In a few days, the expansion Beyond Light for Destiny 2 will launch. Therefore, the Destiny director talks about the comparison to the most popular DLC, Forsaken, and has bad news for the Guardians.
How large will the new DLC be? The Beyond Light expansion is only a few days away with its release on November 10. Thus, Luke Smith, Game Director at Bungie, has now answered some questions about the DLC. He did so during the Weekly Twitch Gaming Show.
One of the questions for Smith was: “How large will Beyond Light be?” The Destiny director responded with a comparison. In relation to the other two major expansions, Beyond Light
- is significantly larger than Shadowkeep from 2019
- smaller than Forsaken from 2018
The director speaks openly: Then Smith candidly admitted what many Guardians have long suspected:
I want to be completely honest […]. It is unlikely that the Bungie team will ever deliver something on the scale of Forsaken again.
Luke Smith via Twitch
This is a bitter pill for the Guardians to swallow. Forsaken is considered the benchmark for a DLC that only the Taken King from Destiny 1 can compare to.
Bungie does not have as much time, money, and staff as they did for Forsaken
Here are the reasons for that: According to Luke Smith, Bungie does not have the budget or staffing, and therefore cannot deliver a DLC like Forsaken within the required timeframes.
- Since the separation from Activision, there has been a lack of financial resources and the two studios High Moon and Vicarious Visions, which previously supported Bungie.
- Moreover, the Destiny director notes that Bungie is currently working from home due to COVID-19.
This is what comes with Beyond Light: Under these circumstances, it is already surprising that Beyond Light can still add something to the last DLC, Shadowkeep.
Because Guardians will not only set foot on the brand new location Europa, but the (half) Cosmodrome is returning as well. Additionally, there is Stasis, a completely new element and a fourth subclass for all Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans.
However, how extensive the expansion will really be and how long the season of the hunt can keep Guardians engaged will ultimately be revealed starting November 10.
Why does every DLC in Destiny 2 have to measure up to Forsaken?
For many Guardians, Forsaken is the benchmark against which all expansions of Destiny 2 must be compared.
This is why Forsaken was such a hit:
- With Forsaken, two new locations were introduced – the Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City
- The story mattered; it was not a meandering collection of convoluted lore texts: Right at the beginning of the DLC, Cayde, the most popular Destiny character, died
- A revenge campaign took place in the Tangled Shore like in a Western
- The Dreaming City was an endgame area that changed weekly and presented as many secrets as the then-mystery ship for explorers
- Forsaken established Dungeons in the world of Destiny – these are basically mini-raids for 3 Guardians, designed with a lot of effort and featuring great boss fights and puzzles
- Finally, there were golden carrots that the Guardians loved to chase: In the new raid, the “One Thousand Voices” exotic awaited, and in PvP, with a lot of skill, “Luna’s Howl” and “Not Forgotten” could be earned, while new exotics like the “One-Eyed Mask” or “Galanor’s Pieces” were desired by everyone
This is how the Year 1 trauma was overcome: Forsaken hit like a bomb because it buried the “botched” Year 1 of Destiny 2.
- Guardians finally got generous access to shotguns, sniper rifles, and fusion rifles – previously, the usefulness of “special weapons” was strictly limited
- The game was significantly faster in preparation for Forsaken – the keyword here is the “Go Fast Update”
- In PvP, they moved away from the slow 4-player format and reinstated the familiar chaos of 6 vs. 6
In short, with Forsaken, Destiny 2 was finally the way Guardians wanted it for a year. Therefore, the statement that they should not expect such a DLC again is likely to bring long faces among the Guardians. However, hearing such an open statement from Luke Smith may also come as a surprise.
Did you already expect that Beyond Light would not come close to Forsaken in terms of size and scope? Do you commend Luke Smith for how openly he discusses this during the promotion for the new DLC?
In the same interview, the Destiny director also announced good news regarding the topic of transmog: At Bungie, they now finally know whether you can destroy old armor in Beyond Light.
