Within the community, the new raid wing of Destiny 2 currently results in mixed feelings. There is a lot of praise, but also harsh criticism.
No one really expected this: Many Guardians were astonished when they set out for the first time to the new wing of the Leviathan raid. With a recommended power level of 370, the hurdle for this second section was set quite high. Too high for most.
The first team was able to defeat the Cabal leader Val Ca’uor only after more than six and a half hours. Only a few managed to get through the star gate at the start.
Star Gate at the Center of a Controversy
Since then, opinions have been divided on the new raid wing. Some consider it to be the best raid experience in Destiny 2 so far. Others, however, cannot appreciate the colorful circus feeling and would have preferred a darker Hive setting. The high level requirement and the complicated mechanics also lead to heated debates.
There is a lot of praise
The team from the Redeem clan, who reported the world’s first victory over the new raid boss after 6 hours and 38 minutes, was extensively celebrated by the community and even by the developers, as a tweet from Vicarious Visions shows. Many fans are thrilled by this great achievement and by the new raid wing itself.
Numerous prominent figures in Destiny were also visibly pleased with the new raid passage. Datto, for instance, wrote on Twitter that it was a fantastic fight. In his videos, he does not tire of emphasizing that the Star Gate is the most challenging and best raid mechanic he has experienced in Destiny so far.
His colleague Esoterickk also raved about the new raid content. He said that the Star Gate was brilliant and a great challenge. He then congratulated the Redeem clan on the world-first raid clear.
Furthermore, parts of the community on Reddit and in other forums are pleased about the new raid experience. Finally, the endgame in Destiny 2 is worthy of its name.
The challenge is challenging – and not just due to the high level requirements. The mechanics, in themselves, already require the teams to communicate, coordinate, and demonstrate skill at their maximum. The high prerequisites only added to the challenge’s prestige. This is what we wanted.
The best loot and the greatest progression can now finally be obtained through corresponding activities. Many have evidently missed this in Destiny 2. Bungie is finally on the right track here.
But there is also harsh criticism
This aspect cannot be hidden when taking a look at Reddit or the comment sections of relevant sites. On one hand, many consider the high level requirement, especially for the boss fight, to be exaggerated. Bungie seems to some fans to be artificially stretching the meager content of the Warmind expansion by presenting players with a hurdle that hardly anyone can overcome in time.
On the other hand, some critics also accuse the studio of laziness and content recycling. Many fans had hoped for the Hive or another dark setting inside the Leviathan. Instead, Bungie seems to have shown little creativity and merely repainted existing Leviathan elements with some new mechanics.
Additionally, the overall setting of the raid encounters little love from large parts of the Guardian community. Through the circus or casino atmosphere, all magic from the previous raids of Destiny is lost. Furthermore, the new mechanics feel more like jump’n’run games. This has little to do with the original raid experience.
Many players would have preferred more epic boss fights and fewer mechanics instead. Now, one spends more time moving things back and forth and jumping around than actually fighting the boss. Furthermore, some players find it unfortunate that one now faces a timer or debuff effects more often and primarily has to contend with such aspects instead of facing the actual boss.
What do you think of the new raid wing? Does it offer a cool experience and mark a step in the right direction? Or were you hoping for something else? What should Bungie do differently?
