[2019] World First Update - Crown of Sorrow

When we were building Vault of Glass in 2013, the notion that our raids would launch a competition around World Firsts in Destiny was only a dream. The Me-from-2013 certainly didn't imagine we'd have the opportunity to make sweet championship belts and jackets for champions and competitors. It's been an incredible multi-year run: Bosses have fallen off ledges, sword bearers have been clutch, giant foes have created jaw-dropping moments, and the list could go on and on. With Crown of Sorrow, we hope to add more memories to your time in Destiny's Raids.    World's First races in Destiny are attempting to deliver the following experiences: 

• Power progression that challenges raiders to climb to compete for World First
• Showcase team communication, game strategy, and player skill
• A watchable and fair World First race

  The World First race is when our players test their mettle in the Raid for the first time. With Opulence, we wanted to try something different and make the Raid available on day 1 in an effort to make the Raid Race more fair and competitive. However, our best laid plans have turned this into a multi-week, cross-seasonal Powerful Reward storage competition.    While we love seeing players find clever ways of leveraging game mechanics, we wanted to step back and look at what's going to be the best player experience for those competing and those watching. Below is how we’re changing the way the World First Raid window works for Season of Opulence and testing out a new mode called Contest.   When Crown of Sorrow goes live on June 4th at 4 p.m. Pacific, here is what to expect: 

• While Contest is active, players will face an enforced challenge throughout the Raid. This means, Power beyond certain levels will provide no advantage for a given fight (e.g., for the first fight all Power above 700 won't provide an advantage, and for the final fight Power above 720 will not provide an advantage). 
• We are going to deploy the update at 8AM Pacific and the game will be down until 10AM Pacific, so that as many players as possible can get through the download and verification step and be ready for Opulence launch. 

  After the 24-hour period ends, we will disable Contest and restore the Power/Raid relationship to its usual functionality. Then players will be able leverage their Power to overcome the Raid's challenge.    If this experiment goes well, we can imagine future Raids launching with Contest active. But first, we want to see how this one plays out.   We'll be watching with you and cheering you on.    Thanks and see you soon,  Luke Smith