On October 8, the episode “Returners” will launch in Destiny 2 and bring some new content. Included is a “new” mode that divides the community.
What kind of mode is it? With the episode Returners, Destiny 2 is launching the “new” mode “Onslaught: Salvation” (roughly translates to: Assault: Redemption). This is a kind of redesign of the Onslaught mode that came with the free update “Into the Light” in early April 2024.
Onslaught is a horde mode where you must survive up to 50 waves of enemies that become increasingly difficult. During an Onslaught round, you can also unlock tools like trip mines and turrets that help you defend your position.
With Onslaught: Salvation, Bungie is responding to community feedback regarding the original Onslaught mode and making some changes to the gameplay.
Improved Defense
What changes with the new mode? Onslaught: Salvation comes with enemy factions that you will also fight in the upcoming episode. Additionally, the mode will offer three maps. One of these maps will be an Onslaught variant of “Widow’s Court,” which PvP players already know from the Crucible.
The major highlight of the Onslaught redesign is the overhaul of the defensive structures. The turret can now scorch enemies when you upgrade it. Affected enemies will then take damage over time. According to Bungie, this should harmonize with builds that focus on scorching.
Similarly, the trip wire has been updated. It now creates slowing Stasis fields when triggered by an enemy. If you upgrade the trip wire, it even produces Stasis crystals.
Moreover, there is a new defensive structure, referred to as “Airstrike” in the developer livestream on YouTube. You mark an area on the ground, and when an enemy enters this area, they will be struck by a gigantic “beam”.
What does the community say about the mode? The original Onslaught mode was really well received by the community. Many players therefore hoped that Bungie would not abandon the mode and would improve it based on player feedback.
Now Bungie has done that, and part of the community is pleased with it. One user calls it on Reddit “a great decision” and receives a lot of agreement in the comments. Some players refer to Onslaught as their “favorite mode,” while others are just glad that Onslaught will likely not be among the content that Bungie forgets forever – like Gambit (via Reddit).
However, there is also a part of the community that is complaining on Reddit about the announcement. The criticism here mainly revolves around the fact that the new activity of the upcoming episode is a redesign of an old activity. The “recycling” of content is an ongoing discussion in Destiny 2.
Bungie has already presented some exciting plans for the future of Destiny 2. For example, next year a change from 2021 will be reversed: Destiny 2: Players cheer as Bungie reverses a hated change after 3 years: ‘It should have always been this way’
