The Destiny 2 Season of the Splicer release date is rapidly approaching, bringing with it a host of balance changes that are sure to disrupt the current meta. The Season of the Chosen is ending with the Guardian Games event, set to take place from April 20 to May 9. After securing a ceasefire with the Cabal Empress Caiatl, Commander Zavala has announced the return of the Guardian Games to celebrate Guardians and lift spirits.
Destiny 2’s story has been leading up to The Witch Queen expansion, however, the devs made the decision to delay the release to 2022. Part of the reason for this delay is to give the studio some time to improve the foundations of the game during 2021.
One of the biggest changes coming to Destiny 2 is crossplay functionality, so throughout Season of the Splicer, there are going to be several crossplay alpha tests to ensure it’s ready for release by Season 15. Here’s everything we know about Destiny 2 Season of the Splicer so far.
DESTINY 2 SEASON 14 RELEASE DATE
Destiny 2 Season of the Splicer will start on May 11, 2021 at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 6pm BST. On average, each Destiny 2 season lasts around 100 days, which means the Season of the Splicer should end around August.
DESTINY 2 SEASON 14 ARMOR SYNTHESIS
A transmog system is coming to Season of the Splicer with the return of Ada-1. The Armor Synthesis mechanic allows players to take any piece of armour they have and turn it into a universal ornament. The Shadowkeep expansion first introduced universal ornaments, however, this was exclusive to a small number of cosmetics. Season 14 will allow you to transform your entire appearance, providing you have the materials for it.
DESTINY 2 SEASON 14 VAULT OF GLASS
Destiny 1’s first raid, the Vault of Glass, is coming to Destiny 2 in the Season of the Splicer. The developers have promised the raid won’t be exactly the same as it was back in 2014. “While the high-level experience remains the same, you should expect the raid team to have a few tricks up their sleeves when you tackle the depths of Venus this summer,” says Joe Blackburn, Destiny 2’s assistant game director.
In addition to raid tweaks, Bungie is planning to add a Master version of Vault of Glass before the end of the year. This is unlikely to arrive during Season 14, but the plan is to ship the Master difficulty closer to the launch of any new raids in the future.
DESTINY 2 SEASON 14 VENDOR CHANGES
With the reintroduction of Ada-1 as the armour vendor, Banshee-44 will no longer sell armour mods. Banshee-44 will continue to sell the other items in his inventory, as well as a selection of six weapons randomly chosen from the World Loot Pool. The perks on these weapons are randomly determined at the beginning of the week, giving players a reason to check in with the local Exo Gunsmith.
DESTINY 2 SEASON 14 POWER CAP CHANGES
In an attempt to drastically change the meta in 2020, Bungie raised the overall Power cap by 50 each season. This change, coupled with the infusion caps, made players feel like their progress had been reset every season. For non-expansion seasons beginning with Season of the Splicer, the Power cap will only be increased by ten.
With these changes in place, Bungie hope players will be able to dip in and out of Destiny each season without feeling underpowered. This should make the launch of The Witch Queen even more exciting as the Power cap will spike after a year of relatively minor increases.
DESTINY 2 Season of the Splicer TRAILER
The Last City has been plunged into an endless night by the Vex. In order to stop this attack, Ikora reveals an ally who could prove to be vital: Mithrax, Kell of the House of Light. As a Sacred Splicer, he knows exactly how to combat the Vex technology which has plagued the Last City.
DESTINY 2 SEASON 14 INFUSION CAP REMOVAL
Bungie introduced infusion caps in Season 11 in an attempt to keep Destiny’s gear fresh with each season. This change was received poorly by a large portion of the Destiny 2 community due to the way new armour and weapons were handled. Players started seeing their current gear reintroduced with higher infusion caps, making any old gear obsolete as it couldn’t keep up with the new drops.
When Season 14 begins, infusion caps will be removed for any weapon or piece of armour that hasn’t already reached the cap as of the start of Season 13. Essentially, if you own a piece of sunsetted gear, it will remain sunset. Likewise, if you own any gear that hasn’t been sunset, you can continue to level it up. As a result of this change, players can take their high-stat armour and exotic weapons with them as they take on The Witch Queen raid next year.
Players with overpowered gear shouldn’t get too excited – Bungie has already stated they plan on nerfing certain items when Season 14 launches. Bungie’s plan for shifting the meta remains, but they believe infusion caps aren’t the way to accomplish this goal. The devs won’t introduce any new plans to tackle this goal until after The Witch Queen expansion launches.
And that’s everything you need to know about Destiny 2 Season 14. Stay tuned to this page as we’ll be updating it as more information becomes available.