Communicating between Bungie Studios and fans of their game 'Destiny' is a monumental task. At the forefront of that struggle is a single man: Deej.
After widespread concern over the state of Destiny 2, players took to the internet to illustrate the game's problems. It wasn't just a few problems, though, they ranged from small to large, from artistic to those of fundamental game systems.
Deej has to respond to these complaints every week. With the launch of Destiny 2's first expansion, 'The Curse of Osiris,' the game's future hinged on fixing game's issues and answering a more daunting question.
What exactly is Destiny?
As a mishmash of various genres, it's been an exciting concept since its inception. But since the 2014 launch of the original title, it never nailed down exactly what it was. It was a constant struggle between its concepts, fighting to make a cohesive experience for players. Deej was at the forefront of that struggle. And it was today, as millions of players stood on the brink of revolt, that he declared the game's future.
So here's how the game's changing:
Masterwork Weapons
Masterwork weapons are a new tier of weapons that will have random, re-rollable perks, unique item tooltips and stat trackers.
All Legendary weapons will be turned into Masterwork weapons on December 12th, a week after The Curse of Osiris launches. So what exactly is getting changed?
Masterwork weapons will keep track of all your kills, and allow players to choose between total kills or just Crucible kills. They will also create orbs for multi-kills, which should enthuse Raiders and Nightfall players. Further, each one will have random perks in the form of stat bonuses; these can be rerolled, although it's not clear how that process works.
With Destiny 1's first expansion, a similar re-rolling system was added via The Gunsmith. Players could use materials to reroll perks on Legendary weapons. With Banshee playing an even more dominant roll in Destiny 2's player economy, it's possible this system could return.
It's worth noting that Legendary weapons will only become Masterworks for players above 250 power. Also, they can be sharded to materials that upgrade other Legendary weapons to Masterworks.
Bungie adds that they plan on elaborating on this system even further in the future.
This is a fantastic change for the game. It adds a layer of complexity for dedicated players to master, with tangible rewards and advantages for those who use it. These kinds of changes elongate the game in meaningful ways.
Ornaments
As announced in the Twitchcon panel, ornaments will once again be available. Players may remember them from Rise of Iron, as skins for exotic gear. Here, ornaments can be earned through specific achievements. Bungie's phrasing leads me to believe the system works a lot like Bounties in Destiny 1. That said, a more apt comparison could be armor unlocks from Halo Reach, many of which required players to get a certain number of kills in a particular manner, or another hard to get achievement.
Ornaments will enter the game with Season 2, on December 5th. They'll affect a number of armor sets including the Vanguard, Crucible, Trials, Raid Layer and Faction gear. Unlocks will be account-wide, meaning they'll likely be instantly unlocked on all applicable gear or available via Kiosks.
Vendor Gear
Returning from Destiny 1, is vendor gear. Each vendor will have their respective armorset and weapons available in return for Legendary shards and tokens. The image available shows Lord Shaxx's armor going for 15 Legendary Shards and 10 Crucible Tokens. This seems an appropriate ballpark, which may vary for weapons, or by vendor.
Xur
Three of Coins will return, along with something called "Fated Engrams."
In Destiny 1, Three of Coin was a single-rolled RNG bonus that dramatically boosted your odds of getting an Exotic upon killing an Ultra boss or completing a Crucible match. The new coins are far humbler, offering a general boost for Exotic drop rates across all activities for 4 hours. These can be bought for 97 Legendary Shards.
A Fated Engram is, according to its flavor text: "An engram with a predestined outcome. It will contain a new Exotic if any remain to be collected." These engrams will only drop Exotics you don't have yet, so players previously foiled by The Cryptarch's duplicates will find better luck with the hooded Jovian.
General Economy
This is a far more intricate section that deals with rewards, materials and loot, as well as a lot of statistics. As a result, I'll have commentary outlining these ramifications in a separate article. Across the board, they're QoL improvements, upping rewards and making them more consistent across activities.
XP Mechanics
After last week's outcry, Bungie removed a controversial scaling system. At the moment, there's a new, rudimentary system. Bungie promises that a new, more in-depth solution is on the horizon.
Conclusion:
In short, Bungie's making a lot of promises for the game's Quality of Life.
Masterwork weapons will add a tremendous dimension of depth to the game, and the economy changes will doubtless reward dedicated players.
That said, this was intended to replace the Curse of Osiris stream. I don't feel this communicates a long-term enough vision that it warranted replacing that. Further, many expected Destiny 2's end-game to be addressed. It's by far the most pressing issue. While the economy and gear changes are great steps toward that end, and the addition of Heroic Strikes is a great step, this isn't a long-term plan.
I'm glad Bungie communicated this, but in the face of Expansion I's immediate launch, this probably wasn't enough. As a player who still plays 10+ hours a week, these are great changes. But with Streamers, YouTubers and hardcore PvP/PvE players on the brink of leaving, there's much to be desired.
The Crucible, in particular, needed to be addressed. It's great to have private matches and competitve, ranked PvP coming next year. But the two playlists are far from enough. The casual playlist doesn't give players the opportunity to relax in players they enjoy, and the competitive playlist inexplicably isn't competitive in any way.
Overall, I expect I'll enjoy The Curse of Osiris next week. But my attention is not guaranteed and many questions remain about the game's future. While this is a great step in the right direction, it isn't the conclusive roadmap I had anticipated.
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