Destiny 2’s fourth year is just getting started, but many players are already eager to see what Savathun’s arrival inThe Witch Queenwill bring afterBeyond Light’s divisive results. Many changes Bungie has already promised will pave the way to the next expansion as they are implemented throughout Year 4. However, there is still a lot riding onThe Witch Queen’s shoulders, whichJoe Blackburn might address next season.
Along withLightfallandBeyond Light,The Witch Queenwas announced during a major Bungie livestream where the studio revealed its plans forDestiny 2’s foreseeable future. This trilogy of expansions will shift the game to a more “true” MMO state and hopefully usher in a new age for Bungie’s shooter, so here is whereDestiny 2must improve in the near future to stay healthy.
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Careful Sunsetting>
One of the criticalchanges Bungie made withBeyond Lightwas how drastic the content vaulting/sunsetting felt. Moving forward, the studio should be more delicate about sunsetting content related to older zones. Most importantly, it should decide on how to properly sunset paid DLC zones.
These are currentlyThe Tangled Shore, The Dreaming City, the Moon, and Europa. Newcomers might unwittingly buy these destinations’ respective DLCs thinking that they’ll get relevant gear out of them, while, in reality, those zones offer mostly legacy loot. This creates an awkward environment where seemingly current activities give outdated rewards sometimes. Raids are exempt from this, offering relevant loot all the time, as they are the pinnacle ofDestinyactivities.
Shaxx Isn’t the Crucible
WithBeyond Light, Bungie consolidated the PvP experience into a handful of similar modes. This most likely allows the PvP team to make more accurate balance changes as it provides a more manageable Crucible environment to work on. However, right now, PvP feels one-note and uneventful.
Trials is still happening, but it is increasingly becoming an exclusive place where high-end players brawl.The Crucible in generalneeds more map and mode variety to be an interesting alternative to PvE. Bungie showed how they can create lively PvP communities withHalo’s varied and fun mode/map selections. At the very least, the studio can consider reintroducingDestiny 1match types such as Combined Arms.
PvP would also benefit from specific achievements players can go after, unique rewards to chase, and ultimately more ways Guardians can show off their Crucible prowess. Currently, fans can reach Legend in the Competitive queue, but they only receive loot and material drops that are available from other activities. Outside of that, as well as the occasional Iron Banner trinkets, PvP doesn’t offer much reward-wise to get players excited.Seasonal Challenges might amend this somewhat, as some of them supposedly reward unique items, but that remains to be seen.
Drifter’s Gambit
The middle child ofDestiny 2activities, Gambit, is in a similar predicament. This relatively new activity has been trimmed and streamlined into a single mode with the 3.0.0.1 update. The changes in place have received positive feedback overall,making the core Gambit experience more refined.
While doing so, the activity type on the whole has shed too much of its offerings. Gambit provides nothing other than matches with single unchanging objectives and maps that share the same layout. There isn’t any variety from match to match, no modifiers, and no additional aspirations outside of winning games of Gambit. Put plainly,Gambit just needs more featuresto sit comfortably alongside the game’s long running, core activities (Strikes and Crucible).
Standard Vanguard Operations
The last major matchmade activity type ofDestiny, Strikes, is in an odd state. On one hand,there is Vanguard Strikes, a very casual playlist of every Strike in the game with no way to influence loot drops, no meaningful modifiers to spice up the experience, and no way to specify which Strike the lobby wants to launch (like map vetoing in other multiplayer games). This mode is just a cheap and easy way players can hop in, play someDestiny, and hop out.
On the other hand, there is Nightfall: The Ordeal, a hyper specialized mode that offers just one Strike per week with restricting modifiers and specific coveted rewards. The rift between these two modes is huge, and neither of them are perfect. One is unremarkable but inoffensive, while the other is tough and only good for hardcores grinding materials. The casual playlist should offer different rules at this point or reintroduce scoring so that players have ulterior motives while churning through Strike after Strike.
Preferably, there should be at least one other mode to keep players engaged with Strikes as a whole. Perhaps a middle ground where weekly modifiers affect gameplay but enemiesaren’t as challenging as the Nightfall’s. Or palette cleansing special weekend events, like Trials but tuned differently to serve a much wider audience. These can have a new ruleset every week, and have a chance to drop useful items. Strikes have always been the bread and butter ofDestinyPvE, but with daily mission playlists gone, the game relies on them even more to satisfy the masses.
Putting The City to Sleep
One of the most discussed and beloved storylines inDestiny 2still is that of The Dreaming City. Introduced after theForsakencampaign, The Dreaming City offered secrets galore, a lot of loot, and multiple unique activities. Even though it is more than two years old at this moment, The Dreaming City’s story still continues inSeason of the Hunt. The way it ties intoThe Witch Queenis that Savathun propagated the curse that envelops The Dreaming City, which is reflected in-game as a triweekly world event.
Lore fans predict that this expansion will finally put an end to the curse cycle as Savathun makes her grand appearance. This is hinted at in game dialogue where Mara Sov tells that she will return to The Dreaming City soon to finish the fight, and that Savathun will be waiting for her. It’s quite likely thatThe Witch Queenwill kick off with a conflictbetween the two sovereigns, just like howThe Taken Kingstarted. It is also possible that ending the curse cycle will give Bungie a reason to vault The Dreaming City, while many fans also debate whether the elusive wish 15 will be solved inThe Witch Queenor during Season 15, leading up to the expansion.
What We Know
First, every expansion will introduce a never-before-seen zone, just likeBeyond Lightdid. With how packed Europa is with things to do and how it has been received, fans can feel confident thatThe Witch Queenwill offer a novel destination with a lot of post-campaign potential.
Secondly,Luke Smith teased that a new Dark subclassmight be in the works. That said, Bungie never stated in clear terms thatThe Witch Queenwill feature the next Darkness subclass. However, it is quite likely that the studio will seize this opportunity to expand on the subclass system, instead of waiting forLightfall. Some fans even believe that traces of this new element is in the game right now, dubbed Soulfire.
And lastly,The Witch Queen, and its accompanying season, will have considerably more weapons to go after thanBeyond Lightor the current season. Bungie stated that it is making an effort to expand the loot pool and has hired developers that will specifically work on rewards inDestiny 2, so that players don’t feel hungry for more guns. The first steps towards this has taken place already, asBungie is adding ten or so extra gunsto the game in just two weeks: six additional weapons distributed to ritual playlists and three more Nightfall exclusive rewards. There could be more the studio is keeping secret, and these are of course in addition to the expected seasonal offerings.
Destiny 2is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
