It seems like public opinion on Destiny 2 plunged headlong off a cliff within the remaining two months of 2017. While essentially stable, the loot-heavy FPS’s temporary first enlargement left many dissatisfied, and controversies over XP-throttling and Bungie’s seeming obsession with pushing loot crates as the first technique of character customization left many with less-than-kind issues to say in regards to the sport.
In an try to move the worst of the PR off on the move, Bungie released a broad development road-map this week, detailing their plans for brand spanking new content material and remodeling of current techniques from right here till late 2018. I tried to decipher a few of it for these not already neck-deep in bizarre immortal space-knight lore.
Most fast of the deliberate adjustments is a patch approaching January 30th, which is about so as to add the Masterwork gear rarity tier to armor, after the neighborhood appeared to react positively to its introduction on weaponry. Masterwork armor’s most fast benefit over the common type is a lift to total harm discount when utilizing your Super means, however there’s a further slot for random stat bonuses that may be re-rolled. You can even use Masterwork Cores to improve favourite items of lower-tier gear to the brand new rarity. A extra long-term plan for the sport is to introduce Masterwork perks to current Exotic gear, too.
The January replace will even rework Raid rewards. Now, doing probably the most demanding content material within the sport will reward you with distinctive gear mods with perks particular to the raid through which it was discovered. If you don’t get the precise drops you need, you’ll be capable of purchase each Leviathan and Eater Of Worlds gear instantly utilizing Raid Tokens after just a few laps by means of the grinder. This is seemingly the beginning of Bungie’s plan to de-emphasize the loot-box Eververse retailer and put particular rewards on every exercise or set of actions.
Across the remainder of the yr, there’s loads extra coming. PvP can be increasing to 6v6 matches (I’m hoping for 8v8 with autos nonetheless), public chat is coming to The Tower, totally customized aggressive matches with mates can be launched, and Bungie hope to overtake the merchandise stash system, and as a part of their de-emphasis plans concerning Eververse, Ghost skins, ship hulls and uncommon Sparrows can be added to the reward lists for varied actions beginning mid-February. There’s quite a bit more besides this, however these appear to be crucial of the upcoming tweaks and adjustments.
Destiny 2’s patchy content material launch schedule and the worrying brevity of the Curse of Osiris enlargement make me understand simply how spoiled I’ve been by the semi-episodic enlargement construction of Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV. Both video games obtain huge paid expansions from time to time, however fill the meantime with free (within the case of GW2) or standard-with-subscription (FFXIV) episodic updates, every simply equal in dimension to a Destiny 1 or 2 enlargement. If Bungie need to play with the large children within the MMO playground, they’re going to must step up their sport.
On a extra instantly constructive be aware, this week in Destiny 2, you possibly can go to the mysterious wandering shopkeeper Zur this week to commerce in a few of your legendary shards for The Colony, one of many new enlargement weapons; a grenade launcher that spits out homing spider-drones as an alternative of boring bouncing explosive prices. It’s the sort of gun that makes me want I had an Eight-slot weapon choice wheel, and the sort of factor I’d like to see extra of in the way forward for the sport. You heard me, Bungie More spiders!
