Destiny 2 Season 22: All Crucible & Gambit Changes Confirmed

A new Vex-themed Crucible map is coming to Destiny 2 in Season 22. Bungie broke the aforementioned news via its latest State of the Game article on Bungie.net. In addition to new Crucible stuff, the studio is also making minor changes to Gambit, which includes the return of a fan-favorite map. 
This follows Travis North's report from earlier about Bungie's plan to tweak Crucible and Gambit's role in Destiny 2's seasons going forwards. Now, Bungie has revealed tidbits of info regarding these that fans could expect in Season 22.

Bungie's State of the Game blog post comes just days before the highly anticipated Destiny 2 annual showcase, where the studio plans to show off its upcoming expansion, The Final Shape, and Season 22. 

All Destiny 2 Season 22 Crucible Changes

As mentioned previously, a new Vex-themed asymmetrical map is coming to Crucible in Season 22. It's called Multiplex and narratively takes place in the middle of compiling the Infinite Forest. Players will be to see this new map in action in the upcoming Showcase.

Aside from a new map, Bungie is also adding a new 6v6 Relic mode. In addition to these, a new Checkmate modifier and a new Competitive Ascendant Division emblem are coming to the PvP mode.

The Relic is a 6v6 mode where players can use Relics introduced in past Destiny 2 seasons. It includes stuff like the Synaptic Spear from Season of the Risen and the Scythe from Season of the Haunted. Relics can be charged by defeating other players from standard weapons. Once a Relic is fully charged, players can pick it up from a Relic Depot. Defeating a player from a Relic will earn points for the team.

 Bungie has confirmed that Relic will be available via Crucible Labs from Week 1 to Week 4 in Season 22 and then again in Week 11 till the end. According to the studio, Relic is designed to provide lighthearted gameplay that can be enjoyed by anyone."

On the other hand, The Checkmate is a more hardcore mode with a focus on gunplay, player skills, positioning, and communication. In Checkmate, primary weapons have increased time-to-kill, and skills have longer cooldowns, resulting in longer battles. Furthermore, Special Ammunition isn't dropped upon death. Instead, players have to earn them via gameplay. The Checkmate will be available in Crucible Labs from Week 5 to Week 10. It will have three different versions. These are Checkmate Control, Checkmate Survival, and Checkmate Rumble. 

Interestingly enough, Bungie has also revealed plans for Destiny 2 Season 23.  A new Iron Banner mode is coming, alongside a new Häkke Aggressive Frame Strand Pulse Rifle for the Competitive Division reward. Additionally, the studio is working on bringing the Citadel map to Crucible in Season 23. 

All Destiny 2 Season 22 Gambit Changes

Sadly, the Gambit changes won't be coming to Destiny 2 in Season 22 but sometime during the Final Shape window. These changes aren't significant but could be noteworthy for someone who regularly engages with the mode. 

Firstly, the Cathedral of Scars map from Dreaming City is coming back. It was vaulted with the launch of the Beyond Light expansion but is thankfully coming back sometime next year. 

Aside from this, Bungie is adding two new enemy types to Gambit. These include Shadow Legion and Lucent Hive. That's pretty much it! Due to its low player engagement overall, Bungie isn't planning to invest more resources into it, which seems fair enough. 

Thankfully, one significant change from this is that starting from season 22, Gambit will be completely optional. It means players won't have to indulge in it to complete all their weekly challenges. Additionally, Bungie is removing Gambit-specific challenges from season 22 onwards, so players won't be compelled to run this activity for Bright Dust. 

Despite digging the grave for Gambit, Bungie is adding a Fireteam matchmaking for the mode in season 22. This should improve Gambit matchmaking and give players one last incentive to snag the new Void Machine Gun coming next season. 

And that's it! That's all the Crucible and Gambit changes coming to Destiny 2 in Season 22 and beyond.