Even Destiny 2 Lightfall critics couldn’t stop millions of players from enjoying the most recent expansion of the popular first-person shooter, which suffered from negative reviews regarding its shallow campaign, difficulty grueling, its new Guardian Rank system, its Commendations, and its Lost Sector. lower rates. However, Bungie has taken those comments to heart in a new blog post led primarily by Destiny 2 game director Joe Blackburn, addressing nearly every major player complaint since Lightfall’s release.
The update highlights major adjustments to Guardian Ranks, reveals plans for Exotic Focus, explains causes and recent difficulty adjustments, shares changes based on Nightfall score leaderboard feedback, and promises even players will soon be able to award player loot kudos.
In an article titled Reflecting on Lightfall: Launch and Beyond, the development team notes that the game experienced its “highest concurrent player count in years” with the release of its new expansion. He then moves on to Blackburn’s text, which explicitly addresses player criticism of the recent expansion.
“We have thoroughly analyzed community feedback on the game since launch and have been working on several areas in the coming weeks as we move forward with content for our upcoming seasons,” Blackburn said.
After discussing the goals behind Destiny 2 Guardian Ranks and Commendations, Blackburn acknowledges that the team missed the mark of their ranking system. Going forward, players won’t have as many requirements to reset their ranks each season, and Commendations won’t be as tied to Guardian Rank progression. Additionally, Bungie will soon be adding Best Dressed Praise, a feature players have requested since the release of Lightfall.
Blackburn also says the mid-season patch will increase map score modifiers in Nightfalls to make it easier to hit specific scores. The game will also reduce certain hordes of enemies and the damage certain enemies can take. It also promises that Neomuna Patrols will be easier to perform and will more reliably match players with other Guardians participating in Terminal Overload. Gear will also increase the spawn rate of Vex Strike Force events, and these events will drop new Exotic armor for players who still have a few left to collect.
It also outlines several Season 21 build updates, including the introduction of two new armor mods and changes to the Shoot to Loot weapon perk that will now allow you to loot orbs from power in addition to ammo crates. The update also reiterates the introduction of three upcoming Strand skins, one from each of the Guardian classes.
Starting with Destiny 2 Season 21, Trials of Osiris will launch from the first week of the season, instead of pausing release while players level up their characters as there will be no power cap increase next season. Additionally, Grandmaster Nightfalls will begin on a rotating schedule from the fourth week of the season instead of waiting until the middle of the season as in the past. The game will also introduce the Exotic Engram approach to give players more control over the Exotics they hope to obtain with better stats.
Finally, Blackburn hints at changes to 15 underperforming Exotics, improved drop chance in raids and dungeons via Triumphs, and fixed Vanguard hostile weapon rewards for the team.
Although Season 21 is on the horizon, players still have several weeks to work on Destiny 2 Lightfall Exotics and explore everything the current season has to offer, such as Destiny 2 Iron Banner, which is currently playing multiplayer.