Destiny 2 will be losing old content moving forward as new content is added. Maybe that’s a good thing.
Why is old content being removed? Game Director Luke Smith recently talked about the future of Destiny 2. He announced that Destiny 2 will seasonally place some activities into retirement, which will then be replaced by new content. The game is not to be bloated with old activities any longer.
Bungie acknowledged that Destiny 2 simply cannot grow indefinitely for technical reasons. Additionally, they want to create a dynamic Destiny 2 world where things are constantly changing and moving somewhere. Old baggage must therefore be shed.
Limited-time content may seem like a step back in the eyes of many Guardians. After all, they want to play when they have the time and desire, not according to some silly requirements. However, Bungie’s decision to rotate content in and out could lead to more motivation and a stronger, more active community.
Bungie will pay more attention to what you play seasonally
Which content will be removed? That is still unknown. Smith only announced that there will not be two Gambit activities forever and that with each season they want to enhance game maintenance.
Currently, Smith states, there are far too many sources for Powerful Gear, as new sources have been added additively. In the future, they want to do better in this regard and are likely to close some sources that feel like a tedious obligation.
The removal of content likely affects both old and new activities. New content should be consumed during the respective season, preparing for the new season and replaced by content from the next season.
Every three months, thus the content you can play in Destiny 2 will rotate.
This decision will frustrate some Guardians
These are the downsides: Many Guardians enjoy reliving old content during quiet times. They play the content they were addicted to a year ago to revive pleasant memories. However, if Bungie disables this content, the “journey to the past” will cease. After all, there are still some Guardians who enjoy logging into Destiny 1 today – just for the good old days.
Moreover, the limited access to activities poses a disadvantage to players who can only indulge in their Guardian duties extensively every few months during vacation days. When activities are missing that they need for an Exotic or another item they desire, it is quite frustrating.
However, the biggest concern lies in the fact that Bungie has not clearly communicated which content and how much content will be removed seasonally. And the most exciting question is: When and in what form will the content return?
This is how legends can be born
The advantages of the decision: Removing options for what Guardians can play has the clear advantage of tightening the player base. The matchmaking pool for new activities will become fuller, which generally leads to shorter wait times and a better player experience.
Additionally, limited-time content creates a sense of urgency. Anyone who wants to play everything and obtain every item must stay on top of it continuously.
So far, many Guardians play like this: At the beginning of a season, they intensely play the new content and gather a lot of loot. However, after a few weeks, the feeling broadens: “I’ll just leave it at that; I’ll get the rest of the loot someday in the coming seasons.”
Anyone who wants to complete their collections can no longer take it easy but must achieve their goals within a few months.
Luke Smith promised that the loot from seasonal content will later be available through other loot sources. However, what that will look like exactly is still unknown.
Time-limited content also has the advantage of creating “legends.” More precisely: new legends around powerful weapons.
In a few years, when a Guardian veteran plays with fresh Guardians and the Guardian newcomer asks: “Misconduct, where did you get that weapon from?” then the veteran can tell the story of how he obtained it in Gambit and in the strike in the Dreaming City. Because possibly the Dreaming City has long since evolved and broken the curse:
Old weapons that are no longer obtainable thus become status symbols – something that shows everyone else: “I was there back then!”
If items are available for a limited time, stories can be spun around them. Legends do not arise when every item can be obtained anytime through a random drop…
What do Mein-MMO readers say about this? Under our article about the new limited-time content with Shadowkeep, some of you expressed your opinion:
- Alfalfa86 finds limited-time content to be “inconvenient.” He thinks a dynamic, changing world is good, but not missable content. “Especially not if it should be lore-rich content.”
- Patrick BELCL likes the approach but does not find it consistent enough that the loot will be available later through other sources. He advocates for truly time-exclusive loot.
- RaZZor 89 also asks: “Why not just leave the stuff in, making it more special?”
- The hocitR agrees: “I would find it cool if you could only achieve certain things within a certain time […] You can’t have everything in life, so why not also in the game?”
- KingK writes: “Very good. When I think about which chewed-up content I’ve had to do again for the Solstice armor or still have to do. Fresh air in each season sounds good.”
Opinions are widely divided. From “Completely unnecessary” (Antester) to “I think it’s good” (Marcel Brattig), there are many opinions.
So let us know in the comments what you think. Do you find the limited-time content useful, or does it not suit you at all?
