The new Destiny 2 expansion Black Armory has recently launched. Unfortunately, the first forge, Volundr, is already proving to be an insurmountable obstacle. This is a big problem for our author Robert.
What’s new? With the weekly reset, the first premium content for season pass buyers was unlocked, the black armory. At the same time, the maximum level was increased by 50 points to 650.
After an introduction to the new NPC, Ada-1, the Guardians are asked to complete a questline that culminates in the entrance of the first forge, Volundr.
This is the problem: To my surprise, I found that the enemies were already marked with an exclamation mark in the first round. Despite everything, the first round was completed after a few attempts.
However, the second round turned out to be impossible. Because the power level requirements are huge:
- Round 1: 615
- Round 2: 625
- Round 3 (boss fight): 630
Since all Guardians started with the old maximum power level of 600, the forge is proving to be an insurmountable obstacle for a large majority of players at least in the first week. And that is a problem.
These are the obstacles: To be competitive in the forge, players first need to complete the milestones that they have been working on for three months, to at least approach the level requirements.
An incomprehensible practice on the part of Bungie for me. The release of a new DLC should allow all players to immediately play this new expansion. This is not the case here.
Don’t get me wrong, the forge can and should be a challenge. Earlier activities were extremely tough at launch:
- The Prison of Elders, especially Skolas
- The Escalation Protocol was considered “unbeatable” at launch
- The Crota raid on hard difficulty was a major challenge
The big difference: In all these scenarios, you could switch to alternative, new content to strengthen your character. This is not the case here. Players are forced to complete already known challenges to have a chance in the forge.
The new content is currently unplayable until you significantly strengthen your Guardian.
Even the Dreaming City was a rough place when Guardians first entered it. However, a complete campaign with new content awaited before that. The forge has exactly zero new activities (aside from the forge itself).
This is what the community says: The discussions on Reddit and Facebook are extremely controversial. While some players note that Bungie delivered exactly what was promised with the forge, many players criticize being locked out of the only noteworthy activity of the new expansion.
Bungie could have easily avoided these discussions:
- If Bungie had raised the power level cap at the start of Season 5, players could have been much more competitive already
- Instead of the level requirement of 615/625/630, Bungie could have capped at 615. Thus, most players would have completed the activity. The forge in the next week can then be played at a higher level.
Why does Bungie do this? The reasons for Bungie’s actions are clear. Players should be bound to the new expansion for as long as possible. What better way than to ensure that players must complete milestones for weeks before they can even enjoy the forge?
Regarding the forge, Bungie has far exceeded the target in my opinion. My anticipation for the armory was high. I was looking forward to many enjoyable hours, only to find out 60 minutes later that even the first phase is far above my level.
I realize that in a few weeks most players will be able to pass the forge successfully, but last night most Guardians were roughly shut out.
Now, back to the milestones. Flashpoint is on Mars. Yay, I guess.
What do you think about the forge? Did you manage it? Or did you bite your teeth on it?
