5,000 Flawless Trial Runs Later, Destiny 2’s GernaderJake Talks How And Why

The state of Destiny 2 at the moment is still in flux, but it has its devotees, and chief among them is one of its biggest content creators, the PvP-focused GernaderJake. Every weekend it’s available, rain or shine, Jake is playing Trials of Osiris, going flawless himself, or mostly, carrying others to flawless to earn some of the best rewards in the game when they reach the Lighthouse.

It’s the most competitive mode Destiny 2 has (there was even a spin-off Trials game planned at one point at Bungie), and there is no more determined player than Jake. Now, he’s hit 5,000 Flawless runs with 4,000 carries among them, with no one else even really close to those stats.

I chatted with Jake about this milestone, how he got here, and where he hopes Destiny goes from here as one of its biggest streamers.

What do you enjoy about carrying people to the Lighthouse? What’s the best part for you?

Honestly, I enjoy a lot about the process of carrying people to the Lighthouse. I enjoy the challenge. I enjoy the clear and obvious goal that my chat can follow and that I can feel motivated by. I enjoy the feeling that comes with the success of a flawless run! But more than anything else, I enjoy “the moment.” Getting to play with so many different people from the community, some of which saved up channel points for years to get their opportunity, and then to have that “moment” where we reach the Lighthouse together… it’s often euphoric for them. Getting to witness it, and be a part of it, is so special and has never gotten old.

How much of an issue has stream sniping been during this process? Or cheating?

Almost like metas come and go in Destiny 2 PvP, the popularity of stream sniping does the same. It’s hard to guess why that’s the case. Throughout the last five years, there have been many times where stream sniping doesn’t even seem to exist. I’m able to simply queue a game and experience matchmaking like anyone else.

However, at times, it’s been so bad it’s practically unplayable. The era of the flawless pool, which spanned a full year and a half, comes to mind. Back then, stream sniping was so horrifically bad I had to run stacked (playing with two other very good players) all of Sunday and Monday (when the flawless pool went live) and hide my screen the entire time I wasn’t in a game. If I didn’t hide my screen, teams of players with stats so inflated it wouldn’t be possible without the assistance of cheats, would intentionally queue against me and my squad to ruin our flawless run and put a huge damper on our moods. The flawless pool was not very populated, and you matched based off of the number of wins you had on your card, so it was really easy for teams to intentionally match us. Even while hiding our screen, it was impossible to avoid these teams. I have never been closer to giving up the flawless grind than those days.

What was the “best” era of Trials, and what was the worst?

The best era of Trials was August of 2021 after Bungie brought us a huge Trials revamp. For the first time, players could queue into Trials solo, and could get loot even without winning a game. The playerbase was thriving as a result, and the community seemed to rally around how fun the playlist was. Seeing practically everyone in the Destiny directory playing Trials, having laughs, and not caring about the win or the loss was so fun.

The worst era of Trials was just before that. Summer of 2021. Rounds were two minutes long, there were no zones, and three-peaking and chaos reach were in their prime. For those who don’t know what three-peaking is, it’s where you emote or equip a sword to go into a third person view. In this view, you can stand behind cover while still observing the surroundings behind it. The result was two-minute stand offs, where whichever team that decided to push put themselves at a huge disadvantage. To make matters worse, Chaos Reach super on Warlock plus Geomag exotic boots were at their prime. The meta was putting on Geomags, 100 intellect, and a sword, and then standing against a wall with a sword out trying to get as many supers as you possibly could. Long, boring, and incredibly frustrating games were the result.

Do you think Destiny PvP can stay healthy from here and survive these recently record low playercounts?

Somehow someway, even with the player count being as low as it is, Trials seems to be doing alright. The narrative is that Trials is awful, unplayable, etc. As someone who has played through every meta and every content drought, I can tell you that this is far from the worst it has felt. So, to answer your question, yes. PvP can survive these low player counts. I believe a Trials revamp in episode 3 and DLCs twice a year can keep it alive. Will it ever be as popular as it once was? No. But it can still survive and be enjoyable for all players.

Do you have another goal after this, or are you just going to keep carrying indefinitely?

4000 flawless carries, 5000 flawless runs. This has been my goal for a very long time. Now that I’ve hit those goals, I’m going to enjoy a break from gaming and streaming until Episode 3 in February. Episode 3 brings a Trials revamp, and March brings a new adventure for my wife and I, when we will move for a year or more to France to explore and live our lives a bit. Realistically, my next goal is to put my life ahead of streaming for the first time in a decade. Say yes to more opportunities, be willing to miss more Trials streams. I do see myself wanting to continue Trials carries indefinitely though. Less of them, less ridiculously scheduled dedication to them, but still doing them.

Where do you hope Destiny as a franchise goes in the future?

Dude, one day I want to see a Destiny 3 so badly. The Destiny community is special. We are a dedicated group of frickin’ awesome people. A Destiny 3 done well would bring so many of us back to where we once were. While it may be many years away, I remain hopeful that we will happen eventually.

Is there one particular carry story that stands out as being memorable?

I have too many memories and moments. 2000+ carries in Destiny 1 and 4000 in Destiny 2 has my mind scrambling to think of the number 1 moment. If I had to choose, it would be the time I carried a disabled viewer to the Lighthouse earlier this year. The journey was difficult. My carry partner and I had to lock in and clutch up time after time after time. After the run, his partner reached out to me explaining their dire living situation, and how meaningful and special that Lighthouse experience was for him. The message hit home, and I asked if I could share it with my community, to which they said yes. After sharing it, a flood of people showed up in the comments begging for an opportunity to donate to this family and help them get some of the gaming resources they so desperately needed. They created a Go Fund Me, and within minutes the community donated over $1500, securing them a new functioning console, headset, and many other resources needed to help this disabled gamer enjoy his gaming sessions more thoroughly. Knowing how much that Lighthouse run meant, and then seeing the community rain support on his setup upgrade, felt very empowering. I will always remember that carry.

Thanks to Jake for chatting. Enjoy the break, you’ve earned it.