In Destiny 2, the Splicer season is running, but the new Season 15 is already on the starting blocks. For the next chapter to be a hit, Bungie should learn 10 lessons.
Currently, in Destiny 2, the Splicer season is in progress. This is already the 14th season of the action MMO, and the current chapter will accompany the Guardians for another month. On August 24, the yet unnamed new Season 15 will start.
Bungie has done a lot right this time and should carry these strengths into the new season. However, there are also mistakes that we Guardians definitely do not want to see again in the next chapter. Forbes has compiled a list of 10 lessons that Bungie should pay attention to, and we have adapted it extensively for MeinMMO.
1. Don’t half-heartedly reheat weapons
In Season 14, Bungie flaunted iconic weapons returning to the game. Unease, Fatebringer, and Vex Mythoclast were supposed to generate significant hype. However, most of the time, the weapons did not live up to their oversized, nostalgic memories.
Bungie has really burned itself with the rehashing of old DLC weapons, which deeply angered the players. The rehashing is annoying for three reasons:
- Players already had God Rolls for these guns, but they went into the weapon retirement. Now they are expected to hunt for nearly identical weapons again. It’s no wonder that Guardians find this annoying.
- Bungie wanted to do something different with the reintroduction of the “new” weapons in Destiny 2: new perks were intended to give the old firearms a new shine. But it quickly became apparent that the updated versions of the weapons from the Moon were weaker than before.
- The rehashing went particularly badly for the weapons from the Dreaming City: the advertised favorites from Forsaken (2018) simply don’t drop for many players. A problem that Bungie has yet to solve (as of July 19).
Bungie shows itself how to do it better. The completely new Splicer weapons are all amazing and really good. The brought-back raid weapons are mostly strong as well, except for the Exotic Vex Mythoclast.
2. Please more of the strong seasonal story
What Bungie should definitely continue in Season 15 is the strong seasonal story of Season 14. For many Guardians, it was exciting to log in every week to see what new story-related events were happening in Destiny 2 instead of grinding the new Override mission.
Here, celebrated heroes turned into monsters, one felt pity for cute alien babies, and one could truly feel the impending civil war in the Last City. On top of that, there was a surprise: The big enemy from the next expansion of Destiny 2 is already in the city.
So, Bungie, please keep it up. And who knows what the Guardians will be delivered for the announced epilogue starting August 10. A cool cinematic or impressive in-game event would perfectly round off the beautiful narrative.
3. Getting raids out of the content vault works
One of the highlights of Season 14 was the return of the Glass Vault. The iconic raid from 2014 opened its doors for the first time in Destiny 2 and set record numbers for the action MMO of player counts.
Aside from the high difficulty of the first 24 hours, Guardians are very satisfied with the resurrected piece of Destiny history. It’s clear that Guardians are already calling for the King’s Fall and want to defeat Oryx in Destiny 2.
However, Bungie needs to improve the loot for the Hard Mode. Although the Time-Lost Weapons are cool, only being able to earn one weapon per week through a specific challenge is dragging. Moreover, the raids aren’t really more difficult; they just have a higher level – some fresh mechanics would have been nice here.
4. Stuff more enemies into seasonal activities
The Splicer season brought the new Override activity into play. The setting is really cool (also in Erasure missions): You hack through digital Vex worlds and enjoy stylish 80’s cyber aesthetics and synthesizer pop. Additionally, the activity is for 6 Guardians and offers automatic player matching.
But in Override, you encounter far too few enemies. Guardians are not fighting against the foes, but over who gets the kill.
This is annoying for the loot missions, which even reward with top loot. Since you have to chase every kill, the tasks drag out. On the other hand, it’s frustrating because the previous Season 13 with the Battleground activity already showed how many enemies can be squeezed into tight spaces.
5. Umbral Engrams are okay, but it can be better
Destiny 2 brought back Umbral Engrams in 2021. The loot mechanic allows you to determine the weapons and armor yourself. However, Umbral Engrams were made unnecessarily complicated with the trials hammer, which was almost painful.
Now in Season 14, the system is already a bit more manageable. You need fewer resources and conversions than a few months ago. However, Umbral Engrams still clog the much too small inventory, and the constant trips to the H.E.L.M. are quite annoying.
On the next and final page, we will continue with things Bungie should consider for the next chapter.
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