As an on-going live game,Destiny 2continues to evolve as time goes on. In 2019,Destiny 2saw numerous changes take place in many aspects, ranging from its sandbox, its structure, and even where and how players engage with the game.
This year saw a huge change in the industry side of things. In a surprise that no one saw coming,Bungie split from its publishing partnership with Activisionearly in the year, announcing it would take full control of theDestinyfranchise and the developer would self-publish the game itself, without the help of mega-publisher Activision. With that, Bungie also forfeited the development help of some of Activision’s studios that had been pulled in over the years to help in developing content for the game.
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Bungie has said emphatically thatActivision was not prohibitivein allowing Bungie to make its own creative decisions with the game, but longtime fans have often felt, whether true or not, that the partnership led to decisions that fans were less than happy about. Some of the following big changes that happened over 2019 could be traced back to that split, but others have been an ongoing evolution ofDestiny 2well before. These are the best changes to come toDestiny 2in 2019.
Cross Save was a huge player-friendly changethat came toDestiny 2this year. Announced as part of the content coming in Year 3 alongside the Shadowkeep expansion and actually going live a little sooner than the (delayed) release of Shadowkeep, it finally opened the doors to allow players to move freely between platforms. Many hardcore players had been playing the game on PS4 but then moved to PC for its higher frame rates and resolution and mouse and keyboard support.
The downside of that move was that players on PC had to give up PS4-exclusive content including exotics, strikes, and PvP maps, not to mention certain legacy cosmetic items that transferred fromDestiny 1but only transferred platform-to-platform and did not carry over to PC. But with the addition of Cross Save, console exclusives ended and players' entire accounts became transferrable. And the feature works like a dream. Moving between platforms is simple and easy with a truly pick-up-and-play experience. While it isn’t Cross Play, this is one step closer to that potential realitythat Bungie has said it is considering.
Alongside the Shadowkeep expansion,Destiny 2: New Lightwas released, a free-to-play version of the game.This opened up an entirely new entry point for people to jump intoDestiny 2for free. With New Light, players can jump into the game starting with the first mission fromDestiny 1where players are awoken by their Ghost and run through the Cosmodrome before being transported into the Tower and let loose on a significant amount of content.
While many new players have complained aboutNew Light not having enough directionto let them know what content to tackle first and causing somewhat of a tough learning curve, New Light unlocks major portions of the game at no cost. New Light players can access the entirety of Year 1’s content, portions of Forsaken and Year 2’s Annual Pass content, as well as the ability to patrol on any new destination that the game adds in Year 3 including the moon and Mercury.
Another big change was the PC client forDestiny 2. With the split with Activision,Destiny 2left the Battle.net launcher owned by Activision Blizzard and found a new home on Steam. With the larger playerbase of Steam as well as the addition of Cross Save and New Light,Destiny 2has found a strong place on Steam, landing a place inthe top spot of both the paid and free game category the month of October, the launch month for Shadowkeep, and it has remained in the top five most played games of the service since then.
Another great change was an increase in quest-based exotics in the game rather than the reliance on RNG for exotics. Going into Year 3 especially, each season brings a collection of exotics that have been tied to exotic quests. Not only does this give players a deterministic path to get a piece of the game’s top gear, but it also providesDestiny 2an opportunity to give players a unique experience to earn the exotic, with some exotics such asOutbreak Perfectedgiving players an entirely new mission to get through with secrets of its own. This has also been an opportunity through the quest to deliver more lore and narrative through the pursuit of an exotic rather than just have it drop randomly from completing an activity.
Shadowkeep also introducedthe Armor 2.0 system, which has been a big change inDestiny 2. This armor comes with a random stat roll that includes the return of Destiny 1’s Intellect/Strength/Discipline stats but void of perks. Players can choose which perks they want in a piece of armor using an energy and upgrade system that constrains players to making choices about what perks they want. The addition of universal ornaments being able to be applied to all Armor 2.0 opens up more cosmetic options for players to tinker with as well.
While it’s not a perfect system, with the most common complaints being focused on Armor 2.0’s elemental affinity and the massive RNG that it introduces as well as the lack of predictable sources for high stat rolls, it is a great change forDestiny 2that hopefully continues to evolve and improve.
Another player-friendly change in Shadowkeep was the change to Rare (blue) loot drops. In the past, Rare loot was also capped at dropping 10 levels below a player’s current highest possible Power level. This made Rare loot completely filler drops, good only for dismantling. But now, Rare loot can drop at 0 below players' current Power level allowing Rare loot to be used as infusion fuel. It also allows players to slot in a Rare piece of gear temporarily to help boost their Power level for an activity. It has led to a much more enjoyable and smoother level grind than ever.
Over the course of the year,Destiny 2has introduced ways for players to determine what loot they get, which started with Black Armory’s forge weapon frames, the Reckoning’s Synthesizer, maybe best perfected so far inthe Menagerie’s Chalice, and has continued into Year 3 with the Lectern of Enchantment, Vex Offensive weapon frames, and Season of Dawn’s obelisks.
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While none of these completely took away the RNG element of the game, they have given players more control than ever to decide what gear drops they want and a more direct way to farm for the perfect roll. Getting a perfect roll can still take a lot of time, but at least players no longer have to contend with a random roll from a wide loot pool before they even start rolling the dice on the perks of what they are actually after.
The Freelance Survival playlist isone of the best changes to the Cruciblesince the launch ofDestiny 2. First off, Survival completely replaced the 4v4 Competitive playlist, which returns to some of the more competitive modes of the original game with its 3v3 format. Survival introduces a slight feeling of Elimination (the Trials of Osiris game mode), especially when lives get low at the end of a round. But it keeps it more casual and friendly to solo players. That is further enhanced by the addition of the Freelance playlist, which only matchmakes solo players and does not allow preformed teams.
This, along with some new skill ranking and boosting systems added, has made competing in the Glory-based Survival playlist is much easier grind than ever before, especially when it comes to earning pinnacle and ritual weapons from the past and present. This became obvious last season when it was clear thatearning pinnacle weapons of the past was (and is) easier than ever.
Shadowkeep also marked a significant change to the narrative ofDestiny 2, returning to the main storyline of the Darkness andthe pyramid ships. The narrative also took an overall darker tone with Shadowkeep, which was naturally helped by the presence of main vendor character Eris Morn. While there were times inDestiny 2’s past where the story went in a more campy direction, the evolution of the story since Forsaken last fall has continued to go down a darker road. With Bungie promising that more of the narrative started in Shadowkeep continuing through Year 3, the emphasis put on the main storyline of the franchise is definitely welcome.
Ever since One-Eyed Mask released last fall in Forsaken, it has been the best Titan exotic to use in the game and despite some nerfs, it has continued to rule PvP. In the latest game update with Season of Dawn,One-Eyed Mask got a significant nerftaking away its Overshield that it grants. While some players would say the Overshield was never the issue and the true problem is the helm’s tracking ability, the jury is still out on whether the nerf was dramatic enough. Nevertheless, it was one exotic that was long overdue for a nerf and a change that finally came in 2019.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeepis available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
