One of the complaints most frequently levelled against the original Destiny was that updates seemed to come and go as the developer’s whims dictated. For the sequel, Bungie hope to hold themselves to a more coherent schedule, and detailed plans at TwitchCon yesterday (captured above for YouTube by PlanetDestiny) for major seasonal updates to the game on a roughly quarterly basis.
We’re deep into Season One right now, but Season Two isn’t too far off now. As we move into the colder months of the year, snow seems increasingly likely; Among the planned updates comes the return of The Dawning, Destiny’s answer to Christmas.
With a new season comes a new meta. Pick your poison from these exotic weapons before they change.
For players starting off with Destiny 2, you’ll know The Dawning when you see it, although it’ll be immediately familiar to fans of the first game. Snow on the ground, festive decorations all around, and silly minigames to play in the town lobbies (including ice hockey and snowball fights) along with a few heartwarming mini-quests if previous years have been anything to go by.
Amusingly, the snowballs will appear out in the open world as well and will do damage. It’ll be tricky, but you can kill enemies with fluffy frozen water, if you’re so inclined. They also hinted that there’ll be ‘compelling reasons’ to do silly things like this.
Beyond the festive goodies on the way, Bungie outlined a lot of interesting changes. Clan progress will be reset at the start of each season, effectively giving us seasonal scoreboards with a clear beginning and end point. The perks earned each season will be different, so there’ll be a fun race to see who can claim what and fastest.
At the start of new seasons will be when the biggest balance changes come. Minor tweaks and changes will still be spread out across the months as appropriate, but if Bungie decide to make any sweeping changes to the overall flow of combat, that’ll be saved for the start of a fresh season.
Here’s what The Dawning looked like in the original Destiny. Expect more of this.
Seasons will also carry a bunch of time-limited cosmetic items. Grab them while you can, because there’s a chance they won’t be coming back next year. It should eventually lead to each player having their own personal wardrobe of outfits, unique gear and skins to define themselves with, though.
On the subject of defining yourself, season 2 will also bring new Ornaments to the Iron Banner rewards. Completing bonus objectives or certain long-term progression goals will unlock additional shiny bits for your armor, making it clear that you’re not somebody to be messed with, assuming whoever is planning on messing already has you in their telescopic sights.
Arguably most important, though, is talk of at least one new Crucible stage coming in Season 2. No fine details, sadly, but there’s definitely more arena PvP content coming. Personally, I’m hoping for a return of the big-team modes with vehicles. What can I say? Halo left its mark on me.
Only 3 days until Destiny 2 arrives on PC. I’ve got it preordered. Have you?