Bungie to introduce new changes in Crucible with Destiny 2 Season 18

The Crucible in Destiny 2 is where Guardians can go head-to-head against each other in combat till death. This PvP mode has multiple activities, each offering a different objective for Guardians to complete.

The Crucible, however, has been a sore spot for the developers as Guardians have complained about its unfairness. Matchmaking is slightly skewered, with Guardians being made to face off against others who possess more skill.

Starting with Destiny 2 Season 18, Bungie plans on addressing these issues by implementing some changes to the PvP activities in the upcoming season.

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Crucible to be reworked in Destiny 2 Season 18

As listed in the latest This Week At Bungie blogpost, Bungie detailed some changes set to make their way to the next season of Destiny 2. According to the blog, the developers will introduce a loose Skill Based Match Making (SBMM) for Control, a mode in the Crucible where Guardians must capture three points on a map and defend these zones from enemy Guardians.

The loose SBMM will focus on a wider skill base than Survival and should allow Guardians to match with other Guardians over a broader skill level. Not only will this allow quicker matchmaking, but it will also focus on giving the participants a shot at winning around 40-60% of their encounters.

As listed in their blog, the main issue with the Crucible landscape is that the skill disparities make it difficult for the lower-skilled team to make a difference in the match.

Moreover, since highly skilled players get to control the way a round goes, they need to perform continuously to secure a win. This situation can be unfair to both sets of players and is what fueled Bungie's decision to give the Crucible a much-needed rework.

For now, the changes will be limited to the Control mode only. The other modes in the Crucible will continue using Connection Based Match Making (CBMM), which Bungie has been following with respect to PvP in Destiny 2.

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What is difference between SBMM and CBMM?

The basic difference between SBMM and CBMM is that the latter uses connection strength as a parameter to pair up participants in PvP matches in Destiny 2. While SBMM is quite similar in this regard, it also considers a participant's skill level.

Multiple factors affect the skill level of a Guardian in the game. Some of the most common factors taken into account by the SBMM are the KDA ratio and the reaction time of a Guardian. However, their builds, including their weapons and armor mods, also factor in determining a Guardian's skill.

Bungie won't stop their Crucible rework with Season 18. This will go on over the upcoming seasons until they find a sweet spot.

For now, it's just Control that will see these changes. However, as the seasons progress, the other modes in Crucible will also start receiving similar treatment from Bungie.