The event activity Green Forest is exactly the mode that our author Sven wished for Destiny 2. But something crucial is missing – the incentive to play the forest as it was intended.
Currently, the Spring Festival “The Indulgence” is running in Destiny 2. Among other things, a new event activity is included – the Green Forest, a kind of endless dungeon.
But even though the Green Forest is a cool and refreshing idea in itself – the implementation unfortunately is not. The new activity holds enormous potential to keep Guardians engaged in the long term, says our author Sven.
Endless Dungeon – Exactly what I wished for
This is how the Green Forest works: The Green Forest, like the Haunted Forest from the Festival of the Lost, is an alternative variation of the Everforest on Mercury.
Basically, it is a kind of endless dungeon. The activity consists of a variety of randomly generated areas that are lined up one after the other and filled with different enemies.
The goal is to fight through as many of these rooms (also called branches) against the clock. The more branches you master, the more time you have at the end for the final battle against the 5 bosses of the activity.
That’s why I think the Green Forest is a cool idea: When the Green Forest was announced, I was very pleased and also curious how Bungie would implement this event feature.
I have always wished for an activity in Destiny 2 that I could basically play endlessly and compete with others while mastering a constantly growing challenge – preferably if I’m also rewarded with good loot for it. What better way to do that than to dive into an endless dungeon?
Anyone who knows the great Nephalem Rifts from Diablo 3 knows what I mean. It is exactly such an Endless Dungeon with
- increasing difficulty
- a tough boss at the end of each level
- a leaderboard
- and the chance for top loot.
The portals are a good example of how such an activity can work.
With the Green Forest, this is now finally possible in limited form in Destiny 2.
The Green Forest in Destiny 2 – Good idea, poorly implemented
That’s why the Green Forest disappoints me: For a while, I had a lot of fun with the Green Forest. The activity provided me with exactly the system I wished for. The first battles against the enemies and the clock, progressing through the further stages of the forest, as well as the boss fight greatly entertained me and provided several amusing runs with my buddies.
But soon, the forest revealed its greatest weakness. In my opinion, while the approach seems to be a cool idea, it was not consistently thought through. Because one of the most important ingredients is missing in this endless dungeon: The incentive to (endlessly) play it.
As soon as you have drawn enough Indulgent Essence from the Green Forest to obtain your desired rewards like the exotic weapon Arbalest, there is basically no real reason left to play this activity. It’s simply not worth it.
No matter how far you progress: The loot does not really get better or more valuable, and the activity does not become more challenging. Whether at level 10 or 800 – for your progress, you will not be rewarded.
In the end, you end up facing the same 5 bosses and receiving the same loot – a certain amount of Indulgent Essence and some blue or, with luck, legendary items and a bit of essence in between.
Otherwise, that’s it. There are no special emblems, triumphs, or other rewards that could sweeten your progress or honor it in any way. Even a leaderboard is sought in vain.
If you want to farm the Indulgent Essence, the most attractive prize in the forest, as efficiently as possible, it is hardly worthwhile to play beyond level 20 of the Green Forest. Any further level is basically a waste of time. In this inherently endless activity, unfortunately, you are best off if you fail timely and not if you progress as far as possible.
It doesn’t take much for the Green Forest to work
This is how the Green Forest could be improved: Even though this new event activity quickly disappoints – it also shows how much potential it has. To tap into that, Bungie wouldn’t even have to put in much effort.
Because the system is already well suited in its current form to provide fun and variety in the long run. One would only need to create the corresponding incentives:
Rewarding Loot: Just this point alone would make the activity immensely more attractive for many. There are basically countless ways to pique players’ interest – even with the existing resources:
- The bosses could offer a higher chance of Exotics or Power-Upgrades in the form of Legendaries
- Every 10 levels, for example, you could receive 10 – 20 planetary materials and/or an upgrade core
- Every 100 levels, you could receive a higher chance of certain masterwork catalysts
- With further progress (beyond branch 500), the amount and chance for rewards could increase
- Emblems awarded for reaching certain levels
- No daily or weekly restrictions on farming
The list could be extended with numerous additional possibilities. However, the fact is that Bungie wouldn’t even necessarily need to come up with new rewards, but could just as easily utilize the existing assortment.
Increasing Difficulty: Another element that could contribute to the attractiveness of the Green Forest would be a growing challenge.
- The power level should play a role. At the beginning, the event should be accessible to all. However, as you progress, a higher power level should be required. At a certain level, the stages should only be conquerable at max power level. Accordingly, the rewards there should be fitting
- Even at max power level, the enemies should become increasingly challenging
- Modifiers could be introduced, like in strikes, that change every 10 levels. This would add an additional challenge
Leaderboards: To make progress comparable and recorded, Bungie could introduce leaderboards for this activity. This would provide another incentive for some Guardians to complete this activity as far as possible.
My Conclusion
This is how I view the forest: Even though the Green Forest ultimately disappointed me – it also showed me that it is an interesting approach. With minimal effort from Bungie, it could indeed become one of the coolest activities in the game that also entertains in the long run.
This is what I wish for the future: Therefore, I wish that the developers finally manage to design this activity in such a way that it is worth playing it in a fourth attempt.
Because the principle in itself is coherent. The lack of incentive is, in my opinion, the only real major weakness of the forest.
What do you think of the Green Forest? Would a type of activity like this be interesting for you if implemented properly? Or do you have no interest in such endless modes? Do you have any other suggestions for improvement?
