Valus Forge has returned to the Tower once again. This time he brings an entirely new game mode to Destiny 2 PvP called Eruption. Reading the rules might be a bit intimidating at first — especially for those not accustomed to the Crucible. However, this guide will aid you in understanding how it all works, and how to succeed in this high-octane game mode.
What Are The Rules to Destiny 2 Eruption?
The objective in Eruption is the same as Clash, or any team deathmatch game mode you may have played; eliminate the enemy team’s players more times than they eliminate you, up to either the score or time limit. Matches go for 10 minutes, or until one team of up to six players reaches the score limit of 150 points. There is a reason why the score limit is much higher than that of Clash, despite the two modes boasting identical objectives, as explained below.
Lord Saladin has returned to the Tower, bring with him the Eruption game mode.
Streaks
There are two states you enter when you defeat or assist against multiple Guardians in one life: Surging and Primed.
Surging
Surging occurs when you’ve earned two kills or assists in one life. In this glowing state, further eliminations and assists will grant your team 2 points per kill instead of 1. Moreover, kills grant you 20% of your grenade, melee, and class ability energy, as well as 10% of your Super energy.
A Surging Guardian starts to glow.
Primed
Primed occurs after landing your 5th kill or assist without dying. This buff is a supercharged version of Surging, but it comes at a grievous cost. Glowing even brighter, this state grants you a whopping 40% of your standard abilities and 12% of your Super per kill, and kills also count for 3 points now. Furthermore, once you or an ally becomes Primed, your team goes on the Hunt. Upon starting a Hunt, your team gains 10% standard ability energy and 5% of their Super energies, and a Hunt ends when a team has no actively Primed Guardians.
What’s the cost? Well, a 15-second timer begins while you’re Primed. If it reaches zero, you Erupt, instantly killing you and ending your streak with a rather hilarious ragdoll launch. Luckily, kills and assists reset the timer back to 15 seconds. Easier said than done, though, for becoming Primed puts a marker on your head that can be seen through walls. Eliminating a Primed Guardian grants your team 4 points.
A Primed Guardian glows brightly. Be careful, as you will Erupt soon!
What Is It Like to Play Eruption in Destiny 2?
Eruption is one of the fastest-paced game modes the Crucible and Iron Banner have ever seen. Due to the energy rewards for getting kills and the self-destructive Eruption timer, seldom is the map quiet. The visual and auditory feedback from even just Surging as the edges of your screen glow is heart-pounding, and it encourages you to become more aggressive and push your enemies harder. Primed doubles down on this feeling by actually giving you that more immediate ticking-clock.
The speed that abilities regenerate is much, much faster than in other game modes. Bungie themselves even acknowledge this in the TWAB that revealed this mode, almost calling it “Streak Mayhem” as a sister mode to the ability-spam party mode that is Mayhem. However, there are still plenty of opportunities to use all of your weapons in this mode. The ability regeneration is more akin to what it was like before the changes to the Intellect Stat back in Season of the Lost, where players could get 2-3 Supers per match on average.
It’s also worth noting that the “Loose Skill-Based Matchmaking” Bungie implemented into the Control playlist this season is not active in Iron Banner. Given that the player base seems widely split on its opinions on SBMM and its specific implementation in Destiny 2, as seen in the poll below conducted by Destiny content creator Aztecross, your experience with the type of players you’ll face, as well as your enjoyment of facing them, will vary greatly. Anecdotally, games have been fairly close most of the time, but Efficiencies and number of kills have varied greatly.
Do you like SBMM?
— Aztecross (@Aztecross) September 1, 2022
How Do I Do Well in Eruption in Destiny 2?
Aside from the obvious tips of aiming well and knowing the maps, there are some strategies you can implement in order to win more games and score higher on the leaderboard.
Don’t Panic
As stated already, it’s very easy to get overwhelmed with adrenaline when becoming Primed or even Surging. Letting that rush get the best of you can easily lead to running out in the open and getting swiss-cheesed by the majority of the enemy team.
