Another State of the Game for Destiny 2 dropped today and it hasn’t gone over particularly well. State of the Games are usually annual occurrences where the current game director sits down to guide us Guardians through what Bungie has learned in the year, what feedback they plan on taking to heart and a brief tease of what’s to come. Interestingly, we already got a State of the Game this year back in February, making this one a bit of a surprise. Admittedly, community tension has been pretty high recently thanks to a myriad of different issues surrounding Destiny. This State of the Game was supposed to be the one which alleviated that tension and got us ready to witness The Final Shape reveal in a few weeks: unfortunately, it failed.
While not everything about the coming year was revealed here – what with the August 22nd Destiny Showcase fast approaching – enough was spoken about to create a general air of frustration with this State of the Game. In the past, these articles were used to reassure the community, to let us know that the game was heading in the right direction even if it would take a while to get there. This time? The 2023 SotG felt like Bungie doubling down, giving unsatisfactory and even out-of-touch answers to some of Destiny 2’s most contentious topics.
To many, the Destiny 2 2023 State of the Game was underwhelming, disappointing and very frustrating.
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The Good
While the majority of this article will be discussing the shortcomings of the 2023 State of the Game, that isn’t to say there weren’t any positives. One of the most exciting and enriching updates is the permanent inclusion of Strike Scoring and Medals into the Vanguard Ops and Nightfall playlists. This type of update isn’t a dramatic difficulty increase or loot trove, but it is a push towards making Destiny 2‘s content more fun: when playing Strikes, you can focus on your score and medals to have a bit of joy compared to your usual Strike runs.
That isn’t all, though, as there are a bunch of quality-of-life changes coming that should help:
- No Light Level increase in Season 22.
- Favouriting cosmetics like Shaders, Ornaments and Emotes.
- Transmat effects are becoming permanent unlocks.
- Streamlining of the ritual playlist rewards, allowing you to only play what you want.
- Confirmation that a shake-up to the seasonal structure is incoming.
These are either pretty significant changes or nice confirmations going into Seasons 22 and 23, which should also bring in-game LFG into Destiny. Unfortunately, these moments of revelry are quite short-lived compared to the rest of the State of Game, which acts more like a blanket smothering those bright moments in a sheet of disappointment.
New Trials Armour
The Bad
Crucible
Starting with everyone’s favourite wasp’s nest, we have The Crucible. Just like with the above section, there’s actually a decent amount to be excited about in PvP. There are two new modes coming – Checkmate, which promotes Primary weapon gunfights and rewards accuracy and skill, and Relic, which is a more chaotic mode involving various PvE Relics similar to Mayhem or Scorched – as well as our first new map since Disjunction, titled Multiplex. This is alongside some new rewards such as a new Strand Pulse in the Competitive Playlist and continued efforts to improve matchmaking.
However, this isn’t enough and won’t satiate most PvP enjoyers and it seems like they’ll go hungry for the time being. Possibly the most frustrating part of SotG was when Bungie spoke about the lack of consistent new Crucible content, specifically related to maps. They said that they understand the feedback and desire for new maps but that making that content will always come at a price, whether it be a potential story mission or a secret Exotic quest. While not explicitly stated, it seems like the current format of having 1 new map a year is likely to stay for the time being.
New Crucible Map
The reason why this, and even stuff like the doubling down on matchmaking changes, feels so irritating is that it just sounds so tone-deaf. For years, all players have been banging on about is maps and this State of the Game seems to almost dismiss those complaints. It leaves the truth unspoken – maps cannot be monetised, thus they aren’t a priority compared to other sources of revenue like Seasonal Exotic quests – while trying to pacify a frustrated and exhausted fanbase of dedicated players. Obviously, this is likely more complicated than we can even fathom and it isn’t as simple as hiring more people, but that doesn’t stop this from feeling like a slap in the face.
The Crucible section of 2023’s State of the Game was a song and dance we’ve all heard before if you’re a long-time fan of Destiny.: it’s Bungie vying for your trust and belief in a game mode that always seems quite anaemic. We’ll always appreciate new loot and, credit where it’s due, Bungie has really stepped up in the last year by creating several new modes in PvP. However, the Crucible has been running off of hope, dreams and matchmaking changes for several years now, and seemingly pushing aside the biggest bit of feedback feels really bad.
