When I think of Destiny, I can’t help but be reminded of Star Wars. Both franchises have much to do with space travel. We see heroes overcoming insurmountable odds with what can only be described as space magic. They even crossover when it comes to little, friendly robot companions. However, these are not the reasons I’m reminded of Star Wars when I play Destiny, rather it’s because both franchises have lifted me so high up, and also left me so disappointed that I didn’t know what to do with myself. So, what I’ll be doing here is giving a quick opinion of my thoughts on how Destiny 2 has been so far, and also talking about the recent reveals on where it seems to be going next in Season 2.

 

 

Now, even for all its faults, I loved the first Destiny, even upon release before it became what it was in its 3rd year. By that 3rd year though, my interest in Destiny had waned and when news of Destiny 2 began to circulate, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be onboard for another round of loot hoarding. Of course, this attitude didn’t last long and soon had my very own ticket for the hype train that was quickly pulling into the station. Finally, release day came and I plunged into the campaign and loved every second of it. The campaign had come a long way from what Destiny players were used to, and at this point, I figured Bungie finally got it right. After finishing the story though, I encountered what I like to call “Attack of the Clones” syndrome. Symptoms of this include high levels of boredom and wondering what the hell you’re doing with your time. Anyone who has reached the “end game” of Destiny 2 knows exactly what I’m talking about. There just didn’t seem like there was anything meaningful left to do, and as pumped up as the campaign had me, the rest of the content felt underwhelming.

Many of Bungie’s endgame decisions perplexed me (no heroic strikes?) but something I’d like to point out is that even though there are many disappointing aspects to Destiny 2, the structure that it is built upon is exceptionally solid. The lore of Destiny’s universe, gunplay, visuals and anything else not directly tied to the actual content of the game itself is absolutely top notch. Here is the crux of why it can let you down so hard. I and many of Destiny’s players really want to play in this world, but the reasons they give us to do it are few and after doing them many times over become lackluster. As a matter of fact, as I’m typing this, today marks the first weekend I haven’t completed a single milestone since reset. Simply put, I can’t be bothered to trudge through the same public events just to get loot I either already have or don’t want. With all of that said, however, there may yet just be some coming up on the horizon with the approach of Season 2.

 

 

So, what are seasons you ask? Well, one thing they do is kind of level the playing field for clans in Destiny 2. Basically, as your clan gains experience it unlocks different perks you and your fellow clanmates benefit from. When the season changes, these perks are reset and removed and new ones are added that your clan will level up to once again take advantage of them. This reset makes it so larger clans don’t have one up over smaller clans when it comes to recruiting members. According to Bungie, Destiny 2 will have 4 seasons in year one, and so far it looks like Season 2 will begin in December. Seasons will also be when much more significant changes come to the world of Destiny 2, and the news seems pretty good so far when it comes to some of the issues players have complained about.

Let’s start off with some of the smaller changes. Eververse will change its stock of ships, sparrows and other items for all new ones. What does this mean for Eververse’s previous stock? Well, I couldn’t really find a clear answer on whether or not you can still obtain the items they have now, except it seems all shaders will remain in the game through drops. More social space activities will be implemented, such as ice hockey and snowball fights for the winter theme that will come with Season 2. This could be fun, especially since you can take snowballs into PvE activities and use them against enemies, but I, like many of you are probably interested in the more substantial changes being made.

 

 

Iron Banner. Many people were disappointed with this last go around with what’s supposed to be a premiere PvP activity. Moreover, much like the Faction Rally event, people were upset you couldn’t use your tokens to purchase specific weapons and armor from vendors, but rather everything was left up to RNG, which led to many people not completing armor sets and the like. While it does seem this will remain the same for the one last Season 1 version of Iron Banner, in Season 2, players will be able to purchase specific weapons from the Iron Banner vendor with tokens and legendary shards. Now Bungie’s live stream specifically mentioned purchasing weapons in this fashion, nothing has been said about armor as of yet.

Similar changes seem to be coming to Faction Rallies as well, with the news that faction equipment will not only be based on players turning in tokens, but weapons and armor will also be obtainable as drops during these events. Completing challenges while wearing faction armor can also net you faction ornaments for said pieces of armor. The good news here is that no longer will Destiny 2 players be forced to farm tokens for these vendors and can try other paths to complete their collections.

All of these changes seem to be taking place around the time the first expansion “Curse of Osiris” is released which will probably include changes of its own (seriously, how about some heroic strikes guys?). Just like Destiny 1, it looks like we once again have a game with quite a few shortcomings that are looking to evolve over time. Opinions on that can vary greatly from person to person and while I do have misgivings about that kind of model, I am optimistic about the future of Destiny 2. On the one hand, I would much prefer to have Destiny 2 be perfect right out of the gate, but with its strong frame, I’m glad Bungie is once again listening to its player base and making moves to help Destiny 2 reach its very high potential.

Destiny 2 is available now on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for $59.99.  The game is also available on PC starting October 27, 2017.