Rachel Gilmore 
Trials of Osiris is synonymous with one of the greatest activities in the history of the Destiny franchise. In terms of the game’s player versus player content, this was the activity top players prepared for weekly. Now, it’s finally back in Destiny 2 in its original form after an early attempt at a new and improved version of the activity debuted called Trials of the Nine. After response from the player base, years of fine tuning, and tons of secrecy, Trials of Osiris returned to reign supreme among the top tier end game content activities.
And it did… for about a week.
Top players still clamour for Trials of Osiris during the weekends, however it is not quite living up to the hype because of an array of issues with mechanics, a token-based loot system, and the current meta. Admittedly, the current meta may not be Trials’ fault, but it certainly doesn’t add anything positive to the situation. The first weekend, loads of top tier (and not top tier) players dipped into Destiny 2’s beloved activity, but because of the increasing amount of connection issues, loot drop bugs, meta frustrations and no real idea at how anti-cheating works, there has been a huge decrease in players within that activity.
Currently, Trials doesn’t have the shine that it had promised at launch. The first week of its debut in Destiny 2, well knowns like Dr. Lupo and King Gothalion were among those gracing Trials of Osiris with their presence. Now, Dr. Lupo has returned to the content that garners his attention; the issues that plague Trials and Destiny 2 PvP content are enough to keep one of the Destiny GOATs out of the activity all together.
There are plenty of community big wigs who fireteam up and load in each week, and their content is enjoyable to watch, but it highlights the issues that crop up, including those that have and haven’t been addressed. Gladd and iFrostbolt are two of the community’s most admired PvP players, and they always put on quite the show. Despite their efforts, and the efforts of other God-tier Trials competitors, their gameplay and content doesn’t do enough to quell the concerns many have about the state of Trials of Osiris.
The community as a whole has given general feedback, particularly centered around how Trials specific loot is obtained. Given that Destiny 2 is a loot-based game, it’s good that this is the main concern. But because of the high-skill and competitive nature within Trials of Osiris, the meta is the topic that has the majority of the community worried. The meta bleeds over into other PvP activities, and in general makes the content extremely unenjoyable.
For a game that boasts that it wants its players to be able to use any load out they want in order to promote individuality in the game, the current PvP meta does relatively little to facilitate that. If Hard Light or Suros is not part of a load out, all bets are off for a successful bout of Crucible. Hard Light, though, is the biggest concern in the community right now. There’s no damage fall off for ricochet rounds, the flinch is unreal, the range is – it’s all a nightmare.
But metas change and, as they do, the other Trials concerns could linger if they’re not correctly addressed. If Bungie wants to see its competitive player versus player flourish, these key concerns must be addressed. Top tier players want to play Trials of Osiris – it is a staple of the game so many have dedicated thousands of hours to. Here’s hoping Bungie can address the issues at hand before too many people lose interest, especially those who can make waves. Eyes up, Guardians!