Kicking the Hornet’s Nest
Gambit
Perhaps the worst thing to come out of this entire article, though, was the section on Gambit. The general gist of this section was that, because Gambit has lower engagement levels compared to other modes, it won’t be receiving new maps (although the Cathedral of Scars will be returning in the year of The Final Shape) or substantial updates outside of the addition of some new enemy types in the Shadow Legion and Lucent Hive. They even go so far as to say that they’re making Gambit “entirely optional”, essentially stripping it of its privilege as a core ritual activity.
While it’s certainly true that Gambit hasn’t had a lot of love from the community lately, it feels especially tone-deaf to hear that Bungie is essentially completely excommunicating the mode due to low engagement. Gambit has low engagement because it’s been neglected for 3+ years, to the point where more stuff has been removed – maps, Gambit Prime, the unique armour class system – than has ever been added back. Players obviously don’t want to invest in a mode that isn’t being supported regularly (just look at Crucible) and it is infuriating to hear that being used as an excuse when it comes to Gambit: it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy where, because it hasn’t gotten any love, players aren’t playing it which can be used to justify even less attention thanks to that lack of engagement.
The Forgotten Ritual, Gambit
If Gambit was ever going to thrive it needed to have the same or similar levels of investment as the other two pillars of the game. Where’s Gambit’s version of the Iron Banner, a shake-up to the mode which comes around every few weeks to get people playing again? Where’s Gambit’s endgame equivalent, one that can stand toe-to-toe with Grandmaster Nightfalls or Trials of Osiris? This all takes a lot of resources, I understand that, and I honestly believe them when they say that Gambit isn’t drawing enough people in to be worth the effort right now, but it is duplicitous to say that it was out of Bungie’s hands.
Gambit is no longer considered a ritual activity because it was abandoned, pillaged and left to die, and I think that’s a shameful way for the most innovative activity in Destiny 2 to go.
Returning Gambit Map
Other Issues
On top of this were a number of smaller, more biting issues that will only serve to sow more discord. One of the more baffling parts of the article related to Bungie’s goal of “bringing challenge back” to Destiny, a goal they believe they have succeeded in. However, community sentiment is very different and difficulty has been one of the most hot-button topics since Lightfall’s release: the fact that they’re using patrols to proudly showcase success in their difficulty model and not any of the game’s numerous endgame modes (which have all becomes significantly easier) speaks louder than any explanation I could give.
One thing, in particular, has to do with ritual armour sets. Some few years ago, Bungie promised that we would be getting new armour sets for the ritual activities – Gambit, Strikes and Crucible – every year with the major expansion. They then failed to fulfil this in Lightfall. The article states that “delivering ritual armor sets at the rates we have in the past has become increasingly challenging” alongside the fact that these sets have generally had low adoption rates and aren’t very desirable.
On the surface, this is quite understandable but it circles back to some of Destiny’s other major issues. Firstly, how is it that making sets for the rituals is so difficult when Eververse is constantly stuffed with new stuff to buy? There’s always at least one new Ornament set for each class each season in Eververse without fail. These sets are also always more enticing than anything Bungie has put as a ritual reward in the past, creating another self-sustaining prophecy like with Gambit. As such, it’s hard to know what to think with Bungie who, on the one hand, is apologising for not being able to deliver free, promised updates (no matter how small they may be) while they’re flogging several shiny new Armour Ornaments with the other.
As we said, these are small issues which, on their own, can be pacified. When compounded with everything else, though, it’s hard to ignore.
Into the Deep
Conclusion
I apologise if the tone of this article was too harsh or too off-kilter: game development is hard, especially for a game as broad, vast and complex as Destiny and outsiders will never know what happens to make this game a reality. However, that doesn’t change the fact that this entire State of the Game felt like a list of excuses and out-of-touch reasonings to keep following a path most players seem to dislike.
There was once a time when a State of the Game would light up Destiny’s future, giving us hope on where this game was going and how it was going to get there: August’s State of the Game has done the exact opposite. Admittedly, the August 22nd Destiny Showcase is where Bungie will show off The Final Shape and Destiny 2’s future beyond the Light and Dark Saga. As such, they’re likely holding a few cards close to the chest for that reveal. Unfortunately, that knowledge doesn’t change how lacklustre much of this article was.
I am significantly less optimistic and excited about The Final Shape after reading the Destiny 2 2023 State of the Game, which is perhaps the only thing you need to hear.
The Darkness Approaches
