Bungie revealed new information about the upcoming second act of Episode “Heretics” in a livestream on March 4th for Destiny 2 – and even the strict Destiny community, which has mostly voiced criticism about the loot shooter for months, is full of praise for the new announcements.
What was announced? There were several different announcements for the second act. However, the three major highlights are two new modes and one event:
- Court of Blades – a mode with roguelike mechanics, where you can choose different buffs and augmentations, making each run feel different depending on your decisions. A run is supposed to last about 10 minutes.
- Rite of the Nine – a free, time-limited event centered around three dungeons: Prophecy, Spire of the Watcher, Ghosts of the Deep.
- There will be three difficulty levels, including a kind of contest mode and an explorer mode that is meant to be beginner-friendly.
- Each dungeon is supposed to receive 4 reworked weapons (a total of 12 weapons), which will get updated perks and a new origin trait.
- You will be able to use a system to increase the drop chances of certain weapons.
- Heavy Metal – a time-limited PvP mode where you fight with Dread tanks against mechs.
The first act of Episode Heretics is currently ongoing. You can watch the launch trailer here:
Finally some praise from the players
What does the community say about the announcements? It feels like it has been an eternity, but players are indeed full of praise for the new announcements.
A user raves on Reddit: “Bungie, you absolutely cooked today. Rite of the Nine is a big step in the right direction […]. A reason to play old content?! Old content that is actually used?! […] And a new PvP mode?! I almost passed out.”
Especially the “Rite of the Nine” event and the new PvP mode are well-received. One player comments on YouTube: “The dungeon event is great. I think it’s exactly what the game needs!” Another jokes: “We have Titanfall 3 in Destiny 2 before GTA 6.”
Beginners are excited to finally be able to play dungeons
Praising words are especially directed towards the new explorer mode of the “Rite of the Nine” event, which makes the mechanics of a dungeon accessible to players who previously had not played dungeons: A player expresses excitement on Reddit: “I am really looking forward to the explorer mode. I have never played one of these dungeons. Something that held me back was the feeling that I just didn’t know how to play them, and I didn’t want to be a burden to others.”
Overall, the announcements sound much better than many skeptical players had expected. A comment on YouTube aptly summarizes the mood shift in the community: “I didn’t expect to open the video and see a pretty large number of positive comments.”
Bungie has recently shown that they can indeed have an open ear for the ideas and wishes of the community. For instance, a bug is allowed to remain and be actively used, which players wanted to keep: Popular bug becomes a feature in Destiny 2 so that guardians can have fun