Stay calm, even when you have that timer. 15 seconds may not sound like a long time, until you realize that most gunfights in Destiny hover around 1 second, accounting for missed shots and the optimal time-to-kill on most weapons being less than a second. Getting that kill on the 14th second will reset your timer just as it does on the last second.
Of course, you don’t want to turn completely passive, so try to find that balance between aggression and intelligence
Good Weapons to Use
Any weapons you want to use will work. However, due to the naturally fast pace of Eruption, weapons that reward aggression and smart pushes will reward you greatly. Shotguns, submachine guns, fusion rifles, and even sidearms are great close-range options for aggressive playstyles. If you’re up for the challenge too, low-zoom sniper rifles are fantastic for the quick kills at slightly further ranges.
Weapons that can tag multiple enemies at once, or weapons that reward momentum, are also extremely beneficial. The Cloudstrike sniper rifle is a great option for clearing out a group of guardians in a single shot. The Sunshot hand cannon can tag enemies nearby the one you kill thanks to causing enemies it kills to explode. This theory also applies to any weapon with a trait such as Dragonfly, Incandescent, or the newly-introduced Voltshot. Moreover, the Rampage or Kill Clip traits will help you secure kills faster and easier immediately after the first gunfight.
Sunshot is a great weapon for damaging enemies grouped together in Eruption due to its Sun Blast trait.
In short, you can really use any weapon you’d like that you feel comfortable using. The weapon sandbox in Destiny 2 is vast and accommodating. While there are still some standout options, most archetypes are viable in at least some situations, and can be used to at least do well, but the weapon archetypes mentioned above are examples of weapons to use that can net you extra kills and possibly keep your streak alive.
Good Subclasses to Use
For subclasses, any kit on any class will work. Because of the steamrolling nature of Eruption, The newly revised Arc 3.0 and its speed-boosting Amplified buff are tailor-made for this mode. Check out our guide to the revised subclass here.
Stasis is also a great option as a counter to said steamrolling. Slowing and freezing enemies is a great way to cut momentum and end streaks. In the same vein, weakening enemies and making them volatile with Void makes securing the kill even easier. The extra damage from becoming radiant will also help with eliminations by either reducing the time-to-kill on some weapons, or making the optimal time-to-kill easier to achieve on others.
Arc 3.0’s Amplified buff is good for keeping momentum up while Primed in Eruption.
Stick With Your Team
This is true in any team-based game mode, but is especially important here in Eruption. Remember that assists also count towards your streak. While team-shooting might be an annoying strategy, it’s one that works in both becoming and staying primed. It’s very easy to go off on your own in the rush of Surging or becoming Primed, so focus on staying in close proximity to your team.
Tactical Retreat
It’s not cowardly, it’s strategic! If you’re outnumbered, don’t be afraid to live to fight another engagement, or lead the over-aggressive enemies into your team. Even if your Eruption timer is about to run out, be aware that the enemy team gets 4 points for taking you down, so it’s better to let the timer run out than give the points to the enemy.
On the flipside, if you’re being chased by a Primed enemy, keep leading them on and stall out that timer. If they get desperate, they may put themselves out in the open for you and your team to punish them. Alternatively, you can lead them out and stall their Eruption timer out. Just be sure to damage them before they Erupt to get kill credit and more points for your team.
Listen to Lord Shaxx, and Throw More Grenades
This applies to all of your abilities, including your Super. Use them liberally, as they’ll come back very quickly while Surging or Primed. Just as they say, you can’t take your Super back to orbit! Even if it doesn’t score a single kill, it may still benefit your team. It can be used to cut off a crucial chokepoint or help your team regain map control.
Use your super often, especially when you’re Primed!
Destiny 2 Eruption: Conclusion
If you missed this Iron Banner, don’t worry. There will be one more week of Eruption in Destiny 2 this season starting November 15th. If it goes the way of Rift, Eruption will become a rotating playlist mode at the start of next season. The new rewards this season are the Allied Demand sidearm and the Roar of the Bear rocket launcher.
Enjoy your time in Eruption, Guardians, and keep an eye on that timer.
Billy Bob
This is really really awesome