One of the biggest features of Season 7 in Destiny 2 is the Menagerie, a new pinnacle activity for groups. But what exactly is behind this activity? How does it play? We clarify.
What is the Menagerie? On June 4, the Season of Opulence started in Destiny 2. Included is a new activity for 6 players – the Menagerie. The team size is exactly the same as in a Raid. However, it is not a Raid. This is exactly the kind of activity that many fans have been asking for a long time.
However, Bungie did not go into detail during the presentation of the Menagerie and only provided superficial explanations of the processes and mechanics. Many fans are still not entirely sure what this new feature entails. We try to shed some light on the subject.
What the Menagerie is all about – How the new activity plays
You need to do this first: To participate in the Menagerie, you first need to complete an introductory quest. Speak to Benedict 99-44 in the Tower. He will give you a quest that will quickly get you to Power Level 690, introduce you to the Chalice of Opulence, and guide you into the Menagerie.
The Chalice is, by the way, an important mechanic of the Menagerie that can provide you with some of the best weapons and armor in the game. You can find more about it here: With this Chalice, some of the best gear from Destiny 2 will be available soon
This is how you start the activity: Once you start the Menagerie through the Nessus map, you board the Leviathan, the massive spaceship of Emperor Calus.
There you will get a small taste of what to expect in the first room. You need to defeat some Ogres and light lamps with Orbs they drop.
This is what waits for you in the Menagerie: After that, you will navigate through a labyrinth of previously undiscovered sections of this gigantic ship that are overrun by monsters. The normal mode offers matchmaking, so you will quickly find more players.
The cool thing is: The Menagerie plays like a small Raid and focuses on the coolest feature of these activities – namely their mechanics.
In a random order, you will visit different rooms in the labyrinth that are connected by tunnels and corridors. In these rooms, you will fight hordes of enemies, solve puzzles, and master challenging mechanics, as well as face tough boss encounters.
This is what makes the Menagerie so interesting: Essentially, you get a “Best of” selection of previous Raid and activity mechanics from the entire Destiny series, refreshingly combined within the scope of an activity.
Sometimes you will have a room where you need to collect Vex skulls. You need to shoot these to shatter crystals – very much in the style of the boss encounter against Argos from the World Eater tract.
At other times, you must capture plates while hordes of exploding Thralls rush towards you, and a Hive boss like the Dark Blade from Destiny 1 hunts you down.
In the next room, for example, protected Hive Knights could be waiting for you, whose shields you can only break with a sword that you can find with other Knights in this room – like with Crota in Destiny 1.
There are several other mechanics of this kind that Destiny veterans will quickly recognize.
This is what sets the new activity apart from a Raid: However, unlike in a Raid, you cannot “lose” in the Menagerie and can determine how relaxed or frantic your match will be. While you still need to pay attention to mechanics and should learn them, you cannot fail due to them. There are also no team wipes.
This is how the Menagerie works: As you fight your way through the individual rooms against the clock (3 minutes per room), you fill a progress bar. Each room contributes a certain portion to the progress of the bar, depending on your performance.
If you master the mechanics of the room, Calus sends tougher enemies and a boss. If you defeat him, you have “completed” the room. If you defeat more and faster enemies, you will earn more points and thus more progress.
If you fail to handle the mechanics, your team may completely fail, and the timer may run out – no problem. You will still make progress, just less. Once the bar is full, you will face the boss. Therefore, you will always reach him. Your performance only determines how quickly. If you also defeat the ultimate boss of the Menagerie, you will receive a chest with loot. The type, quality, and quantity depend entirely on your Chalice of Opulence.
That’s why the Menagerie offers something for every Guardian: Ambitious teams can refine their strategies and mechanics and seek additional challenges against tougher enemies. Players who are not as familiar with mechanics can learn them and still achieve progress. The mechanics in the Menagerie pose no insurmountable hurdles compared to a raid. So there’s something for every type of player.
The Menagerie is essentially a lighter version of a raid, where you can either really sweat or have a relaxed round in between. How you play this activity is up to you and your team. However, it is definitely more forgiving than a raid.
For those who don’t have time for long raid nights or simply can’t find players for raids, the Menagerie is certainly a quick alternative that offers much of what raids have – just in a more accessible and relaxed form.
What do fans think of this new activity so far? Whether the Menagerie can convince in the long term remains to be seen. This is emphasized by many players.
However, many fans currently see this activity as an enrichment and a cool refreshment for Destiny 2. Many players expected much less and are now pleasantly surprised.
What do you think of this new activity? Will you check it out or have you already had experiences there?
