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Destiny 2’s Valentine’s-themed Crimson Days event is upon us, love is in the air (though outnumbered by bullets and burning plasma gobs), and there are a whole bag of special rewards to be won, especially in Crucible PvP. The full Crimson Days loot table totals 20 items, covering sparrows, Ghost shells, emotes, and emblems, and unlike the distastefully Eververse-focused Dawning event over Christmas, all of them are available through pure gameplay, with not a single loot-box purchase required.
The majority of the special, Crimson Days loot can be acquired via Crimson Engram drops – which occur alongside Illuminated Engrams at level-up, and also have a chance of popping at the end of Crucible matches in the Crimson Days playlist – but there are a few extra special items that you’ll need to complete specific tasks to snag. These include special versions of all of the above reward types, and most importantly, a dance emote that replicates Beyonce’s routine from the All the Single Ladies video. This, above all else, is the crowning jewel of Crimson Days. This is why you will play it. This is your goal.
How do you get it? I’ll explain that, and all of the other special reward criteria, below. And I’ll also tell you how to be good at the new Crimson Days Crucible mode. Winning matches won’t actually help you win loot, but it will feel good, so why not do it, eh? But for now, let’s crack on with the reward gear, starting with…
The Fire of Crimson Days emblem and Tirastrella Ghost shell
These two are an easy haul. Time is really the only thing you have to contend with. You'll get the emblem at the very start, when you first meet Shaxx to gain access to Crimson Days, and then all you need to do is complete the Welcome to Crimson Days milestone by finishing (not necessarily winning) five Crimson Days Crucible matches, and then visit Shaxx in the Tower to collect your Ghost shell. In truth, this won’t even take that long. Crimson Days matches are pretty quick to complete, given that they play out over a best-of-three rounds Clash set-up, with each round won by the team with the highest score at the end of a short timer. Just grind out the matches, wait for the Milestone to pop, then head back to Shaxx to collect.
The Undeterred Exotic sparrow
This one is both easier and harder to get. It’s easier in that there are no specific demands of you bar ‘Play lots of Crimson Days Crucible’. It’s harder in that there seems to be little you can do to increase your chances. The Undeterred sparrow simply drops as a random reward at the end of matches, so your best (and only) tactic to simply keep at it.
The Dieselpunk Exotic ornament for the Warcliff Coil exotic rocket launcher
Easily the toughest Crimson Days reward to get hold of, this one requires a full Raid completion, in either the original Leviathan or the Easter of Worlds Raid Lair that came with the Curse of Osiris expansion. Thus, you’ll need to put together a complete team of six Guardians and get right to the end, defeating Calus or Argos depending on your Raid of choice. The ornament will be in the final chest, and will give you the facility to make your bobble-headed multi-launcher look entirely more dirty and industrial.
The Flaunting Dance emote. AKA. The Beyonce Dance. AKA. The one you *really* want
Mercifully, the best one is simple. Just complete the Nightfall Strike. Normal, 270 Power Nightfall is fine, or you’re free to run the 300 Prestige version as well. Either will give you The Greatest Dance. And to make things even more straightforward, this week’s Nightfall has the most fuss-free combination of modifiers. Timewarp: Zero Hour means that the timer cannot be extended by any means (so just fight fast and don’t worry about it), and Torrent makes all Guardian’ abilities recharge a hell of a lot more quickly, making that fast fighting far more feasible.
How to win in the Crimson Days Crucible playlist
Stick together. Playing in close partnership with your paired Guardian is vital in Crimson Days’s bespoke 2-vs-2 mode, and not just for the usual reasons. Where standard Crucible encourages close-knit teamwork through the excessive power of combined fire, in Crimson Days, things are more interesting. Stay close, and you’ll trigger a perk called Reunited, which makes both Guardians’ abilities recharge super-quick. Like, ridiculously quick. As in, ‘grenades, rifts, and shields near enough whenever you damn well want’ quick. Conversely, if you split up too far, the opposing team will see an on-screen marker highlighting your positions wherever you are on the map. You do not want them to see that.
As for granular combat tactics, Crimson Days is much more about zone control than any other mode in Destiny 2. Much like in the old days of Halo doubles, the best strategy is to lock down the Power Ammo spawn, and then bunker down in a defensible position. It’s almost always best to make the opposing team come to you, exposing themselves as they do. So get comfortable, get that Reunited perk flowing, and reinforce your position with a grotesque abuse of special abilities. Warlocks tend to be particularly powerful players in Crimson Days, due to their Healing and Empowering rift skills – a two-Warlock team dropping both rifts together can make any area a no-go zone – while a Titan/Warlock combo can also be gloriously effective at shutting down doorways and lanes, by adding barrier shields to the mix.
Basically, force your opponents to brave an open attack, control the routes available for them to do that, stay powered up, and the match will always play out on your terms. It’s worth noting though, that an additional Vengeance perk triggers when one Guardian dies in a Reunited scenario. Here, the surviving Guardian will get an instant health, speed, and weapon-handling boost, making hard, 1-vs-2 pushes actually feasible. It’ll still be risky, mind, so be careful and pick your moments very wisely. But the facility is there if the right circumstances present themselves, particularly at close-range. And needless to say, if you get split up – which is particularly liable to happen around respawn – get back together before you do anything.
