Destiny: How to Improve the Next Sparrow Racing League
By Weston Albert 26 December 2015
Destiny‘s first Sparrow Racing League has come to an end, but we have some thoughts about how Bungie can improve the game’s latest multiplayer event the next time it comes around.
Earlier this month, Bungie debuted a new multiplayer event in Destiny, the Sparrow Racing League. This three-week event set players on two maps built specifically for Sparrow racing and tasked them with boosting, bumping, and jumping their way to victory and top tier gear.
Players generally responded well to Destiny‘s new mode, and it’s almost certain that Bungie will bring it back for another limited time run in future (especially because it appears that no major DLC will drop in Year Two and Bungie will use events like these to keep its players coming back). But when Sparrow Racing does return, we hope that Bungie takes some of these suggestions into consideration.
More Tracks
Everyone probably saw this one coming faster than that pillar on the Mars track. This is the complaint players see online most often. During this inaugural run, Sparrow Racing League (SRL) only offered two tracks, one on Mars and another on Venus.
They were fun for sure, but it took barely any time for these two tracks to grow pretty stale. Bungie definitely needs to keep the two tracks from this SRL in the mix and also add at least two (if not more) others to beef up the playlist and keep the racing a little more fresh.
Mario Kart-Style Power Ups and Weapons
This idea started floating around the community not long after the beginning of SRL. Wouldn’t it be great if players could pick up Mario Kart-style power ups and weapons on the course? The Mega Mushroom might be a little beyond one’s suspension of disbelief, even in Destiny‘s universe, but equivalents to shells, stars, mushrooms, and banana skins could make for even more fun on the Sparrow racing course.
It would definitely make races a little more interesting as well. Speed boosts could propel racers past their competition, offensive weapons (Destiny is a shooter after all!) could take that perpetual first placer down a notch, and traps could provide a getaway from those pesky racers who like to bump. If Bungie wants to continue to grow this game mode, this kind of addition “borrowed” from one of the best party racing games ever could breathe all kinds of new life into Sparrow Racing League.
More Reliable Physics/Bumping
Speaking of “those pesky racers who like to bump,” most players probably tried to bump another racer off course to no avail, but were left helpless as another racer touches them slightly and sends them careening into the wall. While we’re not sure exactly how the physics and collision system works with Destiny‘s code for SRL, it is inconsistent to say the least. Bungie needs to take a close look at physics in SRL, specifically how it affects bumping, and make some improvements in the future. Bumping other players should be a part of the game mode, but it currently does not work very well.
Different Sparrows
One of the draws of Sparrow Racing League was players getting their hands on new, fancy Sparrows to ride. Some probably spent a lot of real world money through microtransactions to get exactly the one they wanted. And good on Bungie for not making a Gjallarhorn-level Sparrow that was so superior to every other; all the Sparrows available from SRL had identical stats, but were cosmetically different.
But that led to an alternate problem: Sparrows didn’t really feel that unique. For the next SRL, we would love to see Bungie design Sparrows with varying stats. Want to go fast at the expense of handling? There’s a Sparrow for that. Want to be able to take turns super easy but sacrifice that top speed? This Sparrow is great for that. Making Sparrows to compliment each player’s style would be awesome to see. Bungie just has to solve that buy-to-win problem that could creep up from making a move like this.
Alternate 320 Light Gear
The carrot at the end of the stick for a lot of players in Sparrow Racing League was the helmets and class items that could drop at 320 Light and be infused into other armor. It was a great move that undoubtedly kept some players racing longer than they would have, but the next time SRL comes around it would be nice to see Bungie alternate which gear has a Light stat. Similar to how different gear is available each Iron Banner, gear could alternate so that next time helmets and class items would drop without Light and the chest armor and leg armor would instead drop with up to 320 Light. It would give those players who can’t get a raid group together or who don’t care for PvP a way to hit max light level on their own time.
Any or all of these suggestions would make for an even better time and provide longevity to Sparrow Racing League in the future. Fans have been asking for Sparrow racing since Destiny launched, so hopefully this is a game mode that Bungie will keep refining and expanding as time goes on.
What do you think about these ideas to improve Destiny‘s Sparrow Racing League? Do you have any suggestions of your own?
