In Destiny 2, players notice that they are secretly receiving less cash for the shop than before. Even the big pile of Bright Dust in Season 14 disappoints. What does Bungie say about the allegations?
What has been secretly nerfed? In Destiny 2, you earn Bright Dust, the currency for the shop, by completing seasonal challenges. These challenges have now become the main source of the rare resource, which Guardians always have too little of and can use to buy fancy items in the Eververse.
Players have now discovered that they are missing 525 Bright Dust after completing all regular challenges in Season 14.
This caused quite a stir, especially since Bungie has not announced any changes to seasonal challenges or the rare resource. The last hope lay in the “big pile of Bright Dust”, which dedicated Guardians are supposed to receive.
How big is the big pile? Those who complete 75 of the 78 challenges throughout the season receive a “big pile of Bright Dust” as a reward. Players hoped that the big pile would make up for the missing Bright Dust from previous weeks.
In recent days, the first Guardians have crossed the threshold of 75 challenges and are disappointed. Because even with the hefty bonus, they are still 525 Bright Dust short of the promised 10,000 Bright Dust per season. The pile grants 4,000, which is unchanged from previous seasons and does not compensate for the leaner challenges.
Destiny 2 secretly nerfs in-game currency and players are angry
On Reddit, the post “Seasonal challenges do not grant 10,000 Bright Dust as originally announced” has now gathered 4,800 upvotes, and players discuss the secret nerf in over 680 comments (via reddit). Even Bungie has commented on the issue.
This is what the Guardians say: Players complain that the amount of Bright Dust has been reduced just enough that many Guardians will hardly notice the difference.
- Guardians are particularly upset that there is now less Bright Dust, but the price for shaders in the store has risen from 40 Bright Dust to 300. It should be noted, however, that shaders can now be bought permanently and are no longer one-time purchases.
- “I wouldn’t be surprised if Bungie continues to lower the amount [of Bright Dust] season after season,” predicts user Gambit Prime (via reddit).
- User Le Monarque is underrated says: “When it comes to Eververse, Bungie’s actions are calculated and orchestrated to make tons of money, and the killing of Bright Dust is part of that plan.”
- ForcadoUALG then urges Bungie: “You owe us 525 Bright Dust” (via reddit)
Guardians pay with Bright Dust, which they can earn in-game. For example, through the mentioned weekly challenges, through certain bounties, and Bright Dust can also be found in the season pass.
Alternatively, you can pay with silver. This currency must be purchased with real Euros. Some items in the Eververse are even available only for silver.
The seasonal challenges were already criticized in Season 14: In May 2021, MeinMMO reported that suddenly 40 – 60 % less experience points for the challenges were available. At that time, we had no response from Bungie regarding the problem – this time, the Destiny developer has reacted.
What does developer Bungie say about it?
Bungie’s Community Manager Dylan “dmg04” Gafner weighs in on reddit. After talking to the team, there are 3 responses to the allegations:
- The amount of Bright Dust from seasonal challenges is supposed to vary from season to season, depending on the difficulty of the challenges.
- They did not communicate the variation to the players. Therefore, Bungie intends to “compensate players who completed the Season 14 meta challenge at the end of Season 14 to make up for the 525 discrepancy that we did not disclose.”
- In future seasons, Bungie will mention in the patch notes if the amount of Bright Dust is adjusted.
What does this mean for you? There will be a refund of the missing 525 Bright Dust. But only for those Guardians who have completed at least 75 of the 78 seasonal challenges and have earned the “big pile of Bright Dust”. Those who have only completed a few challenges or 74 – which yield less Bright Dust than expected – will receive nothing from the refund.
Some players are pleased that Bungie has indeed reacted, does not sweep the problem under the rug, and will pay the missing amount. Others, however, joke about it and sarcastically say that Bungie must have made a small mistake and that such things should not happen again in the future.
Are you diligent and completing all seasonal challenges to leave with 10,000 Bright Dust from the Splicer season? Are you annoyed by the unannounced nerf and the Eververse policy, or do you think it’s good that Bungie is reacting? Let us know in the comments.
