History of Battlegrounds Playlist
Revision 3421 by archivist at 2026-10-01 18:23:28
The Battlegrounds Playlist was a three-player matchmade playlist introduced in Season of the Chosen (Season 13), facing the forces of the Cabal Empress Caiatl.
Launch
Select Battlegrounds from the Director's playlist list; matchmaking forms a fireteam of three.
Contents
Four Battlegrounds shipped: Behemoth and Oracle on Nessus, Hailstone on Europa, and Foothold in the Cosmodrome. Each is a short Cabal encounter: you assault a fortified position, complete two objectives, then face a Cabal commander seeking a place on Caiatl's War Council in the "Rite of Proving" boss phase. The boss has three health segments, becoming immune and summoning a Shield Bearer at each stage that must be killed to drop the shield (Destinypedia). Bosses: Commander Dracus (Behemoth), Basilius the Golem (Hailstone), Val Ma'rag (Foothold), Ixel, the Far-Reaching (Oracle).
Rewards
Completions granted Season of the Chosen loot. In the playlist, Cabal Tribute Chests (opened with a Hammer of Proving) contained Umbral Engrams and gear; in Season of the Chosen three completions gave Pinnacle gear, later seasons gave Powerful gear (Destinypedia; may be dated).
History
Originally a seasonal playlist with the season's content. With The Witch Queen (22 February 2022) the Battlegrounds were merged into the Vanguard Ops Playlist, so they were available to free players; Lightfall later added PsiOps and Heist Battlegrounds. Today they are part of Fireteam Ops in The Portal.