New scoring system gives you a reason to replay ‘Destiny 2’ Nightfall strikes

The next major Destiny 2 content expansion isn’t scheduled to arrive until this spring, but Bungie is making changes to the game’s current systems in an effort to keep players motivated. The studio’s latest overhaul is to the high-level Nightfall strikes, and the changes seem primed to make the strikes a destination for experienced players again.

“The Nightfall has been the subject of a lot of feedback since launch,” Bungie said in an update post. “Many of you felt that the timer was pretty stressful and preferred being able to slowly work your way through the challenges at your own pace.”

Unlike standard strikes, the Nightfall could be failed if players didn’t make their way through it within the time limit. Certain variables could affect this time on particular strikes, but Nightfall strikes were still much more difficult than much of the other content in the game.

Now, the Nightfall will use a scoring system to help the most-skilled players stand out from the pack. Scores will be generated both by getting kills and generating orbs, and it will be team-based to keep players from getting into conflict during playtime. There will still be a soft time limit, as scores will reduce by half at the 15-minute mark and will stop completely after 18 minutes. Special “challenge cards” will also give you more difficult strikes in exchange for higher score multipliers. You must complete a Nightfall run once in order to acquire the cards.

As far as rewards go, special Nightfall emblems will drop, and these will show off your personal best Nightfall score to other players. If your score is above a certain threshold, you get a special aura.

“Along with the aura, a personal score over the threshold will also unlock a fireteam-wide buff that boosts Vanguard Token drops in that strike by 25 percent,” the post continued. “When your fireteam sees the Nightfall Aura on your head, they know who’s hooking them up.”

Destiny 2 is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Next month will see big changes coming to Crucible mode, including a new six-versus-six option and matchmaking tweaks.