Soon, the next faction rally in Destiny 2 will be starting. However, some aspects of the revised group fights are facing increasing criticism. For many, the next victorious faction is already clear. Fans fear a one-sided course of the upcoming events and that they will have to betray their faction.
The Faction Rally is back: The group fights have not had a good standing with the Destiny 2 community. They were considered boring and labeled as insignificant. Following this, Bungie pulled the plug and removed the event from the game to fundamentally revise it.
On June 5th, it will finally happen: the group fights will return in revised form with the Weekly Reset after a long forced break.
There is a new concept: The new group fights bring numerous innovations. A ranking system has been introduced – similar to that of the Vanguard or the Iron Banner. As the rank increases, more rewards are unlocked. The most attractive rewards, such as new ornaments for exotic armor or catalysts for exotic weapons, can be found at level 50.
Furthermore, the loyalty oath now applies account-wide and not individually for each character. The choice applies for the total duration of the one-week event. You can only decide for a different faction in the next rally.
Fans are concerned: Yet even before the first of three upcoming faction rallies in Season 3, there are heated debates about their new orientation. For example, Bungie’s decision to apply the loyalty oath account-wide is being controversially discussed.
What appears to be a sensible step for some, as it gives the faction choice more significance, is an absolute no-go for others. They feel forced to join a faction merely to receive a certain reward, even though they actually prefer another group – especially since these rewards have nothing to do with the factions themselves.
And this linkage of rewards to individual factions is currently the hottest topic among fans. The developers have planned various ornaments for exotic armor pieces and also masterwork catalysts for exotic weapons as rewards for the most loyal and persistent followers of the factions.
In theory, this sounds good and coherent. However, large parts of the community agree – Bungie has not done the game a favor. Due to the respective faction rewards, numerous fans are now predicting a very one-sided course of the planned events – as for many, the winner is already determined.
Dead Orbit will dominate the group fights
Many community members see Dead Orbit as the clear winner of the upcoming event even before the start of the first revised group fight. Some even believe that Dead Orbit will dominate all three rallies of Season 3.
Do you have to betray your faction for such a good reward?
Why specifically Dead Orbit? In the context of the overhaul of the group fights, Bungie decided to tie catalysts for exotic weapons to the individual factions. However, this very concept decision now overshadows Dead Orbit compared to the other two factions.
- The New Monarchy offers the catalyst for the Workhorse, a decent exotic weapon.
- The KDZ offers it for the Sunshot – also a decent weapon.
- However, Dead Orbit has the masterwork catalyst for the Graviton Lance – one of the currently best, if not the best exotic weapon in PvP. This catalyst greatly enhances this weapon.
Thus, for many players, Dead Orbit is the logical choice – regardless of whether they wanted to choose this faction due to the other rewards or personal preference or not. Bungie seems to be forcing the Guardians to betray their faction, which many have been loyal to for years.
One-sided group fights: No one yet knows exactly how quickly level 50 can be reached. Especially the “Renown” system is still a big question mark. This system will allow, among other things, to increase the token yield – to what extent is still unknown. With the tokens, one can accordingly rank up in the faction.
There will certainly be players who will manage to reach level 50 with every faction within the three event weeks and thus grab all the rewards. However, many fans fear that for the majority of Guardians, it will mean chasing the most attractive reward across multiple, if not all three group fight events. Thus, the winner for the entire Season 3 is essentially already determined – the other factions will not be able to keep up with their rewards.
What do fans wish for? Many players now hope that the catalysts would at least be available at an earlier rank so that more players could secure these coveted rewards during the group fights. Some Guardians are demanding that Bungie completely removes the catalysts from the rewards pool and makes them available in other ways, as they have nothing to do with the individual factions.
What does Bungie say? Whether Bungie will make adjustments or not is still unknown. The studio has not yet commented on this discussion. However, players are hoping for more clarity on certain points – especially whether the remaining catalysts along with the seasonal rewards will completely disappear after the end of Season 3 or will still be obtainable in other ways. If this is indeed the case, Bungie would do well to communicate this clearly. Otherwise, the next wave of outrage is almost certain.
What do you think about it? Is the permanent winner of the Season 3 group fights already determined? What do you think about the new concept of the faction rally?
