At the launch of Destiny 2, our author Robert was disappointed. So many setbacks compared to part 1, so little to do. With the new expansion “Forsaken,” Robert takes another look at Destiny 2 – and is quite impressed.
My standpoint before Forsaken: As a big fan of Destiny 1, I eagerly awaited Destiny 2, but was disappointed by the game. Bungie seemed to be more interested in perfecting the cash shop Eververse than the game: For me, Destiny 2 was a huge disappointment.
I started Destiny 2 briefly with the expansions Curse of Osiris and Warmind, completed the few story missions, and turned away disappointed.
Many see Forsaken as the last chance for Bungie to turn things around and finally convince fans of Destiny again.
I have now completed most of the story of Forsaken and can say: Many of my criticisms have improved. But not all.
Destiny 2: Forsaken – The Hunt for Uldren
Cayde’s death is just the beginning: It was announced in advance that Cayde-6 would die.
During the campaign, you must hunt down and eliminate the murderers. These are the eight Fallen Barons and Uldren Sov, the brother of the Awoken Queen. You will confront most Barons during adventures.
In hindsight, I think Bungie shouldn’t have revealed Cayde’s death in advance. It makes the story predictable in many places.
Finally, my Guardian speaks again! Yes, really. We are no longer soulless puppets of our mind, but have a voice that even corresponds to race and gender. However, don’t expect too much. The chance of us Guardians being invited to a talk show is low. We are still just too taciturn.
And yet the story offers some interesting twists that make Forsaken one of the best stories in the Destiny universe.
What is there to do besides the story? You can complete dozens of new bounties, whether for the Crucible, the Vanguard, or on the corresponding planetary representatives. Spider, a Fallen ally, offers particularly special bounties.
He issues bounties, i.e., weekly bounties where you must hunt high-ranking targets. This provides variety and brings fresh wind to the bounties.
Destiny 2: Forsaken – New Areas and Enemies
Weirwood and the Dreaming City: Throughout the story, you will discover two new areas that, in my opinion, can only be topped by the Dreaming City from the “King of the Taken” expansion. The Weirwood and the Dreaming City are large and invite exploration.
In fact, the two “worlds” are much more populated than, for example, Nessus. There is something to do and see at every corner. In addition to new public events, you can once again hunt for golden chests. New enemies introduced with Forsaken lurk everywhere: the Scorn.
The Scorn – varied and dangerous: Several new enemy types await you. The Scorn are a type of corrupted Fallen zombies. They come with different abilities: from self-exploding crawling enemies to behemoths that engulf you in flames. The variety is large.
Admittedly, many of these abilities have been seen before in one form or another. However, together these enemies create a dangerous combination.
Boss battles against the Barons: The battles against the Barons are varied and demanding, especially when going solo. They have different focuses and abilities that they implement in battle. For example, the insane Bomber bombards you with explosives while you are defusing a mine.
Even though much wears off over time: The new areas and enemies are enjoyable and provide a long-lost thrill and sense of discovery that I haven’t experienced since the King of the Taken.
Destiny 2: Forsaken – The Equipment
New weapon slots and random rolls: In the area of weapons, Bungie has made the biggest changes compared to the launch of Destiny 2. Even compared to Destiny 1, the chaos has broken out in terms of weapons. The separation between primary and secondary slots is no longer as sharp as in the predecessor.
You can now find sniper rifles and shotguns in both the kinetic and energy slots. Compared to the launch, you now have significantly more options. Theoretically, it’s even possible to equip three sniper rifles at once. Is that sensible? You will have to decide that for yourself.
The bow or my new favorite weapon: Imagine a fusion rifle that always hits critically after loading, and you have the bow! The newly added weapon category with Forsaken is a significant enhancement to the already impressive arsenal. Critical hits are almost always lethal.
Infusing is too expensive: What bothers me, however, is the changed form of infusion. You now need masterwork cores to infuse equipment (items of the same name are exempt).
Bungie has done a lot to artificially limit collected items, tokens, and masterwork cores. Those who play regularly will have few problems with this, as they likely possess hundreds of materials.
Material scarcity as a problem: Casual players, on the other hand, have a problem. In fact, I didn’t possess a single masterwork core, making infusion out of the question. Although Bungie should still adjust the required materials for infusion, it is at least not a necessity for the story.
The story can be easily tackled with the found blue gear. It should only be seriously considered to upgrade your preferred gear to the new level starting from power level 500.
The long-term motivation of Forsaken: The soft cap is reached at a power level of 500. The maximum in Forsaken is 600, so a significant jump. Those who don’t play twelve hours a day will likely need several weeks to reach the maximum level. And that’s a good thing. After all, the main game didn’t handle this aspect well, as the maximum level was easily reachable across all activities.
Destiny 2: Forsaken – The Vault is still a mess
Step backwards for order lovers: It may seem strange, but my first goal was not the first mission of the expansion, but the vault in the Tower. Unfortunately, the chaos has only worsened since the launch. I can now store 500 items in the vault, but there is still no “meaningful” sorting.
Due to the new assignment of weapon slots, I was missing a weapon in the power slot that I wanted to add from the vault. Unfortunately, it is not immediately clear which weapon belongs in which slot. I would have wished that this info was recognizable without a tooltip.
The vault may be a small detail, but it still irritates me. After all, Bungie managed to create a clear and tidy vault in Destiny 1. Why can’t they do that in Destiny 2?
Shaders are still a problem: Even at launch, the dozens of shaders that I had to dismantle one by one annoyed me. Bungie’s solution? At the cryptarch, shaders can be dismantled in stacks of five. Why I can’t simply select how many shaders I want to dismantle at once is beyond me.
When it comes to such quality-of-life improvements, Bungie still owes me somewhat.
Conclusion: That’s why the new expansion Forsaken is worth it
Those who loved Destiny with the King of the Taken will also enjoy Forsaken. Even if the long-term motivation can only truly be judged after a few weeks, it is already clear that there is a lot in store for players.
Many essential criticisms have been addressed: I finally felt like the unstoppable warrior who freezes his enemies in awe. For my Arc Titan, I was able to unlock a new super attack that wipes everything except the biggest boss enemies to ashes.
The power level cap is high, the new weapon slots invite experimentation and the new areas are large and await exploration.
Personally, I think Bungie has made a step in the right direction with Forsaken. I look forward to seeing how things unfold in the coming weeks.
How do you like Forsaken so far? Would you recommend the expansion?
