With Destiny 2’s upcoming Season of Opulence and Crown of Sorrow Raid, Bungie is trying something a little different. Crown of Sorrow will arrive on the same day as the full Season of Opulence launch, June 4. However, a new ‘Contest’ mechanic will ensure the new raid’s race to world’s first is as fair as possible.
Destiny 2 Crown of Sorrow Contest Mechanic
Bungie explained how the Crown of Sorrow Raid’s Contest mechanic works in this recent post on its website. The first thing worth noting is that the raid unlocks at 4 p.m. PST (7 p.m. EST) on June 4. To ensure a fair and even world’s first race, Bungie is also implementing a Contest mechanic. This Contest mechanic is only active during the first 24 hours following Crown of Sorrow’s initial unlock.
Here’s what the Contest mechanic does (text courtesy of Bungie):
“While Contest is active, players will face an enforced challenge throughout the Raid. This means, Power beyond certain levels will provide no advantage for a given fight (e.g., for the first fight all Power above 700 won’t provide an advantage, and for the final fight Power above 720 will not provide an advantage).”
The Contest mechanic basically ensures no one raid team can gain an unfair advantage by “stacking” powerful gear rewards. In previous seasons, players found creative ways to retain powerful rewards during the transition from one season to another. Thanks to the Contest mechanic, Crown of Sorrow will be an even playing field during its first 24 hours of availability.
Bungie also noted that the Season of Opulence update should be live by 10 a.m. PST on June 4. This will give players plenty of time to download and verify the update before Crown of Sorrow’s launch. Raiders should also make sure to complete the new Season of Opulence Power Surge quest. Completing the new quest is required in order to access the Crown of Sorrow Raid.
The Crown of Sorrow Raid will assumedly be locked behind the Season of Opulence’s adjoining Penumbra DLC expansion. Penumbra is the third and final expansion included in Destiny 2’s Annual Pass.