Numerous fans have taken a liking to the Haunted Forest from the Festival of the Lost and wish that the activity would be permanently available in Destiny 2. But what could a “Haunted Forest forever” look like?
The Festival of the Lost is currently in full swing. During this Halloween event, Guardians can secure all sorts of thematically-inspired loot or try their hand at the new event activity Haunted Forest.
This activity is well-received by many, and for the forest fans, it is already clear: the Haunted Forest should remain in Destiny 2 even after the event. But what could that look like?
The Haunted Forest is what the Infinite Forest was supposed to be
What is the Infinite Forest? With the Infinite Forest from the “Curse of Osiris” DLC, Bungie promised an arena that is “infinitely” made up of different parts. Guardians were supposed to find new compositions repeatedly and fight against new enemies.
But ultimately, the Infinite Forest turned out to be essentially a prettier landing zone and served merely as a connecting point between different level areas. Those hoping to access the advertised Vex simulation as a standalone activity outside of a strike or quest were disappointed.
What is the Haunted Forest? With the Haunted Forest, Bungie has turned the disappointing Infinite Forest into the activity that fans had hoped for nearly a year ago. It is a spooky reimagining of the Infinite Forest that has come into the game for the duration of the Halloween event and strongly resembles the Greater Rifts from Diablo 3.
Up to three Guardians can fight through randomly generated areas with enemies alone, in a fireteam, or with the help of matchmaking. Once enough enemies have been defeated, players land in an arena with a boss.
After defeating the boss, the game starts again on the next tier (branch) with increasingly stronger enemies and bosses as players progress through the branches. This activity is time-limited; players have 15 minutes to get as far as they can. Once the time is up, players can still finish the branch, i.e., the level they are on.
What makes the Haunted Forest so popular with fans? The rewards from the activity are currently very modest. Players only receive Soul Fragments, the event currency of the festival. However, the mode itself is considered very fun by many, especially in a group.
Players must approach strategically and find a good balance between kills and progression. In a random group, players can have fun, while in a coordinated team, they can challenge themselves through the higher branch regions – over and over again.
It is no longer just a landing zone for another activity; it is now a standalone mode with random components, unique strategies, and tricks. The Haunted Forest challenges players and forces them to work as a team and perform at their best if they want to get far. That is exactly what many Guardians wished for – just with attractive rewards.
How could the Haunted Forest be permanently integrated into the game?
For many, the Haunted Forest is the best way to breathe life into the essentially useless Infinite Forest on Mercury. If the Haunted Forest disappears with the end of the Halloween event, there will still be no proper use for the Infinite Forest in its current form.
However, the Haunted Forest in its current form cannot simply remain as it is.
On the one hand, it is only a temporary activity, and on the other hand, the Haunted Forest is currently only being used to earn the event currency for masks and the event weapon. Aside from the fun factor, it offers no further incentives. How can this be resolved?
The Transitional Solution for the Infinite Forest
This is what the community wants: The most widespread suggestion from the community is to tie a modified Infinite Forest with the current mechanics of the Haunted Forest or the Haunted Forest itself to Brother Vance on Mercury.
This would still allow it to be a standalone activity that would be permanently available. However, the rewards would need to be greatly improved. Players could grind for loot from a forest loot pool that could include all forge weapons and Mercury armor with random rolls.
With such a solution, Bungie would already make many fans happy.
The Final Solution for the Infinite Forest
This is what fans desire: However, some Guardians feel this is not enough. They dream of a complete overhaul of the Infinite Forest into a standalone endgame activity with long-term motivation that is accessible to all Guardians.
In addition to the mechanics of the Haunted Forest, they wish for new building blocks for the randomly generated sections, additional special mechanics, unique modifiers, specific bosses, and a specific loot pool with attractive rewards.
The problem with this: The Haunted Forest is accessible as its own activity through the Tower and is available to all players. In contrast, the Infinite Forest is tied to Mercury and therefore requires the DLC I “Curse of Osiris.” Players who only own the base game have no access to the Infinite Forest.
Here’s how the problem could be resolved: One could keep the Haunted Forest or the Infinite Forest in the Tower and tie it to another NPC who runs the activity. There are plenty of possibilities.
It might also be possible to make the location Mercury, including this activity, available to everyone retroactively – regardless of the corresponding DLC. After all, both Year 1 DLCs are already free with Forsaken.
Do you also want the Haunted Forest to stay? What wishes and ideas do you have? How could the activity be permanently integrated into the game?
