Exotic gear has become rare in Destiny 2. Some players are hoping for the return of an item from Destiny 1.
What is it about? Since the first Destiny 2 expansion Forsaken, players have been rewarded less frequently with exotic gear. While exotic drops have thus become special again, there is a significant downside: with random rolls returning, it has become even harder for players to find exotics with the right perks.
What do the players say? In the Destiny subreddit, the Guardian NoctisNoctua has pointed out the issue and remembered the Glass Needles from Destiny 1. Even the predecessor of Destiny 2 had random rolls, but there was a way to re-roll the perks on exotic armor pieces with the Glass Needles.
The Glass Needles could only be purchased from the old noodle-faced Xur. This made the needles even more desirable, as in Destiny 2 the strange merchant only visited once a week in the predecessor.
How could the needles fit into Destiny 2? Some Guardians agree with NoctisNoctua on Reddit. They believe that the drop chances for exotic gear are so low that they hardly want to hunt for the right perks for their respective playstyle. NoctisNoctua himself stated that he plays several hours a day and only receives one or two exotics every few weeks.
The Guardian donk1999 states that the merchant Xur could regain relevance for hardcore players with the introduction of Glass Needles. Additionally, it wouldn’t hurt so much when only a few exotics drop and you don’t get the item you need.
Joey141414 thinks that Glass Needles are not needed because exotics are so rare, but because you often only receive the same items. He mentions that he often only gets gear that he already has. If he at least had the option to re-roll the items, the duplicates would frustrate him less.
The user MimirX disagrees and prefers a revamp of the collection instead of Glass Needles. Instead of the fixed rolls of the items we have already collected, he believes that items in the collection should also be re-rolled.
For now, Guardians have new gear coming during the Crimson Days:
