In Destiny 2 starts a new Season 14 in a week. We already know that an old raid will open, good looks will become important, and how Bungie wants to make your Guardian life easier. But what does the rumor mill say about the next chapter of the MMO shooter?
When does the new Season start? In Destiny 2, the next chapter, Season 14, starts on May 11. The fresh season will seamlessly replace the currently running season of the Chosen at 7 PM on Tuesday evening.
Update May 4, 2021: Bungie has officially announced the Season of the Splicer. Check out here for the new trailer in German and information about the story, setting, and exotics.
Bungie is still keeping the name and setting of Season 14 a big secret. However, we know a lot about the upcoming changes that should get you to log in. We at MeinMMO take a look at what will keep you occupied in Destiny 2 from May to July 2021.
At the end of the article, we will also look into the crystal ball, as leakers claim to already know the name of the season and a returning enemy – you will receive a spoiler warning shortly before. But first, let’s get to the official information.
Each season has a Season Pass and several events, as well as a new activity and secret missions. New legendary weapons, armor, and exotics are also included. Medium-sized changes to systems and the sandbox always appear at the start of a new season.
Many of the season’s contents are also available to Free2Play Guardians. The complete purchase of a season costs 1,000 silver, which is about €10.
Bungie has revealed this to us about the new Season
The weapon sunsetting is dying: Destiny 2 removes its biggest criticism, the weapon sunsetting. It was initially planned that you could only use weapons and armor actively for 1 year before the item was no longer relevant in current content.
The weapon sunsetting caused massive frustration among players – surprisingly, Bungie then backtracked. All items that were not at their infusion cap in Season 13 can be infused further in the future.
For you, this means: All items from Season 10 (March 2020) will remain relevant forever. The Trials weapons, Warmind guns, and favorites like the Falling Guillotine or Felwinter’s Lie will continue to be available to you.
This is how the power level changes: In Season 14, the maximum level only increases by +10. So at 1,320, without the artifact, it stops.
This eliminates the annoying grind at the start of a season, and you only have to get the top loot rewards to compete at the highest level. This should make it easier for you to start the new season.
Only with each major expansion does the power level increase significantly – each season adds only +10 levels.
Back to Venus, Baby – The Vault of Glass opens again
This is the “new” raid: One of the highlights of Season 14 that we already know is the return to the “Vault of Glass”. This is the very first raid in Destiny history, which originally opened its doors in 2014.
Starting May 22, you can see for yourself why veterans have been raving about their adventures on Venus for years.
By the way, there will also be a race for the “second” World First in the Vault of Glass at the start. How this will unfold and what else we know about the raid’s return, read here: We now know when you can play the raid highlight from Destiny 1.
Looking good is mandatory in Season 14
Transmog: In Season 14, Bungie is finally bringing proper transmog to Destiny. Guardians have been requesting this since 2014 because they know and love the fashion feature from other MMOs. Finally, you can be strong and look good enough for the runway.
- Unfortunately, the joy over transmog is currently overshadowed by the very complicated implementation: In Destiny 2 all about transmog – is the criticism exaggerated?
- The cosmetic shader system will also be completely revised. You shouldn’t hesitate long and quickly destroy all your 1000 shaders, otherwise you will lose a fortune
What we know about new weapons in Destiny 2
As always, you can hunt for new legendary and exotic weapons. With a high probability, the first weapon exotic will be waiting at level 1 of the Season Pass – just like in every season. But how many exotic items will come, what they can do, or how they look is currently a secret.
However, we already know considerably more about the new legendary weapons:
- The Vault of Glass brings back the weapon highlights from Destiny 1. So you won’t have to search for a replacement for the Gjallarhorn anymore, but instead get the new Gjallarhorn from the raid.
- Bungie has also vaguely hinted at the return of a top weapon perk. Guardians have been speculating about the Fatebringer 2.0, and some even about the Vex Mythoclast: Destiny 2 whispers “quietly” that a strong weapon will return soon
- 3 new legendary weapons will come as rewards for the Nightfall: The Ordeal. The new weapons will also appear as Master versions on Pinnacles. The downside: the 3 current rewards will take a longer break.
- 4 fresh weapons will come into the Iron Banner loot pool: of these, a shotgun and a machine gun are completely new weapons. A sniper rifle and a hand cannon from year 1 will receive new perks and will thus be “revived”.
- Banshee will sell you 6 weapons with random rolls at every reset. This way, you should have a chance at the God Roll every week and diligently check the NPCs after every reset.
Nerfs and buffs of Season 14
The most important buffs:
- Destiny 2 reveals which weapons and exotics will be stronger in Season 14
- Linear fusion rifles will receive a significant buff to damage and reserve ammo. So keep an eye on the Sleeper Simulant
- The Last Word will also be much better from the hip
- numerous perks will receive improvements
- The weakest perks on the rare master weapons from the Trials and The Ordeal will be revised.
The hardest nerfs:
- The exotic sword The Lament loses quite a bit of damage
- The legendary sword Falling Guillotine consumes more ammo
- More on the nerfs here: Destiny 2 nerfs your best weapons in the “never-ending quest for balance”
What’s happening in the Crucible: In terms of PvP balance, it should be mentioned that 120 hand cannons will have their tremendous range cut down. The dominant shotguns Felwinter’s Lie and Astral Horizon will also receive some changes regarding their perks.
Over the course of Season 14 (and later Season 15), Light and Darkness subclasses will come closer to each other. This means not only nerfs but also buffs for rarely used, old classes.
What about the future? Little is officially known about the story of Season 14. However, we know that we will battle against Oryx’s sister, Savathûn, in early 2022.
Bungie only announced that we will soon see more from Warlock chief Ikora. However, clever Guardians claim to have already discovered much more about the story and setting of Season 14.
By the end of 2021, full crossplay between all platforms and systems will come to Destiny 2. In Season 14, initial tests will begin with the desired feature. You can find more about the future of the MMO shooter and 2021 here:
From here on: potential spoiler warning – read on at your own risk!
Leaks speak of an old enemy
This is supposed to be the secret name: “Season of the Splicer” is said to be the secret name of Season 14. Data miners claim to have found this on Bungie’s homepage in some lines of code (via Twitter).
Splicers are the Fallen who experimented with SIVA in Destiny 1 and modified themselves with it. We fought against the Splicers in the expansion Rise of Iron in 2016.
The return of SIVA and the Splicers was a hot rumor exactly a year ago. Since the clues this time came from Bungie’s own website code, it adds some credibility to the leak.
Additionally, dialogue lines have been found that mention the Fallen in the Vault of Glass, the Vanguard, and Mithrax (our allied Fallen). Bungie has since changed the file names. Now “Seasonxxx” is listed as a placeholder.
Whether the Splicers and especially SIVA will really return next week or if we are getting a glimpse into a more distant future is unclear. It is also quite possible that the name found may not mean anything at all.
What do you think of the known contents of Season 14 – what are you looking forward to? Can you understand why Bungie keeps the name of a season a secret until just before its release? Let us know in the comments.
