Destiny 2’s Gambit mode is a truly unique creation. Not only does the mode combine elements of PvE and PvP gameplay, it also tests players’ collecting skills. Slain Gambit enemies drop large motes and those motes are the key to victory. Given how important motes are, the ease with which they can be picked up is an unsurprisingly important topic. During a recent livestream discussion, Bungie offered compelling evidence on why the Gambit mote pickup radius is so small.
Destiny 2 Mote Pickup Explanation
Bungie outlined its mote pickup explanation in a recent livestream. The Destiny Roundup fan site then went ahead and included the explanation in this recap post. It turns out Bungie did some in-house experiments involving a larger pickup radius for Gambit motes. However, according to Bungie’s own tests, a larger pickup radius actually creates more problems than it solves.
One aspect of Gambit motes that players may not be aware of is that they’re directly tied to network latency. If multiple players are trying to pick up the same mote at once, Destiny 2’s network makes the final call. This leads to situations where a mote might still be visible even after it’s “claimed.” The network has determined who got the mote first but latency causes a delay from the player’s perspective.
If the mote pickup radius were increased, the amount of “false positives” would increase with it. Imagine if you ran right through a mote but instead it went to another player standing nearby. Right now the chances of that happening are slim but with a larger pickup radius it would become more common. Still, as this Reddit thread shows, some Destiny 2 players still want a larger pickup radius. In their eyes, having another player “steal” your mote is worth not worrying about losing motes in inaccessible locations.
In other Destiny 2 news, the game’s Black Armory expansion launches on December 4. December will also see an update which fixes long loading times on consoles.