Although Bungie had previously revealed that itplanned to introduce “weapon sunsetting”intoDestiny 2in the future, it was only this week that players found out how the system will eventually work. In essence, Bungie will limit gear based on the season in which it was introduced, preventing infusion beyond four seasons’ worth of power levels.
As one might expect, the weapon sunsetting concept has been met with a lot of feedback from the community. Some of it is positive and some of it is negative, but there is a general concern from both camps. Knowing howDestiny 2can work and has worked in the past, some fear Bungie might not fully realize its vision.
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The basics of weapon retirement involve limiting how far a piece of gear can increase its power level. According to Bungie, the limit will be related to the Season in which the armor or weapon is acquired. So, a gun earned in Season 13 this fall will be “relevant” for the entireYear 4 ofDestiny 2, but once Year 5 begins, the gun won’t be able to increase its power to those levels.
Bungie’s rationale for this new approach is that it allows the developer to create new weapons and perks that are strong without worrying about power creep. As it stands now there are a few weapons that stand above the rest in PvE (and a few in PvP), and the only way to replace those is with stronger weapons. But as Bungie makes stronger and stronger weapons, the balance of the game is lost.
The main concern thatDestiny 2players have with this approach is that it assumes Bungie will be able to consistently replace top tier weapons and gear each Season. If Bungie sunsets a popular weapon and doesn’t deliver an option to replace it, then players will be left frustrated and shorthanded. Taking away theRecluse submachine gun, for example, is seen as necessary, but only if there are new weapons that fit the same role as Recluse, or are at least as good as the weapon.
The other potential problem that Destiny could run into with weapon retirement is the feeling of repetitive grind. If Bungie doesn’t introduce new perks into the fold, it will feel like players are simply farming the same weapons over and over again. Instead of Recluse with Master of Arms, they will be trying to get a hand cannon with a similar perk, for example.
Bungie needs to refresh the loot pool and the perk pool in order for the system to work properly. If one side of the coin falls behind, then players will end up disappointed and frustrated. AndDestiny 2hasn’t always shown that it has the foresight to predict player reactions, like theresponse to Trials of Osiris.
Nevertheless, this isn’t the first time that theDestinyfranchise has turned weapons obsolete, but it does feel like a major change for the game moving forward. Hopefully, Bungie can deliver on its vision and keep the grind feeling satisfying for longer.
Destiny2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
