Destiny 2 2018 the Old Fashioned

In February of 2020, Bungie announced plans to retire some weapons from Destiny ii. A few months later, on May 14, the studio revealed detailed plans on how the weapon "sunset" organisation will really piece of work, and that players should expect information technology this fall.

While some players are in-favor of retiring old weapons, a song grouping of Destiny fans are concerned about losing their favorite weapons. Just MMOs crave change to survive, and Bungie claims it needs to first sunsetting weapons to better Destiny ii.

Bungie's plans to alter the world

Erstwhile weapons from June 2018 in Destiny 2

Prototype: Bungie

Last year, game director Luke Smith mentioned potentially removing one of the ii Gambit modes from the game. There's a solid rumor — at present with in-game evidence — that Bungie could be blowing up one of the game's older planets to make room for new stuff. And the Guardian home base, the Tower, may have a spaceship dropped on superlative of information technology in but a thing of weeks.

But the biggest upcoming modify is weapon sunsetting. Starting in the fall, all weapons will have a maximum power level, and increasing a given gun beyond that level will be impossible. Under this new system, Destiny guns will stick around for a twelvemonth, and and so cease being viable in endgame content similar raids and Nightfalls.

Considering of how Destiny works, this doesn't mean sunset weapons are useless. Players can still use weaker weapons in the Crucible, in patrols, in older Strikes, and in older story missions (to name just a few). But those who want to play raids, Trials of Osiris, and other activities that require loftier-end gear demand to utilize new guns to exist competitive.

The annunciation upset fans considering every weapon in Destiny feels unique. Even if two weapons have the exact same archetype and perks, they volition each feel slightly dissimilar in a thespian's hand. Everyone has their favorite set up of weapons considering everyone'southward preferences for what feels good are dissimilar. And for some players, information technology took a lot of in-game time to choice upwards the perfect roll on their favorite gun. Losing then much investment every yr is difficult for them to accept.

But even if the idea of weapon sunsetting stings for players, it may need to happen for Destiny to grow.

Here's why weapon sunsetting may be a skillful affair

The super powerful Pinnacle weapons from Season of the Drifter

Epitome: Bungie

For the longest fourth dimension, players — and Bungie — didn't want to phone call Destiny a MMO franchise. Merely afterwards its carve up with Activision, the studio started using the term to describe their game. Destiny has always fit the MMO mold, merely now information technology'southward time for fans to embrace a core aspect of every MMO: change.

Something akin to "weapon sunsetting" happens every few patches in World of Warcraft. When players go a weapon in World of Warcraft, they'll employ information technology religiously until a new, better weapon comes along in the side by side patch or expansion. And while many players would argue that comparing the dull, stat-stick nature of a World of Warcraft weapon to the nuanced experience of a Destiny gun is impossible, it's that feel of Destiny weapons that makes sunsetting much more than important.

In World of Warcraft, players collect statistically more powerful weapons each patch, and then fight statistically more than powerful enemies. Destiny weapons also use stats like range, impact (damage), and reload speed to partially mensurate their usefulness. But perks are often what makes a weapon more desirable than another in Destiny.

Destiny perks are special abilities that change how you attack enemies, or why you lot'd utilise one gun in a certain state of affairs over another. They're not all every bit simple as just doing more impairment, every bit is the case with the more powerful gear in World of Warcraft. Perks tin can drastically alter the apply of a weapon, and mix with player abilities or other perks to cause devastating combos.

The Reckoning weapons from Season of the Drifter

Image: Bungie

There are just over 600 weapons currently in Destiny 2 (not counting Exotics), and Bungie has to account for the perk and stat combinations on all of them in every PvE encounter or PvP matchup. If Bungie makes weapons that are also unique, that opens the potential for a years-old gun like The Mountaintop or The Recluse to remain near-mandatory in certain encounters.

This means Bungie can't continue making more powerful perks without risking trivializing content — the way The Mountaintop combined with car-reloading abilities helped trivialize the Crown of Sorrows raid 24 hours mail service-release. World of Warcraft can innovate powerful, temporary perks for characters and weapons with the understanding that these perks will only last a few months. But in Destiny 2, players tin notwithstanding use guns from 2017.

The original Destiny solved this problem by sunsetting its weapons. When the Taken Rex expansion launched in 2015, most of the game'due south weapons became obsolete, and players needed to detect new ones. Only well-nigh of Destiny 2's weapons aren't equally memorable or powerful every bit the original game'due south gear. Without any kind of guaranteed obsolescence, Bungie can't innovate wild perk combinations to spice up players' weapons — like they did in the original Destiny with raid guns like Fatebringer.

Retirement should allow Bungie to make powerful, unique weapons similar Smite of Merain, Vision of Confluence, and Felwinter'due south Lie again (Felwinter's is already back). And later on playing hours of the original Destiny in 2020, I'll gladly surrender my two-year-erstwhile Spare Rations paw cannon to make that happen.

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