Bungie reveals Destiny 2 update plans ahead of Lightfall launch
The video game company Bungie has revealed that it will increase the difficulty levels of Destiny 2 and indicated a significant redesign of the long-standing Power leveling system.
While Bungie keeps adding new material to Destiny 2, it has become easier to defeat monsters and complete challenges in the game, even at the highest difficulty setting – Grand Master, making it tough for new and returning gamers to play alongside friends without putting hours into leveling up.
Destiny 2 game director Joe Blackburn explained in the official blog post that the studio was committed to giving numerous “difficulty levels in content such as their campaigns, Nightfalls, secret missions, dungeons and raids.”
Bungie has been juggling Destiny 2’s level difficulty and its recurring Power creep issues through build crafting improvements, mod changes and some nerfs to the players’ damage and survivability.
But there’s also a “difficulty knob,” as Blackburn explained, that Bungie has been using to regulate how foes fight back between activities. It will be slightly amplified for Lightfall.
Revamping Power system
Since the release of The Witch Queen expansion a year ago, Bungie has conducted various experiments with its Power system. According to Blackburn, the developers had identified some fundamental “issues with Power in Destiny 2” and how they inhibited players from accessing some of the finest content. Thus, they plan to make significant changes to the system in The Final Shape.
Blackburn said The Final Shape, due in about a year, would likely be Destiny 2’s greatest DLC as it would mark the end of the light and darkness tale upon which the entire game was constructed.
Bungie has decided to spend the next year fine-tuning the Power settings before concluding a storyline and determining the future of Destiny 2. There would be a Power grind for the start of Lightfall, but there would not be one for Season of The Deep, and both the Power and the pinnacle cap will be unchanged.
Lighfall’s issues
Bungie also addressed a player burnout issue at the end of seasons in Destiny 2 with Lightfall. As Season of Plunder drew close, Bungie saw the lowest average number of Destiny 2 players on Steam since the game’s launch.
This issue has served as a wake-up call to Bungie that the seasonal content cycle it has been using was not very engaging. Blackburn admitted that Destiny 2 might occasionally feel too predictable. He said that while a lot was going on at the beginning of “an expansion or seasonal drop,” most active players complained that there was nothing left for them to do at the end of the season.
The game director also acknowledged that this unyielding predictability has led to a “lack of surprise and delight” in Destiny 2.
When it came to surprising and delighting their players, Bungie used to be unrivaled. They often released hidden missions and challenges that would take the community days to solve.
Blackburn’s acknowledgment suggested that the company would attempt to address the problem, though he didn’t specify how Bungie would approach it.
Toning down crafting
Following the release of Lightfall, a smaller portion of Destiny 2’s weapons will be available for crafting.
According to the team, there will be fewer crafting options and more long-term sources for weapons.
The developer also addressed the issue of why Adept raid weapons are not as desirable as their craftable counterparts. Starting from Season of The Deep, it will be possible to improve the weapon’s perks from the Lightfall raid using time and materials.
