Destiny 2: Forsaken's new Gambit multiplayer mode is free for all players this weekend

One of the big attractions in the Destiny 2: Forsaken expansion is Gambit, a PvE/PvP hybrid in which two teams of four players race to dispatch waves of enemies and collect "motes" that enable them to occasionally take breaks and go mess with the other side. Tim ran it down in enthusiastic detail here, calling it "social and competitive, without having the relentless capacity for salt that getting spammed by Vigilance Wing and Graviton Lance in, say, Trials creates."   

(For those who don't play Destiny 2, that's a good thing.) 

Gambit is a core part of Forsaken, but beginning at 10 am PT/1 pm ET on September 21, and running until the same time on September 23, it will be open to all Destiny 2 players, including those who haven't purchased the expansion. The free trial includes access to every Gambit map, and Scorn, Fallen, Hive, Red Legion, and Vex will all be swimming in the potential enemy pool. (Apparently that wasn't the case last time.) 

For those taking on Gambit for the first time, Bungie has a quick-and-dirty strategy guide that breaks down the basics, including the proper way to deposit motes and summon Blockers—those are the enemies you can send to make life more difficult for the other team—and why it's important not to let your guard down when victory is within reach. 

Another tip, courtesy of us: Bring Sleeper Simulant to the party if you have one, because it's got a huge hit-box and makes one-shot body kills, "so you can just invade and map the whole team." (That's more Tim talk.) It's such a beast that Bungie has already committed to nerfing the aim assist in the near future, so you might as well have fun while you can.

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Destiny 2: Forsaken is available now at Battle.net, and we like it a lot: It's "the second wind Destiny 2 needed," Austin said in his 86/100 review, with "an engaging campaign and an engrossing endgame" that manages to (finally) put the game on the right path. 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.