Destiny 2 is currently setting the course for its future. It all started with a recent “State of the Game” blog post by Game Director Joe Blackburn. In over 6000 words, he had a lot to announce, from new content to gameplay improvements and criticisms of the Lightfall story. We summarize the most important points from this announcement for you.
What big news did Bungie have to announce? In the current “State of the Game” blog post, Bungie’s Game Director Joe Blackburn and the Bungie team provided insight into the current goals and direction of the space shooter.
A whole range of changes were presented, showing what features and content Guardians can expect in the short and long term.
- The power level grind will be suspended again.
- A new ritual loot system codenamed “Pathfinder” is on the way.
- The annoying quest line for Stasis will be removed, and the ability will finally be available directly.
- The PvP will receive a new map and a mode that focuses more on weapons than on skills.
- However, for Gambit fans, despite some concessions, bad news was revealed.
In response to the criticism and some key questions from the community, Bungie unfortunately only explains why things are the way they are. We summarize the key points for you in this article.
10 gameplay changes for upcoming Destiny content
These state-of-the-game announcements are designed to excite Guardians about an exciting future and bring fresh air to Destiny content. Given the mood in the community, players were eager for this statement.
Bungie had the following to announce:
Power level will not be increased
Those hoping for comprehensive announcements about the power level were disappointed. The Game Director shared that in the upcoming season 22, Guardians will maintain the current maximum power level of 1,810. Automatic leveling via the artifact for challenging content such as Grandmaster raids and dungeons will remain.
New “Pathfinder” quest system introduced
How the “Pathfinder” system will ultimately replace the core ritual loot quests is still in development. But it looks like a complex tree system with flexible paths.
- To obtain the desired engram, multiple stops will be required, with the path there seemingly quite flexible.
- This would suggest more freedom in gameplay, which Bungie is increasingly granting its Guardians.
Three new Strand aspects
The upcoming season 22 will offer three new Strand aspects, one for each class. Hunters will receive the “Whirling Maelstrom” aspect, Titans the “Banner of War” aspect, and Warlocks the “Weavewalk” aspect.
Stasis abilities will be directly available
In season 22, Bungie will also end the Stasis quest on Europa. Instead of having to slog through a lengthy unlocking quest, you can simply fly to Elsie Bray on Europa and equip yourself with the ability through the vendor system. However, ownership of the “Beyond Light” DLC is still required.
Free playlist choice for challenges
The weekly challenges can be completed in all ritual playlists starting from season 22.
- Players are no longer forced to play strikes, crucible, and Gambit to receive all challenges, but can choose what they like and stick with it.
Favorites option for shaders, ornaments, and emotes
Starting in season 22, players can add up to 100 shaders, ornaments, and emotes to personal favorites. This aims to make the tedious clicking through numerous options easier.
All changes for the Vanguard
There’s little to announce for strikes in general and Nightfalls, as according to Bungie, the Vanguard playlist is “currently in a stable state with a healthy player population”.
- Bungie will permanently adopt the scoring system of the Guardian Games in strikes. It provides score bonuses for performing specific actions to earn medals. This will contribute to the score, making it easier to achieve a high score in the future. However, finisher moves will not earn medals in Nightfalls.
Instead of new strikes, Bungie continues to focus on the battlegrounds of past seasonal activities.
- In both season 22 and season 23, Bungie will adopt more battlegrounds into the Nightfall and Grandmaster rotation.
These were the updates for PvP
In season 22, a new PvP map called “Multiplex,” which is located in the Vex network, will be released. Bungie stated, however, that you should not expect such new PvP maps very often, as their development pulls resources away from story missions and exotic quests.
In season 23, you will then receive another old and revised PvP map – “The Citadel.”
There will be two new modes for the crucible labs:
- “Checkmate”: A mode where “intense primary weapon fights can happen more frequently.” Your abilities will recharge more slowly there, special ammo will be harder to obtain, and player health will be increased.
- “Relic”: A fun party mode similar to Team Scorched. However, instead of Eliksni rocket launchers, Guardians will face off with relics, such as the Aegis shield from the “Glass Chamber” raid, the Synaptic spear from the “Season of the Resurrected,” or the scythe from the “Season of the Haunted.”
- The announced sandbox changes in PvP include modifications to range and zoom stats, as well as significant PvE buffs for hand cannons and swords. Several perks such as “Two-Hit,” “Vengeful Assassin,” and “Under Pressure” are also set to become more useful.
For the “Trials of Osiris,” the PvP endgame, a new armor set will be introduced in season 22. An initial image competes with the wolves from the Iron Banner and showcases the Titan with a bear look.
Other armor sets with playlist themes will no longer be released with each expansion because “these sets had very low acceptance among players in the past, both as base armor and as cosmetic adornment.”
On the other hand, Bungie is improving its systems in collaboration with Battle.net to prevent the escalation or creation of new so-called “burner” accounts and their access to endgame PvP.
However, one thing has also become clear. Bungie sees the key to the health of PvP in Destiny 2 less in new content and more in better player matchmaking, quality-of-life updates, and sandbox tuning.
Gambit will be completely optional in Destiny 2
For Gambit fans, however, Joe Blackburn’s article contained almost only bad news. Bungie will make a few updates for the PvEvP mode, but beyond that, they will not devote more resources to a fundamental overhaul of Gambit.
- Gambit will add the old map from the Dreaming City, “Cathedral of the Scars,” with the upcoming DLC “The Final Shape.”
- Additionally, Bungie will add more enemies to the mode during the Final Shape era, such as the Radiant Brood of Savathun and the Shadow Legion of Calus.
There was also more to announce
Alongside these key elements, Bungie also revealed some interesting details about the future.
- In season 23, there will be further experiments with seasonal variety and narrative, including the promise of something “completely new and different.”
- There will be further optimizations for little-used exotic armor. This information will arrive next week.
- The fireteam finder announced for Lightfall will be introduced with season 23. This could become particularly important for “The Final Shape,” as the next point shows.
- The climax of “The Final Shape” and thus the end of the first Destiny saga of light and darkness will take place in the raid of the upcoming DLC. There, the Guardians may face the “I will snap you away with a finger” witness directly if nothing unforeseen happens.
- In the upcoming DLC “The Final Shape,” there will also be a new weapon class and some other unexpected additions to the arsenal of Destiny 2. It remains unclear whether this also refers to a new class ability from a recently revealed leak.
Although Joe Blackburn’s “State of the Game” post contains some positive announcements, such as quality-of-life improvements and concessions to outdated ritual playlists, the really big revelations are missing.
Especially in the currently difficult time for the loot shooter, which has faced much criticism from the community since the launch of Lightfall, players had hoped for a clearer message from the Game Director on how they intend to deal with this criticism and the increasing dissatisfaction of their players.
The fact that Bungie is saving much for the Destiny 2 Showcase on August 22 was therefore disheartening.
However, some Guardians hope that at least on that date, there will be major groundbreaking revelations and surprises. Joe Blackburn already revealed that there will definitely be more information about the anticipated and celebrated return of Cayde-6.
What do you think of the announced changes? Did the “State of the Game” article for Destiny 2 meet your expectations? Which announcement do you like best and which one not? Feel free to leave us a comment on this.
