Destiny 2 isn’t quite the same MMO/FPS hybrid game in 2020 that it was a year ago. Developer Bungie changed the game’s content pipeline last fall, emphasizing seasonal content with smaller drops of new activities to do over large updates delivered quarterly. The shift was an effort to satisfy fans while allowing the development team to work at its own pace. Things haven’t been perfect since, but overall reception has been pretty positive from Destiny’s notably demanding fanbase.
One area where Bungie’s new approach has proven surprisingly effective: the ever-expanding arsenal of weapons and gear. Brand new exotics like the Bastion fusion rifle and the Devil’s Ruin sidearm made the current Season of Dawn the first update in the Destiny series since House of Wolves with entirely original exotic gear. With the rumored Season of the Worthy fast approaching, Bungie would do well to keep the trend going for the next wave of content in Destiny 2.
Destiny 2’s Exotics Keep The Game Fresh
Bungie kicked off Destiny 2’s Season of Dawn by introducing the Symmetry, a full-auto scout rifle. The Exotic weapon has two separate firing modes that build on each other to make the gun stronger, whilehe design is just as distinctive, glowing with a blue-purple finish. Symmetry is one of the most unusual weapons in all of Destiny 2, and fans loved it.
Bastion and Devil’s Ruin are equally strange; all three of these weapons break the expectations of their weapon types to make something unique. There’s no mistaking any of them for one of Destiny 2’s legendary weapons in the same category. Figuring out how to use each one effectively is an adventure in itself – and giving players that feeling of earning and wielding a powerful, mysterious item is what Bungie does best.
Some of Destiny 2’s exotic gear even draws inspiration from earlier weapons and armor while still building something new. The Riskrunner exotic SMG bears more than a passing similarity to Destiny’s Zhalo Supercell in combat, and the first game’s Red Death pulse rifle evolved into the lean and mean Crimson hand cannon in the sequel. Experiments like these haven’t always worked perfectly, but they’re often more interesting to play with. The best of them can become indispensable parts of a Guardian’s collection.
Evolving Destiny 2’s Exotic Quests
Introducing new exotics means figuring out how to get them in players’ hands, too: players can either earn gear with drops in activities, wait to buy weapons and armor from Xur, get it in the Season Pass, or complete specific quests. The buzz around the Corridors of Time quest that let players access Bastion got the fan community talking, and not always for the right reasons. The short two-week window for players to access the event and the fusion rifle already being visible on Bungie’s roadmap confused fans and brought about a general feeling of FOMO between Guardians.
The Destiny series has been in continuous development since the early 2010s, but Bungie is still figuring out how to make Destiny completely on its own, without help from Activision or old partners like High Moon. The team still has work to do when it comes to building game-changing events around exotic gear, and making them open for as many players to experience as possible. If there’s one particular learning experience the studio can take from the Season of Dawn, it’s that a self-published Destiny 2 will have to shake out its own narrative pace and style to let every Guardian earn the kind of thrills that only a few were able to experience with the Corridors of Time event.
The way Bungie decided to release Bastion wouldn’t work with every exotic weapon, for both thematic and practical reasons. Fans shouldn’t expect the studio to be able to build elaborate quests for every upcoming exotic, but too many smaller affairs like the Devil’s Ruin quest won’t satisfy player hopes either. Future seasons’ exotic quests could go down a path in between, with missions with more depth than Devil’s Ruin but less complexity than Bastion or earlier quests like Zero Hour or The Whisper. It could take longer, but fans still crave the sense of achievement that Destiny 2 excels at.
Random exotic drops and secret quests aren’t the only ways that Destiny 2 can surprise players and give every Guardian those hero moments that keep them coming back. But they’re valuable enough that it’s worth it for Bungie to keep building them over merely updating older content, even if it might take a little longer for players to get their hands on what’s new and fresh.
Some Destiny 1 Content Should Still Come Back, Just to a Smaller Degree
Of course, Bungie shouldn’t write off the possibility of bringing back classic exotic gear from the first Destiny in the future. Revisiting old favorites like the Monte Carlo auto rifle gives Destiny 2 a chance to reconnect with lapsed players, and allows newer Guardians a chance to wield some of the same power that hooked players into the original game. The development team can also turn out existing exotics faster than new ones, since the initial design work and assets are already accessible.
Fans haven’t always loved Bungie’s attempts to give Destiny 2 players a mix of old and new gear. Since it was introduced in the original game, the Eververse store has been one of Destiny’s more contentious elements. Sentiment toward the game’s microtransaction model only worsened when Bungie confirmed that it would be keeping a large portion of new items limited to purchase with the premium Silver currency. Players can still buy some items with Bright Dust, but the selection is tiny compared to what they can buy with real money. Future Destiny 2 content will have to keep player feedback in mind, Eververse included, to see the best success.
If Trials of Osiris returns for Destiny 2 Season 10, Bungie could draw from the extensive collection of legendary gear designed for the original version of the competitive PvP mode. Fans have hoped for all three classes’ Pariah armor sets to return since Destiny 2’s launch. Rewarding elite Guardians with the prestigious gear once again could be a great way for Bungie to attract old and new players, including fans who missed out on Trials of the Nine. The suits already have a matching exotic, too: the Vigilance Wing pulse rifle, a monster in the early days of Destiny 2’s Crucible.
Bungie doesn’t need to completely stop rereleasing some of Destiny’s older gear, but weapons and armor from the original game already makes up enough of the sequel’s arsenal that fans are ready to have new experiences.
Destiny 2 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia and Xbox One.
