Destiny adds ‘Doubles Skirmish’ mode to the Crucible

The release of Hard Mode for Crota's End may have stolen all the headlines for Destiny this week, but Bungie has announced a new game mode for all you Crucible-lovers out there.

"If you don’t Raid, we still have you covered with fresh challenges. The Crucible is always there if you don’t have an appetite for a prolonged mission against seemingly impossible beasts. This week, you don’t even need six friends. All you need is one," Bungie teased of the new PvP mode, Doubles Skirmish.

If you recall, back in December Bungie hinted of some new game modes for the Crucible. Doubles Skirmish is the first of them.

Described as "a slower burn with more explosive pockets," the mode features two Guardian Firetreams in a 2v2 Team Deathmatch environment with level advantages disabled. Heavy ammo will appear only once per match and revives are enabled.

Design lead Lars Bakken suggests "you rely more on your wits, your weapon, and a strategy shared with only one other player." Because your not getting as many actions per minute as you would in, say, a game of Control, your Supers will regenerate more slowly. So use them wisely.

“The goal here was about taking the rules we already have and mixing them up to create a fresh experience,” Lars added. "Each player has the full weight of winning or losing placed squarely on their shoulders and nobody to blame but themselves… or their teammate. No pressure."

As someone who prefers PvP over PvE, I absolutely love Bungie's attention to the Crucible. Truth be told, I don't get the same satisfaction out of killing an NPC as I do another player. Hopefully we can see more of these unique spin-off modes added in a more timely manner.