Bungie will bring the new feature “Weapon Crafting” to Destiny 2 with the expansion “Witch Queen” in February 2022. In interviews, they revealed some initial details. It is said to be a deep system that offers a completely different crafting experience than, for example, WoW.
What was known about Weapon Crafting so far? Not much. A week ago, there was a big showcase for the new Destiny 2 expansion “The Witch Queen,” which will be released in February 2022. It was stated:
- Weapon Crafting gives Guardians ultimate control over their weapons
- It should be possible to create your own “God Roll”
- You will receive more customization options the more tasks you complete with the item
“Oh, the whole game doesn’t work anymore”
This is what Bungie says now: One of the leading figures of Destiny 2, Joe Blackburn, has given interviews about weapon crafting with English-speaking outlets. He is the new strong man and brain behind Destiny 2, brought back by Bungie from Riot Games after he escaped.
Blackburn acknowledges that such a weapon crafting system comes with risks. Every time a central system in Destiny is changed, things could go terribly wrong:
“It’s really easy to mess up in a central nerve area and suddenly you realize: Oh, the whole game doesn’t work anymore.”
Joe Blackburn, Game Director
Bungie is fully aware of this risk, which is why they are investing a lot of time and resources into weapon crafting.
The feature is about building the weapon you have always wanted. At Bungie, they believe that if someone invests so much time and effort to obtain the God Roll of a weapon, then they should also be able to build the weapon exactly the way they want:
“We think: if you invest so much time into a weapon, then it’s okay for us if you can craft any version of it that you want.”
Bungie sees benefits in this:
- Players will no longer have to store hundreds of versions of a weapon in their vault
- Players can immediately adjust to meta changes by crafting the “optimal version” of a weapon
However, Bungie also acknowledges: This could change by February.
Weapon Crafting in Destiny 2 sounds like an “Artifact” system
This is what’s behind it: It sounds like the “Weapon Crafting” is not a real crafting system, but rather an “extended progression.”
It seems like you choose a weapon and can then expand and customize it like an “artifact” weapon in other games.
The longer you play with the weapon, the more options you have to change it.
Ultimately, players can extend a weapon to build their own God Roll.
This will certainly require a lot of time and “grind.” One problem is that while you can respond to meta changes, it will only be as long as your “favorite weapon” can keep up. If suddenly shotguns are completely out and automatic rifles are the hot thing, you will have wasted time on weapon crafting. This could lead to frustrations.
Weapon crafting is certainly a step to keep hardcore players engaged long-term. It could be a step in the right direction; Destiny 2 has been harshly criticized for some changes since 2019:
Destiny 2 without Activision Blizzard was supposed to be great, but has been disappointing so far
All players will start on the same level, as it is a completely new system. It will not be the case that someone has an advantage just because they have a lot of legendary shards or similar.
Is the crafting like in other MMORPGs? No, not at all. Blackburn says:
In MMORPGs, you would have to craft some nonsense 1000 times and then you could actually build the thing you want. That’s not how it is in Destiny. Here, you should build a relationship with a weapon and become an expert for it.
Blackburn adds: It is definitely a much deeper system than any system that was in original Destiny.
However, Bungie also acknowledges: This could change by February.
Weapon Crafting in Destiny 2 sounds like an “Artifact” system
This is what’s behind it: It sounds like the “Weapon Crafting” is not a real crafting system, but rather an “extended progression.”
It seems like you choose a weapon and can then expand and customize it like an “artifact” weapon in other games.
The longer you play with the weapon, the more options you have to change it.
Ultimately, players can extend a weapon to build their own God Roll.
This will certainly require a lot of time and “grind.” One problem is that while you can respond to meta changes, it will only be as long as your “favorite weapon” can keep up. If suddenly shotguns are completely out and automatic rifles are the hot thing, you will have wasted time on weapon crafting. This could lead to frustrations.
Weapon crafting is certainly a step to keep hardcore players engaged long-term. It could be a step in the right direction; Destiny 2 has been harshly criticized for some changes since 2019:
Destiny 2 without Activision Blizzard was supposed to be great, but has been disappointing so far
