With or without the help of developer Bungie, Destiny 2’s community has always gone to great lengths to help those in need and find new ways for players to come together in-game. From community-driven puzzle-solving for the latest Exotic weapon quest to creating websites such as DestinyLFG.net or /r/Fireteams to help players find groups for Raids, Nightfall Strikes, Exotic Quests or just to make new friends for a couple of nights a week, there’s no end to how far Destiny players will go. And slowly over the years, Bungie has tried to assist as much as it can through the Destiny Companion App, offering quick access to the Vault, swapping to a new loadout, and news, stats or milestones.
Following the release of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, Bungie made a few changes to how it approaches Seasonal Activities such as the Sundial and has given players an entry-level difficulty while continuing to offer a Legend (Hard Mode) variant for endgame level loot rewards. With so many different weekly milestones to grind out, the Destiny 2 Companion App has become one of the easiest ways for players to be able to find groups quickly and invite them through the console, to the point that it’s now a must-have App for both hardcore and casual players in 2020.
Available to download on the iOS and Android stores, players can sign-in to the Destiny 2 Companion App through their Bungie account which is linked to PSN, Xbox and Steam, and immediately have access to characters, Pursuits, Triumphs, Collections, the Vault, and more. The companion app can be used to access Bungie’s weekly news updates, Bungie Rewards, allow players to swap weapons and gear between characters or the vault on the fly, and as a messaging App for Clans. While everything mentioned is great to have and useful for players, the most important function is the integrated LFG section, Fireteams.
For years players have been forced to go to external sites like DestinyLFG or /r/Fireteams to find groups to run a Raid or Nightfall because, without a clan, Bungie simply didn’t offer players any alternative options. The Fireteams section isn’t from a new update, its been around for a long time, but with the constant addition of new activities, particularly activities like the Sundial on Legend difficulty which doesn’t offer matchmaking despite not requiring the level of communication that a Raid does, Fireteams is an easy to use LFG alternative.
By default, Fireteams will open on a list set to all activities and advertise the most recent requests being submitted on whichever platform the App is signed into. Specific activities can be selected by hitting the ‘All Activities’ drop-down menu at the top and adjust the language and platform through settings in the top right-hand corner. Joining a FireTeam is fairly simple as players can automatically add themselves if there’s a spot available and only have to wait for the game invite to come through from the host. On the other hand, creating a Fireteam only requires players to select the Activity, their character, and platform of choice, and whether a mic is required or not.
The main reason why the Destiny 2 Companion App is a must-have and a great alternative to external LFG sites comes down to its integration with the player’s Bungie account and system. For example, once a PS4 Fireteam is full, the host can hit the ‘Send Invite’ button at the bottom of the screen and the group will receive an in-game invite on their PS4 to join the game. There’s no need to go to an external site, chat with groups before the approve or deny the request, then wait for the invite to be manually sent on PS4, Xbox, or PC. Instead, everything is already set up an can be done in a couple of clicks all through their mobile phone.
While the vast majority of activities in Destiny 2 have matchmaking integrated and automatically sort players into a Fireteam, one common complaint that’s been around since Destiny 1 is endgame activities like Raids. Difficult activities that require a full Fireteam and constant communication not having matchmaking makes sense and so the community went on to build incredible tools to work around it just as Bungie has intended. However, not all activities are easy to find and invite players to and not all activities need quite so many restrictions such as the Sundial Legend difficulty which doesn’t have matchmaking despite being fairly similar in difficulty to the standard model.
Bungie has managed to create an effective LFG system within the Destiny Companion App that’s incredibly easy to use and meets a wide spectrum of needs. Players can search for Raids or Exotic Quests and state whether or not mics are required, send an invite directly through the platform of choice and have players in their Fireteam at the press of a button. It’s an incredibly easy way to quickly find a Fireteam to knock out the weekly milestone without ever having to think about anything other than the location of their phone.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
