For 8 years, Bungie has been developing the series Destiny: It was supposed to be a drastic break, with players losing all items from the first 3 years. But what kind of armor will be new to Destiny in December 2022? The old Iron Banner sets from 2015. Bungie comments on it with a wink. Fans are now happy about it.
This was the idea behind Destiny 2: After 3 years with Destiny 1, Bungie wanted a clean break. The story was: In a major attack by space turtles, players lose everything they had earned up to that point.
All the great exotic weapons, the cosmetic items that were purchased with real money in the shop, the meticulously assembled armor sets – all of that went up in smoke during the Cabal’s attack. That was the story’s direction, that was what the Bungie leaders wanted.
Players were supposed to start from scratch, developing a real hatred for the enemies. It also carried the promise: All the great items you’ve gathered over the last 3 years are gone – but now there’s also room for much new.
The background of the decision was apparently that Bungie wanted to start with a “Tabula Rasa.”
They didn’t want to carry a thousand legacies with them, considering every new boss design that there used to be a way too powerful rocket launcher, whose shot split into mini-rockets, or a sniper rifle that retrieved its own ammunition. This would also make it easier for developers to create new great items.
How is it in reality? It hasn’t gone so well. Over the years, Bungie has lost some resources, they no longer have as many support studios and probably not as many employees as from 2014 to 2017.
Moreover, Bungie notices that many players still cling to their memories from the past, and Bungie itself has probably burned through some of its best ideas in the early years.
Furthermore, player expectations for new content have continually risen: It never stopped, every 3 months players want new items in Destiny 2 as a reward for being so diligent.
Thus, over the years, more and more equipment items, weapons, concepts, and even entire raids returned to Destiny 2. The benefits are obvious:
- They have already done the work of creating the assets.
- People have good memories of the items or activities and associate nostalgic feelings with them.
- You need a lot of “raw content” for Destiny, with new armors, weapons, and rewards every season.
Armor sets from 2015 are the new highlight of 2022
This is what’s new: With Season 19, armor rewards in the Iron Banner will be reintroduced, which were available in 2015 during “The Taken King.”
Especially the hunter set from back then, with the wolf head, is iconic: Even a toy was made from the armor.
Bungie sounds almost self-ironic at this point:
It has been about a year since we last renewed the armors in the Iron Banner. We have seen some wonderful ideas over the years. Inspiration from the past focuses on the appearance of a true warrior. This year, we bring back one of the favorite sets of the fans from an era of the Taken King.
We expect that they will be a “fun addition” to many sets in the game and are looking forward to your fashion statement in the next season’s Iron Banner.
At the same time, they also bring back the weapon “Rose, “ which is about three and a half years old.
The sharpness from recycling has worn off – Many accept it
How do the fans perceive this? It is now seen almost as a wink from Bungie. Apparently, there were some comments on Reddit about Destiny claiming that the armor from Destiny 1 was better than that from Destiny 2. Now Bungie simply brings it back, taking the wind out of the sails of the criticism.
Somehow, people have come to terms with the fact that Bungie is bringing back so much from previous years.
At the beginning of Destiny 2, this was viewed much more critically. People said: They had paid €60 for Bungie to take away their old stuff and now Bungie was selling them back pieces of their old stuff with new DLCs for lots of money:
- People demanded that Bungie should come up with new things. Bungie was called the “master of recycling”, and people felt cheated out of their money.
- In 2022, it sounds more like “nostalgia” and “the fan favorites from earlier days are back” – Bungie has managed to make it sound like they are listening to the players and giving them what they are missing so painfully.
Many critics who are bothered by this recycling policy have probably already moved on from Destiny.
More from the new blog:
Destiny 2 speaks about the future of PvP – Bringing a real ranked system and new matchmaking
