In Destiny 2, Cayde-6 will die. Fans have known this for a few weeks now. His death is the key to the PR of Forsaken. But why do players know the most important plot twist months before release? This is because Destiny 2 has broken its first PR promise, believes our author Schuhmann.
Zombie in the Tower: The funny thing is that Cayde-6 is still in the Tower. As always, he hangs out there as the head of the Hunter Vanguard. If you diligently farmed the Flashpoint of the week, you quickly fly to the Tower to see Cayde and pick up the items. But every player who goes to get their engram knows already: “You’re due. I’ve seen you die.”
Cayde’s death establishes Uldren as the new “Big Bad”
From supporting role to mega-villain: In Destiny 1, Uldren Sov only played a supporting role after the reboot. Now, four years later, Bungie makes him the villain and Cayde-6 his victim.
Players are supposed to hate Uldren: Bungie’s idea is clear: By having Uldren take down the supposed fan-favorite, Cayde-6, an emotion immediately arises in the players: Revenge. This time it’s personal. He took out our friend. This is about something.
Lack of tradition: The action also highlights a fundamental problem with Destiny: there is no living story to draw from endlessly. When WoW needs a new enemy, it can draw from 24 years of gaming history. Blizzard pulls an established villain out of the hat. Destiny, on the other hand, has to resort to tricks to emotionally charge a blank slate so that players care about the villain.
In Destiny 2, the PR promise turned out to be flat
Same strategy with Ghaul: Exactly the same idea Bungie tried before Destiny 2. They also introduced a new enemy and immediately gave the players reasons to hate him:
- Ghaul destroyed the Tower
- Then he took the players’ powers away
- He snatched their loot
- And even the puppies!
Ghaul’s actions were known beforehand: Just like with Cayde-6, Ghaul’s misdeeds were known long before he would commit them.
Last villain: Garry, the punchline
Didn’t work: However, this hardly worked with Ghaul at that time. Players mocked “Garry” long before. After all, it was Cayde-6, the joker, who took Ghaul’s villainous aura by ridiculing him.
At Bungie, they quickly realized the mistake of their trailer. DeeJ then commented: “Stop with the jokes. He’s really evil!” , but by then, it was too late.
In the campaign, Ghaul was portrayed as a tragic figure who wants to be loved by the “Traveler” in some way. Ultimately, however, Ghaul was just a pawn of his mentor and not the “unstoppable force” Bungie’s PR portrayed him to be. Ghaul didn’t live up to his image.
Destiny 2 broke its promise
No consequences: But Ghaul and the threat also didn’t work for another reason. Because players almost immediately got back everything Ghaul took from them, the effect vanished. The “world without light” turned out to be “a world without light for five minutes.”
Destiny 2 couldn’t fulfill its promise: The PR of the game promised the Guardians: “You will be powerless. You will lose everything.” In the reality of the game, however, this was a promise that could not be kept. They didn’t even want to keep it: Because Destiny 2 lives off fulfilling the players’ power fantasies and making them feel powerful. That’s why they returned everything to the players that they took away.
Due to this dissonance between what players were promised and what they actually experienced in the game, Destiny 2 fell into a motivation pit with its story.
New promise from Forsaken
The new promise: In Forsaken, it is stated from the beginning, “this will be a dark expansion” – therefore, Cayde-6, the humor element of Destiny, is removed at the start to create dramatic effect.
Message clear: Presenting the most important plot point to players months before launch has two effects this time:
- As with Destiny 2, the big villain is revealed and players are given a motivation to take him down
- But unlike Destiny 2, the death of Cayde-6 also sends the message: This time we mean it seriously, we are ready to change. Destiny 2: Forsaken wants to deliver on the promise made by its PR campaign.
Bungie learns from its mistakes in terms of the story: Ultimately, the early death of Cayde-6 is a result of the PR and storytelling mistakes Bungie made with Destiny 2.
More about the new expansion: All about Destiny 2: Forsaken – Release date, features, season pass
