What does Forsaken actually bring to Destiny 2? Quite little, says our author Schuhmann. But Bungie makes 5 promises that give fans hope. Can these promises be trusted and is a purchase worthwhile?
What do expansions bring to games? The typical expansion of a “Game-as-a-Service” brings a big, new feature into the game. Ideally, it is a feature that fans have longed for for years.
With this feature, they advertise and it becomes the focus of the presentation of the addon.
- A classic new feature in MMORPGs is: “You can now fly!” Final Fantasy XIV used this for “Heavensward.” Now you could see the world from above – many players love this and the convenience of fast travel.
- In The Division, new modes were introduced with DLCs, such as a survival mode: “You are now fighting for survival.” A break from the daily grind – that’s appealing.
- In Guild Wars 2, suddenly there were mounts: “Look, you can ride on those.” – They allowed for new exploration of the environment. They could jump or traverse rough terrain – every Guild Wars 2 player knew how the game would change.
With Forsaken, Bungie centrally advertises the story around Cayde-6. That already shows: Forsaken does not have such a typical, new feature.
The Guardians are used to that.
Few innovations in Forsaken – classic story expansion
What did expansions bring to Destiny? Destiny 2 had such innovations over the years only in small doses anyway. Occasionally private matches as a new feature of “Rise of Iron”, along with some “Sparrow Racing”.
Destiny also loved to tempt with the promise of achieving endless content through clever mechanisms (Curse of Osiris, Warmind). However, this has always turned out to be a flop so far.
Otherwise, Destiny 2 consistently focused on story expansions – as it does this time too. The game only changes a little: perhaps some gameplay mechanics. Otherwise, the story of the game is the focus of the advertising.
Clearly: Forsaken is a typical content expansion. It is “more of the same” and not a major feature expansion.
What does Forsaken promise?
Forsaken is supposed to bring change: Nevertheless, Forsaken is supposed to be a turning point for Destiny 2. Bungie promises this and has been putting these messages of change at the center of communication for months.
We present to you the five central promises of Forsaken.
1. Promise: There are hero moments again
What it’s about: Individual players should have the opportunity in PvP to surprise and defeat multiple enemies with superior gameplay.
How do they plan to achieve this? The PvP will be faster. Super abilities and skills will be more powerful – some weapons too. Deaths in PvP are supposed to happen more quickly again.
Only if enemies fall within moments can a single player defeat them. If the enemies have the chance to withstand the first fire, they can together defeat the aggressor.
Who is this change aimed at? This change primarily targets streamers and very strong PvP players. They should be able to shine with Destiny 2 again.
How likely is it that Destiny 2 keeps this promise? It is very likely. There was already some first gameplay seen. The PvP looked significantly faster. This will happen. The question is whether the PvP becomes more interesting for “the average player”.
2. Promise: This time there will be no content drought
What it’s about: There should be no long periods without new game content. Even with Destiny 2, there was a longer dry spell between January 2018 and May 2018. Such things should not happen anymore.
How does Bungie plan to achieve this? Only Xur knows. According to Bungie, they want to bring something every month: An event, something new. This is to create surprises, secrets, and cool stuff.
Who is this change aimed at? At all Destiny players, especially frequent players.
How likely is it that Destiny keeps this promise? It is very unlikely that this sentence will really mean something. Perhaps there will be just a casual event that everyone finishes in 30 minutes in a month.
Experience has shown that Destiny has a real hard time releasing significant game content. The DLCs also lacked this. Typically, there was only one, at most two “significant” new game contents per year. That Bungie will now completely avoid content droughts is nearly impossible.
3. Promise: Gambit will be a fantastic new mode
What it’s about? In Gambit, two groups of Guardians play indirectly against each other in PvE. There is also a slight PvP component.
How does Bungie plan to achieve this? They have a very high level of confidence in the new mode. The mode is also quite clever. Bungie has been trying for years to bring PvP-averse players into the crucible. Gambit attempts this by simply turning PvE into PvP.
Who is Gambit aimed at? At PvP-averse people who eventually find PvE boring and want to show they can do PvE better than all other teams.
How likely is it that Destiny keeps this promise? The lofty promises will probably not be kept. From the first impression, Gambit appears to be a clever mode that some really like and leaves others cold. It certainly has potential.
4. Promise: Destiny 2 wants to bring back the hobby
What it’s about? Here, Bungie means that they want to bring game depth and long-term motivation to Destiny. “Hobby” is the code word for “MMO” elements.
How does Bungie plan to achieve this? They largely orient themselves back to Destiny 1. They want to make leveling more difficult but also more diverse, giving players more decision-making power over their guardian and their gear. Random Rolls are coming back. There will be titles and various other things to hunt.
Who is this change aimed at? This is clearly aimed at players who plan to play Destiny 2 for several hours every week. We are talking about a “lifestyle” game, a game that one integrates into their life. Just as other people go regularly to the gym or to the cinema, Destiny 2 players are supposed to log in regularly and engage there.
How likely is it that Destiny 2 keeps this promise? It is fairly likely that Bungie will make an effort and succeed. After all, they managed to do it with Destiny 1 as well.
However, one should not expect that Destiny 2 as a hobby means that there is always something great and new, but more depth and more grind.
Decisively, it will depend on how much work Bungie has actually put into the “Dreaming City.” Until launch, nothing can be said. The endgame zone remains Bungie’s secret.
5. Promise: We are now finished, thoughtful, simply better
What it’s about: The central promise before Destiny 2 is that Forsaken will be the best Destiny ever. They have taken the best from Destiny 1 and 2, incorporated fan feedback, added some new elements – and now it is … perhaps not perfect, but as good as it has never been before.
The underlying statement here is: “We know that we messed up Destiny 2 with a casual orientation and time pressure – this time it is really good.”
How does Bungie plan to achieve this? Through more care and more time with the systems. Before Destiny 2, the mod system was cobbled together, the random rolls were to be replaced by something better – that was then not finished. Now they had time to complete all these systems.
Who is this promise aimed at? Unreservedly all players.
How likely is it that Bungie keeps this promise? This is relatively likely. They have had enough time now. Destiny 2 has improved in small steps over the past months. One can assume that Forsaken is really more refined and thought out than Destiny of recent years.
Buy Forsaken – Yes or No?
Is Destiny 2 Forsaken worth it?
- If you expect innovation and “something new” from Destiny 2 Forsaken, you can be skeptical.
- If you are excited about all the ideas and shout “Yippee”, you surely pre-ordered Forsaken.
- If you are unsure, you should wait two weeks with the purchase decision. By then, it will largely have crystallized whether Destiny 2: Forsaken delivers what it promises.
