Many game components will undergo a change designed to deliver high-quality, engaging content while incorporating feedback from previous seasons.
Ahead of the launch of Destiny 2’s latest expansion, Lightfall, developer Bungie has revealed a comprehensive list of changes players can expect in the expansion and its accompanying seasons. These include the reintroduction of exotic missions, the return of the Crucible PvP mode Countdown, simplified progression and currency requirements, lower vendor upgrade costs, and many other changes designed to keep Destiny 2’s content consistent and high quality throughout the year, without becoming too monotonous or predictable for veterans.
The two upcoming Seasons, named Season 20: Defiance and Season 21: Deep, will begin with the removal of Umbral Engrams (a variant of the legendary currency used to obtain specific seasonal loot). The reward system has also been simplified, with the use of individual keys instead of large stacks of currency to unlock rewards, more significant vendor upgrades (instead of upgrades limited to season activities), and clearer naming for progression systems and currencies, making everything more intuitive and user-friendly.
This change to the vendor upgrade system is not permanent but is intended to make each season unique by introducing new and different progression systems. The elimination of repetition also applies to weapons. Simply put, Destiny 2 relies heavily on crafted weapons, which are enhanced by perks and special abilities, while non-crafted weapons do not have these benefits. The team is now adding the ability to improve non-crafted weapons, allowing dropped weapons to start leveling up and gain access to improved perks. This feature is currently only available for the Lightfall raid Adepts (special endgame guns) that will launch with Season of the Deep, but the team hopes to eventually implement it for all new non-crafting weapon drops in the future.
Regarding player changes, the team is not only increasing the time it takes for abilities to regenerate but also making adjustments to the amount of damage resistance and other balance changes for gear-oriented builds. For example, the energy cost of resilience mods is being increased to address the excessive power creep from last year. As for enemies, the team has used some form of level cap in previous seasons to ensure that they remain challenging even as players progress, and this approach will continue in Lightfall’s Neomuna, the setting for the new expansion campaign.
Furthermore, PvP enthusiasts will be pleased to know that Countdown is making a comeback along with its respawn variant, Countdown Rush, and a new gunplay-focused mode called Checkmate Control. In addition, players can expect to see changes to classic modes and the introduction of new ones throughout the year.
The Crucible will also see the addition of three new maps: Meltdown in the Season of the Deep, a new Vex Network map in Season 22, and the return of the Citadel before the Final Shape expansion. In Season 22, exotic missions will rotate on a weekly basis to allow players to earn rewards for trying out classic content (Presage, Vox Obscura, and Operation: Seraph’s Shield) with more to follow in the future.
Last but not least, another PvE change is an increase in the challenge level of the Vanguard Ops playlist of activities. The Lake of Shadows and Arms Dealer strikes, which were previously considered too easy, will be updated to be more challenging like newer strikes, with the un-updated strikes set to appear less frequently.
Nightfall (the challenging special strikes) will feature battlegrounds (arena matchmaking activity) such as Mars Heist Battleground, with more to come each season. Other mentioned features designed to improve player communication and recognition include the Commendation System, text chat moderation, and a Looking for Group (LFG) matchmaking tool in Season 23 to help players find groups that match their goals.
