In Destiny 2, with Season 6, the in-game shop, the Eververse, is being revamped. Bungie refers to it as an improvement, but many Guardians see it differently.
This is how the in-game shop is changing: According to Bungie, for Season 6, which starts on March 5, they want to try something new for the Eververse.
- The Prism Matrix will be removed. Previously, you could earn one Eververse item per week for free through this. If you still have Prism Shards, you should redeem them by March 5. After Season 6 starts, you can only dismantle expired Prism Shards for 150 Glimmer.
- Instead, there will be unique cosmetic item bundles available weekly that you must purchase directly with Silver. Silver is the currency that you cannot earn, only buy. All bundles will also include an exclusive cosmetic item that is only available through these weekly bundles.
One less way to earn cosmetic items
Why is this change happening? According to Bungie, they want to give players more control over how they acquire the cosmetic items they really want. The Prism Matrix, which came into the game in May 2018, was an experiment to give you more control, but they believe they can do it better in Season 6.
How is the community reacting? On Reddit, this change is being harshly criticized. “So your idea of improvement is to remove a way to earn items without Silver and replace it with bundles that must be purchased with Silver?”, writes one user and receives massive upvotes.
Some players are responding with irony and sarcasm, like “Yes, this is exactly what we wanted – new reasons to buy Silver and throw money at Bungie, whoopee,” while others simply write “Bungie, this is not better” or “Yes, this is an improvement for Bungie.”.
Furthermore, it is criticized that there are exclusive items in the bundles as well. Those who do not want to miss any items will be forced to open their wallets weekly.
One user comments that this change reads like a satire from someone wanting to mock Bungie. Many cannot fathom that Bungie itself is presenting this as an “improvement”.
Another Guardian shows understanding that Bungie wants new ways to earn money with the Eververse. That can be understood. However, Bungie should not pretend that this is an improvement for the players. That is hypocrisy.
Here’s what Bungie says about the reactions: The topic created such a stir on Reddit that a separate official thread was opened for it. In it, Bungie’s community manager Cozmo provided an initial response.
He thanked for the feedback. They will collect it and present it to the team. He emphasizes, however, that players can still earn the Glimmer Engrams, even in Season 6. The “Well Rested” buff is also still available, through which you can more quickly acquire three Glimmer Engrams per week and, therefore, Eververse content.
Glimmer can still be earned as before through bounties. Additionally, the purchasable bundles are merely an optional way to acquire cosmetic items.
However, he does not directly address the upper critiques. He merely lists that the previous ways to obtain Eververse items without purchasing Silver will still exist in Season 6.
Tess Everis will likely have to suffer again
This is how the in-game shop is currently: At the launch of Destiny 2 in 2017, the Eververse was harshly criticized. Because it was too much in the spotlight, especially during events. Too many cosmetic items were tied to loot boxes, so it essentially turned into microtransaction events.
In the following months, Bungie made improvements. You could now earn cosmetic items through more avenues, and the dominance of microtransactions was not as strong. The Prism Matrix in May 2018 added an additional way to obtain Eververse items for free that you did not already possess.
Tess Everis, the NPC in the Eververse, was hated at the beginning of Destiny 2. “Kill Tess” was often seen as a comment. With the improvements in 2018, Tess gradually came out of the crosshairs of the angry Guardians. Now, in Season 6, she will likely have to suffer again.
Xur, on the other hand, is becoming a character who will finally be exciting again.
