The Destiny 2 Creative Director James Tsai revealed first details about the legendary campaign in Witch Queen in an interview. He provides an exciting preview of the most campaign-intensive season that Destiny 2 has ever had. MeinMMO looked into what makes the campaign so special and what changes players can expect.
As early as October 2021, Bungie envisioned making Destiny 2 a grand adventure. Joe Blackburn, Bungie’s Game Director, said at that time, “Destiny 2 should be a combination of TV series and film.”
The goal is a live-service narrative that captivates its players in an adventure style while also winning the hearts and minds of new players. This includes developing characters over multiple seasons, as is now the case with Savathûn.
One can expect a lot from this cunning foe: Savathûn has infiltrated all the major plotlines since Destiny 1 and has weaved herself into the events that shape the entire Destiny story.
Bungie has cleverly and consistently hidden her intrigues over the years. A long-planned path that will now find its first climax in direct confrontation with the Witch Queen in her throne world on February 22.
To stoke the fire in the hearts of the Guardians even more, James Tsai, the Creative Director of Witch Queen, revealed in an interview with Gameinformer more exciting details. Not only longtime players but also returning Guardians and newcomers can expect a lot.
- The campaign is said to be completely different from anything Bungie has implemented in past annual campaigns
- There will be new challenges and mechanics that all Guardians of every power level must get used to
- There will be unique encounters that require a lot of thought and understanding
- Additionally, the campaign will offer significantly more mysteries, riddles, and puzzles
- The content and enemies will be adapted to the number of Guardians
The playstyle of Destiny 2 will change
As James Tsai puts it, it will all be “a dramatic step towards the adaptation of the playstyle for players.” It is set to be a grand, refined challenge to measure oneself against such a cunning foe.
The rogue Savathûn, the wiliest Hive enemy we’ve ever had, is at the center. And it wouldn’t be a Savathûn story if there weren’t tricks. She is the goddess of cunning. […] The player’s fantasy is to be like a clairvoyant detective this time. You approach this uncertain goal, this creepy, beautiful grotesque, twisted wonderland place. What is the secret here? What can you trust?
James Tsai, the Creative Director of Witch Queen
Everything plays out in a world created from light: The new target area, Savathûn’s throne world, is supposed to provide a vast area for these campaign secrets that players can explore. Everything there reflects Savathûn’s mind, which has used the stolen light to recreate an ancient Hive realm. The new location will be divided into several areas.
- Savathûn’s “High Circle,” an opulent, massive castle with courtyards and sculptures
- A vast, creepy, and mysterious underworld
- The striking bayou swamp area, which will be unique in Destiny 2 due to the combination of heat and humidity
6-player activity will storm the Witch’s castle: In this location, the new 6-player activity will also take place. As James Tsai revealed in the interview, it is called “Wellspring”. Players will storm Savathûn’s seemingly insurmountable castle. The activity will also feature matchmaking.
The campaign has an endgame feel: In addition to the special location, the campaign is intended not only to be played but also to be an experience. For Witch Queen, Bungie has thus placed a strong focus on the campaign. Players will have unforgettable encounters that require a lot of thought and understanding. It is quite possible that there will be new riddles and puzzles to decipher in Savathûn’s throne world.
More challenges through the legendary campaign: To keep things interesting, players will also have a legendary campaign available in Witch Queen. However, it will not simply be harder.
- Expect more enemies with more health
- Modifiers that will further increase the difficulty
- As well as so-called “Darkness zones” that will ensure players cannot trivialize the battle
The difficulty scales with: Additionally, players can expect a completely new approach in the legendary campaign. Bungie will adapt the number of enemies in an activity to the size of the fireteam going forward.
James Tsai elaborated on this further:
Our intention is to ensure that there is no wrong way to play. You want to play it alone; you can. You want to play with friends? They will get the same tough experience and the same performance.
The rewards for this should be appropriate: Those who take on this challenge can look forward to appropriate rewards in the form of gear packages, exotic items, and mod upgrades in the “Witch Queen” campaign. How good these items will ultimately turn out, is still unknown.
The “Radiant Brood” will be a constant threat
With Witch Queen, new types of enemies are coming into play called the “Radiant Brood.” Essentially, these are Savathûn’s forces, and they will wait for players in both normal and legendary difficulty.
“We want it to feel like you’re fighting against yourself,” Joe Blackburn once said about this and went further: “We want it to feel like you’re fighting against something you understand.”
While you are fighting against the familiar Hive, you must obviously reckon with these enemies at all times. They are also empowered by the light, have their own spirits, and can be revived by them, coming back at full health to attack the players from behind. This new type of enemy ability will therefore need to be kept in mind at all times in the future.
If players want to defeat them, they need to be quick and destroy the enemy’s spirit. For this, there will be a special finisher that allows the Guardians to seize the spirit and crush it in their hands.
“Bombing moths” are charged with light: For Witch Queen, it also seems advisable to pack a large fly swatter. You will also encounter light-charged moths. And they are really explosive.
They have the ability to make every enemy stronger. Just like players know from the mod “Light Charged” for their own abilities, as James Tsai explains.
You could be fighting an Acolyte who is light-charged, and when you defeat that Acolyte, the moth flies out and tries to grant its power to another nearby enemy, or it comes after you and tries to explode.
Bungie Creative Director James Tsai has provided many insights into the new campaign and playstyle that await Destiny 2 players in the future. However, these announcements sound exciting for the campaign and could indeed improve the gameplay. Also, the weapons already presented give hope for some cool items. How good they will ultimately turn out will be revealed in a few weeks when players can discover the new activities for themselves.
What do you think of the information about the campaign? Did you hope for such changes? And do you think the new focus on the campaign is the right path for Destiny 2? Share your opinions on this in the comments.
