{"id":766822,"date":"2025-11-28T11:09:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T11:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/urn:uuid:86dfefa1-27b3-40be-892a-21a6c8a8499f"},"modified":"2025-11-28T11:09:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T11:09:00","slug":"kickflip-the-competition-with-destiny-2s-brand-new-trick-worthy-vehicle-live-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/kickflip-the-competition-with-destiny-2s-brand-new-trick-worthy-vehicle-live-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Kickflip the competition with Destiny 2\u2019s brand-new trick-worthy vehicle, live today"},"content":{"rendered":"

The spirit of competition in Destiny 2 is alive and well with today\u2019s launch of the Guardian Games All-Stars 2024 event. The annual competitive event pits Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans against one another to try and take the top step of the Guardian class podium. Last year, Titans took the win, their second in Guardian Games history, and this year\u2019s event features new twists to spice up the competition. Additionally, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen expansion is available today as a PlayStation Plus Monthly Game and we dive deeper into the rad new Skimmer vehicle.<\/p>\n

A new scoring system will be in place to keep everyone on their toes, including new Diamond-tier Medallions (the most valuable offered yet; earning these will help your class’s standings in a significant way, so these Medallions are limited to three per week). In addition, Guardians will be able to earn daily glow effects that come from a variety of sources, including individual achievement (such as being the \u201cbest in Tower\u201d Guardian or showing your performance in modes like Supremacy or Competitive Nightfalls) as well as group achievements (like being part of that day\u2019s winning class). <\/p>\n

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Focus Activities are new limited-time boosts to Guardian Games activities that will grant bonus Medallions for the winning class. These events will only be open for a few hours each day, and you\u2019ll be able to earn rewards packages by completing them; in fact, the class that dominates a particular Focus Activity will also earn a special champions rewards package that will earn your class a bunch of Medallions for the day\u2019s competition.   <\/p>\n

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By taking part in Guardian Games events, every player can also unlock sweet rewards, including new Legendary weapons such as Hullabaloo (a new Compressed Wave Frame Heavy Grenade Launcher), a new Exotic Ghost shell, and even a new form of transportation: the Skimmer.<\/p>\n

Gettin\u2019 tricky with it<\/h2>\n

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Perhaps the most exciting reward coming for Guardian Games All-Stars, the Skimmer is the first new vehicle option offered in Destiny since the Sparrow, and it\u2019s available to all Guardians at no additional cost (simply pick it up from Eva Levante in the Tower after completing the first Guardian Games All-Stars quest and banking your first Medallion). All players will be able to use the Skimmer during Guardian Games All-Stars, and Guardians who complete a one-step quest during the event will be able to keep the Skimmer permanently once the Games have ended.<\/p>\n

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A sci-fi take on skateboarding and snowboarding, the Skimmer is a bold new expression of Guardian mobility in Destiny 2, allowing players to perform sweet tricks and sick grinds on their way to their next destination.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe very beginning of the Skimmer\u2019s development started with a simple question: What is the Guardian version of a Cloud Strider\u2019s skyboard?\u201d said Bungie senior design lead Ben Wommack. \u201cImagine a Guardian saw a Cloud Strider zipping around in the air and thought, \u2018Yeah, that\u2019s neat, but how about this!\u2019 and pulled out something that\u2019s cooler, more stylish, and most importantly, fun to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to make sure that we were not doing just a different Sparrow skin with a Guardian standing on top but something that really fulfills new fantasies,\u201d said Bungie staff technical animator Matt Kelly. \u201cThe original Sparrow was a blend of a jet ski and a superbike. For the Skimmer, we took inspiration from surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding, strapped some boosters on it, and blended that up with some space magic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the time between original Destiny and now, player movement abilities when traversing spaces on foot has dramatically changed and expanded, and the gameplay space has held up well. This allowed us to be comfortable pushing the edges of what we could do by adding new verbs into vehicles as well.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Skimmers are just as zippy as their Sparrow counterparts, and they are capable of a host of new tricks and grinds that will make travel time even more fun. Guardians will be able to pull off four base tricks that map to the emote buttons: a tre flip, a Tamedog, a 360 grab, and a 360 spin where the Guardian leaves the board. There are also four grinds: a 5-0, a boardslide, a backside darkslide, and a crooked nosegrind. In addition, the dev team has also added a variety of grounded turn dodges inspired by carving while surfing as well as some air dodges with grab spins to avoid obstacles (or slam into an unlucky enemy that gets in your way). Finally, there\u2019s a vehicle jump ability that will launch your Guardian into the air, complete with a nice ollie grab as a finishing touch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are lucky enough that we have a massive group of excited skaters, snowboarders, and surfers who were extremely excited about pointing out their favorite boarders and tricks to implement,\u201d said Kelly. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe also had a bunch of animators who were able to dive in and really put the polish on some amazing and difficult-to-animate moves. Inspiration was everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

One final thought to whet your Skimmer appetite. During development, Bungie testers found some creative uses for Skimmers when combined with Strand\u2019s grapple ability. Bungie test engineer Thomas Duda explains:<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout any design specifically going towards this interaction, we discovered during a playtest that players can grapple the hoverboard while another player is using it. A player with Strand grapple can hook on and get pulled along with the grind, and they’ll be taken wherever the grinding player steers. If you’re in a firefight that’s not going too well, a friend can glide over you, and you can skyhook your way out of there, like the scene in The Dark Knight where Batman extracts from the high rise in Hong Kong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Test your medal<\/h2>\n

As if competing for the glory of your chosen Guardian class isn\u2019t enough, we also have an additional incentive for Guardians who want to embody the spirit of the Guardian Games All-Stars event. Players who complete the Gold Event Challenge by March 26, 2024, at 9:59 AM PT, will earn the Bungie Rewards offer to purchase a physical 2024 Guardian Games All-Stars Medal through the Bungie Store.<\/p>\n

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The Witch Queen arrives with PlayStation Plus<\/h2>\n
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