The Cash Shop in Destiny 2 is increasingly coming under fire. What issues do the Guardians have with Tess Everis and her Eververse?
It feels a bit like “Groundhog Day” when criticizing Destiny 2. The weaknesses of the game are known, and initial countermeasures are already underway. The newest raid, the masterwork weapons, and the armor ornaments are steps in the right direction.
Nevertheless, many players struggle with Destiny 2. An innocently appearing white-haired woman is at the center of criticism: Tess Everis. A YouTuber is even calling for: Kill Tess!
The three major problems with the Cash Shop of Destiny 2
But what is the problem with Tess in Destiny 2? She doesn’t sell anything you really need? So why does Tess annoy so many Destiny 2 fans?
Let’s take a look:
Wrong focus of development
Basically, many are disturbed by how prominent the Cash Shop is in Destiny 2 and what that says about Destiny 2.
The YouTuber BriarRabbit complains: “This shows that the bean counters are in charge!”
The growing presence of Tess is a sign that fun and gameplay are not the focus, but rather the economic interests of Bungie and Activision are always palpable.
BriarRabbit mentions that Bungie is using the same methods as drug dealers and Free2Play games in a $60 game: At the beginning, there are plenty of loot boxes, but then the storm dries up. The temptation to sell them for real money increases.
Our Destiny expert Robert is annoyed that the vault is chaotic, yet the Cash Shop is so well organized and looks good. For him, this shows that Bungie has set the wrong priorities.
When Bungie had its first public opportunity at TwitchCon to respond to criticism about the launch, they let it slide and preferred to present the new, great items for the winter season for an hour: Most of which are tied to the Cash Shop.
By having to run to Tess with the glimmer engram with every level-up to open the loot box, the Cash Shop is constantly present for players – appearing much more in the foreground than in Destiny 1.
One point where this is clear is the one-use shaders. A system that worked wonderfully in Destiny 1 and that no one complained about has been revamped for Destiny 2 to give the Cash Shop more substance and meaning. Nobody understood this change.
Actually, the Cash Shop was sold to us differently
A core problem of the Eververse is highlighted by a forum post on Reddit. There, the Redditor iheartbawkes accusatively points to the origin story of the Cash Shop and how it was sold to the Guardians back then.
The Eververse was introduced in October 2015 to finance additional content after Bungie suspended paid DLCs. We are paying for the live team that then delivers you new events and features. That was the justification for the Cash Shop.
Shortly thereafter, there was free Sparrow Racing – in spring 2016 then “The Taken Spring,” a free content update.
In Destiny 2, the Cash Shop has become significantly more present than in Destiny 1, but no extra content has appeared that the Cash Shop would have financed. In the months from release to the first DLC, no bonus content has been released at all.
And even if extra content had appeared in recent months: The further development is now financed through paid DLCs. Thus, the Cash Shop no longer has a basis for existence in Destiny 2. It was marketed to the Guardians in a completely different way than it is now clearly being used.
That consumers allow themselves to be treated this way is, for the Redditor, a scandal where the developers are relying on the indifference of consumers.
Additionally, in Destiny 2, items from Season 1 are disappearing without a trace – the pressure to buy the item before the season changes is thereby high. In Destiny 1, the “expired emotes” were later available for free in the world. What has become of that?
The progress that belongs in the game is in the Cash Shop, and everything is random!
The biggest difficulty of the Cash Shop is addressed by YouTuber Skill-Up in his review of Curse of Osiris.
Destiny 2 is a loot grinder, and the most important thing in a loot grinder is the loot. But you can’t get to it.
With the update and the new season, over 100 cosmetic items came into the game’s Cash Shop. These are the rewards that Guardians want: cool emotes, skins for ghosts, sparrows, ships, and shaders.
But there is no way to work towards any of these items intentionally. Bungie only allows for EXP farming, thus collecting loot boxes, and then you have to cross your fingers to get the item you want.
Skill Up encourages players: Imagine a world where there is no Cash Shop, and all items found there could be earned intentionally in Destiny 2.
The Cash Shop in Destiny 2 is not Pay2Win, finds innovative ways to annoy
The problems with the Cash Shop of Destiny 2 are profound. It’s not about selling things that you absolutely need because they are leaning towards “Pay2Win”.
The problem with the Cash Shop is that it has taken the place of a satisfying endgame that so many gamers miss in Destiny 2.
Some are already talking about “Spendgame” instead of “Endgame.”
- In Destiny 1, Tess was a woman who sold us emotes so we could race sparrows without paying for a DLC.
- In Destiny 2, she seems to be the star of the game around whom everything revolves and the only way to cool loot.
No wonder some hope that Bungie will eventually allow her to be taken down.
Eververse stuff for Destiny 2 in real life can be found here:
The Traveler at the Christmas tree – Destiny merchandise for Christmas
