine.
But the situation is getting worse. Some gamers are saying that they are being completely banned from participating in Crucible only because they played the Red Rum(ble) event. One of them says, “Players are being restricted from playing crucible by farming the red rumble event. I am restricted from all crucible BESIDES Trials. But I am restricted from the lighthouse? All I was doing was farming red rumble as a fireteam. now I can’t play the event or claim my flawless loot.” That is a very serious issue that can actually push players away from the content they are supposed to be enjoying.
Technical problems still exist, however, they are not the only ones. A lot of players have narrated their experiences of game-breaking bugs and lockups that happened at the worst possible time – during matches. One guardian who was really upset remarked, “Alters is so messed up today. Got a twofer of gamebreaking lockups back to back. I get this event has been extended for an extra week but this is utterly nonsense. Two different matches and two bugs. I’m out.” The situation is so dire that he even mentioned redownloading No Man’s Sky instead, which says a lot about their patience.
The reward situation is, on the one hand, an absolute disaster, while, on the other hand, it is a major issue players have complained about the loot pool being very disappointing; one even made a comparison with “a puddle”. Besides, holofoil drops were also characterized as super stingy by one player who complained about having received only one holofoil outside the reward rank despite having nearly maxed out the event pass. Moreover, compared to the Solstice event, the drop rates in this case look remarkably worse.
Players are also not very happy with the weapons. One player asked, “Why are all the weapons trash tho?” and another one labeled the entire event “one of the worst things I ever played.” Not only do the event mechanics get such a poor reputation, but the players also seem to be really confused about what they are actually supposed to do. “Are we supposed to kill the Headless One? There are never any clear instructions — for example, most players are not even aware that they need to dunk treats. Maybe the UI needs to be more informative.”
Some complaints have even shown creativity. One player proposed, “The pvp strike team has gotta be 3 stuffed animals that live in one of yalls break rooms”, which, I confess, made me chuckle a little bit, though the issues are serious. And the Portal mechanic that was added? Many players are calling it “the worst addition in destiny history” with one even wondering how many new strikes and PvP maps will be included in the next DLC.
There’s a hint of international flavor in the complaints as one French-speaking player translates: “Et cet événement maudit qui bogue encore, encore, encore… On s’y habitue avec des développeurs incompétents comme vous, mais ce n’est pas une bonne chose. Quand on ne sait pas faire des jeux vidéo, on ne le fait pas.” That’s a pretty harsh comment.
A small group of players, however, in spite of the general negative attitude, are trying to take the best out of the situation. One suggested the use of LFG and setting certain modifiers to improve the experience, while saying that “it’s not tooo bad.” Another player has even called the event “really fun,” but he was soon challenged by someone who pointed out that it is only fun when you’re on a team rather than alone against a group of coordinated players.
The overall sentiment is that this year’s Festival of the Lost is a let-down. Someone put it very succinctly: “Actually disappointed with this year event. The rewards suck feels like not much thought was put into it.” Another one called for a roadmap from Bungie and said, “Stop posting anything until you have a damn road map.”
What is the takeaway? A loud thud is how many people in the Destiny 2 community have experienced Bungie’s Halloween event. The Festival of the Lost is not that bright and cheerful at all with its technical problems, questionable design choices, lackluster rewards, and outright bugs that prevent people from enjoying their play. It is free to play until November 11, so you can give it a try and check if the gripes are justified or if you are among the lucky few who are having fun with it. Just that it might be better not to set your expectations too high based on what the players are saying on social media.
