PSA: Hoverboards are now Destiny 2's best vehicle—here's the quickest way to unlock it before Guardian Games ends
Destiny 2's new hoverboard is extremely good, and no, I'm not just saying this because I love seeing my hunter cape whip about in the breeze while I zoom around the Cosmodrome. The Skimmer, as Bungie has called it, is genuinely a superior vehicle type, with the same 190 max speed as every other exotic Sparrow.
What makes the Skimmer so strong is really its "grind the air" ability, which lets you boost upwards and hover/travel along a flat plane. This consumes your Skimmer's energy, but at full, it'll keep you hovering for a whopping 25 seconds. Add to this that you can activate and deactivate the grind to lower yourself, or that you can use the Skimmer's "take to the air" ability to climb before reactivating the grind at a higher point.
It's a combination of elements that allows the Skimmer to get into all sorts of places it probably shouldn't be. Where before, you had to get your boost angle right or ram your Sparrow into the correct point to get beyond an obvious vehicle barrier, the Skimmer can just breeze right by it. Admittedly, you can learn to infinitely fly with a Sparrow to overcome obstacles, but it's very tricky to master. Take Sparrow-ing sections such as in the Prophecy dungeon—which just got a weapons update by the way—or the Deep Stone Crypt raid. If you find yourself falling to oblivion, simply activate the air grind and save yourself.
I wouldn't be surprised if the current route for the Deep Stone Crypt sparrow encounter became even more streamlined based on what the Skimmer can do. It's arguable that a Sparrow like Always On Time, with its reduced aggression from enemies, will still be superior for encounters like the Grasp of Avarice Sparrow run, but for everything else, I'm not sure why I'd ever use anything but the Skimmer now.
But enough about how fun space surfing is; you want a quick way to unlock one. By following the Guardian Games questline you'll get a free version of the Allstar Vector that expires at the end of the event. However, you can get a permanent exotic one from the Drop In quest that Eva gives you a little later.
There are three ways to get the Allstar Vector permanently via this quest:
- Earn 1,200 Medallions
- Earn a top 10% score in Nightfall Challenges
- Open three Focus Activity Winner Packages
Unless you've got a team of friends willing to try and make it into the top 10% of Nightfall scorers, the fastest method is the third objective. I explain the concept behind these new rewards in the guide linked above, but essentially you get a winner's package if your class gains the highest point score in a Focus Activity, listed at the top of the Tower map.
The good news is that if you hover over the triangular icon with the star when one of these activities is happening, you can see who currently has the highest points and is set to win. Since you only get the rewards for the class you pledge by playing the activity, I recommend waiting until the last twenty minutes or so to see who's on top, then doing the Focus Activity with whichever class is set to win while wearing your Guardian Games class item. If your class does win, the reward will appear in your inventory—called the Focus Champions Package—though you may have to log out and wait a little while for it to appear.
Hunters have won pretty much every time so far, which is standard since there are more of us. Bungie will likely balance it back so other classes have a chance to win, but if you don't want to wait, I'd suggest quickly making a hunter character and boosting their power with weapons from your other class. Most of the Focus Activities are either 1600 power or have level advantages disabled, and you only have to play once to qualify for the rewards.
To put it in perspective, I already have the exotic Allstar Vector via using this method. You can, of course, also buy an exotic Skimmer in the Gjallarheart Gear Bundle, but I'm not advocating you spend £20 to get something that will actually be very easy to acquire by just playing a few activities.