Destiny 2’s next event, Empyrean Foundation, was revealed in more detail on Thursday, January 30th, and it may very well be the kind of community event that many fans were hoping that the Corridors of Time secret quest from earlier this month failed to be. It calls for many players to be involved in reaching a goal that will unlock a reward for all players as well as progress the Destiny 2 narrative toward next season and, ultimately, Trials of Osiris.
Starting next week on February 4th, the Tower obelisk will be the location where the Empyrean Foundation is focused, with players donating the seasonal material Polarized Fractaline toward an effort to rise through seven stages of increasing amounts of donated Polarized Fractaline. If all seven stages are reached, a shader will be unlocked for every player in the game. Those who contribute 5,000 or more Polarized Fractaline will also earn a Triumph and an emblem.
In addition, contributing gives players a 25% flat progression on any timelost bounty currently in players’ inventory. The Tower obelisk will generate more Polarized Fractaline based on its Resonance Power, which is increased by upgrading the other obelisks. It’s a bit of a resource sink, but the overall design of the event is far more inclusive than the Corridors of Time quest from earlier this month.
Destiny 2 Event for All, Not a Few
Empyrean Foundation is much more like the Mars community challenge that came out right before Shadowkeep, which tasked players with defeating Escalation Protocol bosses, Mars Nightfall bosses, and 300 million Hive on Mars. Similarly, Empyrean Foundation is open to any player to directly contribute at their own Tower obelisk.
During the Corridors of Time quest, the puzzle absolutely needed a wide community effort with thousands of players contributing their own unique pieces of the puzzle. But even in terms of how cool the mystery and puzzle was, it quickly became centralized around a small handful of community leaders who coordinated the effort and did the heaviest lifting in solving the Destiny 2 puzzle. For some, that was the downside to that quest, who felt more like an outside observer of the puzzle instead of having an active part in solving it.
Solving that puzzle may not have been accomplished as quickly without those community leaders jumping in and running with it (especially considering Bungie had a backup plan to launch the Bastion exotic quest anyways on January 28 in case it wasn’t solved), but Empyrean Foundation is a much more open event that is far more inclusive and has virtually no barrier for participation.
A Fully In-Game Challenge for Destiny 2 Players
It’s almost impossible to think of the Corridors of Time quest being solved in the game itself, with the final solution coming from massive spreadsheets and custom-written programs. But the Empyrean Foundation event is one that will take place almost entirely in the game. If history serves as a guide, it likely won’t display the community milestones in-game, with Bungie probably announcing current progress via its social media channels, but all the progress itself will be made within the game. This once again makes Empyrean Foundation a more inviting event for the entire fanbase, although it is trading the complexity of a quest like Corridors of Time for the simplicity of a straightforward resource grind.
Even for how awesome the Corridors of Time quest was and the community effort required to solve its puzzle, some players struggled with that observer vs. participant issue, but now the Empyrean Foundation event will make every player a participant if they so choose.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
