Destiny 2 will retire weapons after a certain time. What that exactly means can already be seen in some cases. And it’s already annoying, says MeinMMO shooter expert Sven Galtizki.
What is the weapon retirement all about? As part of its future plans, Bungie announced some time ago that Destiny 2 will send its weapons into retirement (Sunsetting) – at least the legendary ones.
This means: Weapons (and armor) have a kind of expiration date. They can only be infused up to a certain power level. After that, you won’t be able to upgrade them anymore – in other words, after a certain point, they will no longer be usable for the endgame of Destiny 2 because they have too low a power level.
While new weapons are supposed to be coming, Bungie reserves the right to bring weapons out of retirement and make them relevant again.
Sunsetting receives criticism: Some Guardians have no problem with this concept. Over the long term, it would mean always playing with new or different weapons. The “retirees” can also still be used effectively outside the endgame, where power level is not as critical or does not play a role.
However, there has also been a lot of criticism. That would be a slap in the face for those who have fought hard for weapons over several seasons – especially since Bungie repeatedly emphasizes that it respects players’ invested time.
On the other hand, there is concern that too few new weapons will be introduced and that Bungie will simply reuse old resources, forcing players to re-earn already known weapons – just with a new power level or slightly altered appearance.
This very point made me very skeptical. And there are now already initial signs in the Season 11 that support this fear.
Weapon Retirement in Destiny 2 – Here’s a preview of the consequences
With the new season, it is clearly visible in some places how Destiny 2 handles weapons and what the “bringing back” of weapons looks like.
My favorite weapons are back, but I’m not really excited: On one hand, they are reusing old resources and bringing back weapons (and gear) that were very popular, but they still haven’t reached the new standard with random rolls and a slot for current weapon mods.
These include my absolute favorites among the legendary weapons – the IKELOS guns from the Escalation Protocol. The corresponding sniper, SMG, hand cannon, and shotgun still had the level of year 1 up until the Season of Arrival in year 3 of Destiny 2. Although the power level could be increased further, the rolls were fixed, and only mods from the first year were supported. In short: the weapons still looked cool visually, but were practically useless from a gameplay perspective.
Now they are back in Season 11 – and indeed the entire range. You can no longer get them from the Escalation Protocol, but from the new dungeon “Prophecy” and from the new Contact event. The same weapons, the same appearance – just now with random rolls and support for current mods. Also, some other weapons and gear pieces from year 1, such as the original “Trials of the Nine” gear, are now available in this way.
And as much as I love these weapons, I am equally annoyed by this. Now I can dismantle my existing 4 masterwork versions and have to farm them all over again. There is no option to bring the already earned weapons up to date.
This is already extremely annoying in my opinion and everything but respectful toward the time I invested, but here I can still somewhat turn a blind eye. After all, the guns are now generally at the latest standard and not completely useless. I have wished for this for a long time.
But in another example, the consequences of sunsetting become even clearer, and I can no longer overlook that. Because what happens there worries me.
Grind for weapons that you basically already have one-to-one: Bungie makes players grind in Season 11 for some weapons that they basically already have one-to-one in their inventory.
The only difference between the guns is the maximum possible power level and a symbol in the upper left corner of the weapon icon. Everything else – both the possible rolls and the appearance or the names of the weapons are completely identical.
One of these weapons is the legendary auto rifle “Magenknurren”. This one was “newly introduced” in Season 11, now carries the seasonal emblem of the Season of Arrival and can be upgraded to power level 1360. But only if you find it now.
If you previously received the weapon with a good roll and perhaps even made it a masterwork, you are out of luck. Because it remains at the “old level” – meaning it has an old icon and can only be infused up to power level 1060. If you want to continue using it next summer, you will now have to re-earn this auto rifle.
Please, Bungie – reconsider this: I personally was very excited about Bungie’s announcement for their plans for Destiny 2 until 2022. Generally, the game is now taking a direction that I wished for in this form since the announcement of Destiny 2 – namely a large Destiny MMO that will be supported with content for years to come.
I am not categorically opposed to weapon retirement either. However, if Bungie indeed relies more on simply bringing back old retirees one-to-one with a new power level, as has already happened in the described cases, then that would be a rather severe blow to my anticipation. Because taking something out of the game and then making players re-earn it months or years later – in my eyes, that is a definite no-go and almost lazy (even if not really new). Especially if the number of truly new weapons is limited.
There was also quite a bit of criticism for this in the community. Bungie can certainly listen to player feedback, and I hope that they will rethink this aspect. If players who already own these weapons would at least be given the option to truly infuse them to the current power level, that would be a good start. Otherwise, I am quite sure that Bungie is making a mistake here that they will eventually have to backtrack on, and probably will. And that frustrates me immensely. Because this will again be at the players’ expense.
By the way, content such as locations and activities will also be sent into retirement starting autumn 2020 and will then return: Destiny 2 will soon rotate content – bringing cool moments from part 1 back
