Bungie has been tweaking Trials for quite some time, and with the Season of the Deep (Season 21), we’re finally seeing some major changes. But will it be enough to draw in a bigger player base? We shall see. Here’s all the changes coming to Trials of Osiris in Destiny 2’s Season of the Deep.
All Changes Coming to Trials of Osiris in Destiny 2’s Season of the Deep
I’ll be honest, I’m a Crucible enjoyer. Destiny 2’s PvP offers something a little different to games like Apex Legends, Fortnite, or Call of Duty. But Trials of Osiris is a completely different animal. This game mode has, over the years, been defined by three-stacks, streamers, identical builds, and a slow playstyle.
Because of this, many casual Destiny 2 players have stayed far away from it. And in response, Bungie has made a series of changes to it to lure in a bigger player base.
The Season of the Deep might be the biggest changes we’ve seen yet. Here’s everything that you can expect.
Trials of Osiris New Rewards for Season of the Deep
Three new cosmetics will hit Trials for those skilled players who go Flawless, along with a new shader.
- Hero’s Wake Exotic Ghost Shell
- Valiant Memory Exotic Ship
- Survivor’s Journey Exotic Sparrow
- Glorious Patina (Shader)(only available during Season 21)
All New Trials Weapons in the Season of the Deep Loot Pool
As for what new weapons you can expect to see in Season 21’s loot pool, the leakers had it right. We will get a Trials glaive. The two new weapons are:
- The Messenger High-Impact Kinetic Pulse Rifle
- Unexpected Resurgence Adaptive Arc Glaive
The Adept version of Unexpected Resurgence will be first available on the weekend of June 9, while the Adept version of The Messenger will be available on the weekend of June 16.
The following weapons will be removed from the standard loot pool in Season 21, but the non-Adept versions will be available via legacy focusing with Saint-14:
- The Inquisitor Shotgun
- Whistler’s Whim Bow
Trails of Osiris Intro Quest Reworked for Season of the Deep
Anyone who’s tried to do Trials will know you have to jump through some pretty significant hoops. Those hoops included getting 50 crucible kills (easy), raising your power level (easy), and resetting your Valor rank once (a huge time sink).
Bungie acknowledged that the Valor rank requirement was too high of a barrier to entry and didn’t give new players the preparation they needed before entering Trials. So, the introductory quest for Trials has been redone.
Now, here’s what you can expect:
- Step 1
- Complete your Competitive placement matches (to get players introduced to 3v3 and revive game modes).
- Get 50 kills in Competitive.
- Raise your Power level.
- Step 2
- Pick up a Trials Passage.
- Play a game of Trials.
- Win 1 round of Trials.
- Get 1 elimination in Trials.
Trials Passages Reworked for Season of the Deep
Additionally, Trials Passages are being reworked to better suit the new system.
- Passage of Wealth
- Previously granted increased reputation on wins 3, 5, and 7 on a card.
- In Season 21, this passage will grant +75 Trials rep for every win, along with an additional bonus for your current major rank in Trials, up to +150 total.
- Passage of Mercy
- In Season 21, this passage will forgive 2 losses if you have not yet been Flawless for the week.
- After going Flawless if you reset your card, it will revert to forgiving a single loss on each card.
Trials of Osiris’s New Core Game Mode will be Dominion
But the biggest change in all of this is the transition to a new game mode, Dominion. Dominion, like Control, allows players to capture zones to get points. And this is the big reason it was chosen.
Bungie’s rationale for this change boils down to:
- Giving players a chance to contribute outside of kills
- Dominion is 15% faster than Elimination and deals with the slow playstyle that many adopt in Trials
- Objectives promote more varied engagement on the maps
- Promotes more weapon types and subclasses
Personally, I prefer game modes with objectives to straight out eliminations. But, as we’ve seen over the past few Iron Banners, it’s likely that most subclasses will boil down to wells and bubbles.
Related: How to Get the Exile Armor in Destiny 2
Trials Gilded Flawless Reworked for Season of the Deep
For those fantastically skilled players who intend to gild their Glorious title, expect some changes for next season.
The gilded Flawless requirements in Season 20 were as follows:
- Get 180 kills.
- Collect 100 Rewards.
- Go Flawless with one of the Seasonal Exotic weapons equipped.
- Carry 2 players to Flawless.
- Win 7 games on a 7-win ticket.
In Season 21, the requirements will change to the below:
- Get 500 kills.
- Earn 16 Trials ranks (reset Trials reputation once).
- Go Flawless and get 50 kills with one of the Seasonal Exotic weapons equipped.
- You do not need to get 50 kills with the weapon itself, you just need to have it equipped while you get 50 kills.
- Skill of the One – While on a ticket with 0 losses with the Light for the Lost emblem equipped:
- Win 20 games.
- Acquire the following medals.
- Double Kell (rapidly eliminate 2 opponents) – 10x.
- Skull Breaker (deal the most total damage to opponents in a match) – 5x.
- The Beginning (land the first elimination of a match) – 5x.
- Strength of the Many – While on a ticket with 0 losses with the Flawless Empyrean Emblem equipped:
- Win 20 games.
- Acquire the following medals.
- Flight of the Pigeon (win a match in which your team never trailed) – 10x.
- Paradoxically Perfect (as a team, win a round in which each player eliminates a different opponent, and no opponent is revived) – 10x.
- Time Trials (as a team, win a round within 20 seconds) – 5x.
Oof! That’s a big leap, but anyone who gets that title will truly deserve all the respect and envy that comes with it.
If you’re curious about other aspects of Season of the Deep, you might be wondering if the old war dog Sloane will be making a comeback. Check out our answer here: Will Sloane Return to Destiny 2 in Season 21? – Answered.
