Destiny 2 players loathe the game more than anybody else. That’s not a controversial statement, as I had to step away from the game due to my own reluctance. I’ve done everything that could intrinsically benefit me (completed raids and earned raid exotics, completed dungeons, farmed Grandmaster strikes, etc), but after that my desire to play just vanished. With Lightfall feeling unsatisfying and vague, The Final Shape getting delayed and developer Bungie being faced with layoffs, things were looking very grim for Destiny. The delay for the expansion means the current season, Season of the Wish, is now going to last six months instead of the typical three. How are players supposed to keep their attention until The Final Shape comes out in June?
Now that a few months have passed in Season of the Wish, Bungie has revealed their plan for a refresh. Enter Into The Light, an update for all players which introduces a brand new mode, 12 returning fan-favorite weapons, new PVP maps, returning Exotic weapon missions, and more. The best part about this content? It is free for all players, with no previous expansions or credit card required. That means everyone can earn everything, which is not something that happens often, if at all, for Destiny. As someone that’s been playing since the original Destiny Beta back in 2014 on the PlayStation 3, I’ve seen this franchise at its highs and lows. I was feeling the burnout, but Into The Light has brought me back with that itch to keep playing that I haven’t felt in quite some time. This was the update this game needed, and with the changes being made I’ve never been happier to be a Guardian.
For starters, Bungie has made some very nice quality of life improvements to the game. Console players can now center the crosshair to see more of the weapon. And you know that hideous Guardian you made years ago? All Guardians can have their characters customized from the character select screen, so you can judge your past self for what you did to these characters. This finally allowed me to change my Titan from a female to a male, something I would have had to delete my entire character to do before. Speaking of the past, you are now allowed to change your Bungie name as well. These may seem like such miniscule changes, but the way I see it is just giving the players more options to tailor the experience to their liking. The character you are going to spend thousands of hours shooting things with should look and feel the way you want them to. Sure, maybe we’re getting these features late, but it’s better than not getting them at all.
One of the biggest improvements Into The Light offers is a long-awaited revamp for new players. Every Destiny player can attest to just how awful the experience is for a new player. You have to slog through the boring as all hell “New Light” quest with an uninteresting plot and gameplay that’s harder to fail than it is to win. Now, new players can skip a large portion of the quest line and jump straight to the Tower, the game’s main social hub. You will still have to complete the intro mission, but that’s not a problem.
Once new players head to the tower, New Light Kits will be available to unlock. The New Light Kits are jump starts that specialize in one of the elemental abilities in Destiny 2, specifically light elements: Void, Solar, or Arc. Selecting one of these kits will grant you some gear so that you can take on a campaign at the proper level immediately, with a quest to earn a piece of Exotic armor that tailors to the kit you selected. This is such an incredible change to the new player experience that has needed to be addressed for years. I’ve had many friends drop the game entirely because of how monotonous the climb to power can be when starting out. Now these kits can be claimed by any player, new or old, so this is no longer an issue. On top of that, Bungie has also added the “Gift of the Thunder Gods” to their new social space, the Hall of Champions. The gift allows all players to immediately boost their Light level with higher tier gear for free to take part in endgame activities right away. Bungie deserves to be commended for these changes, as this remedies one of the biggest issues that’s been hanging over this game’s head for years.
The real meat and potatoes of this update is the addition of Onslaught, and the introduction of BRAVE weapons. Onslaught is a standard wave-defense mode that goes up to 50 waves and is where you can earn BRAVE weapons. BRAVE weapons are guns returning from Destiny’s past and are all highly regarded by the community. There are a total of 12 that can be earned, not all of which are released as of this article. To name a few we have The Recluse; the Void SMG with barely any recoil, which will be fantastic for PVP; the Mountaintop, a pocket rocket that will make any other legendary special grenade launcher feel weak in comparison; and Falling Guillotine, the sword that makes Guardians spin like Beyblades and destroy anything in its path. Every weapon is satisfying to use and easy to get your hands on.
There isn’t much to say about Onslaught, as it’s rather self explanatory. There are 50 waves in total (or 10 if you just wanted a quick runthrough in a separate playlist) that will get increasingly difficult as you progress. You earn scrap as you play which can be used to build turrets, tripwires, and decoys. After every 10 waves you fight a boss, earn your chest which has a BRAVE weapon, rinse and repeat. It may not sound like much, but understand that the point is to treat Onslaught as a Guardian’s playground. I’ve created a Void build for my Titan using Doom Fang Pauldron that when set up right can allow me to Sentinel Shield super for minutes at a time. Slaughtering a multitude of enemies is always a good time, and being able to just let loose with Onslaught has brought back so much joy to me and even reminded me why I enjoyed Destiny 2 to begin with: the action. Destiny 2 is a satisfying shooter and being able to just focus on that shooting makes for a great time.
Of course not everything is perfect. Earlier I mentioned that all of the BRAVE weapons are not available yet. Originally, Bungie was only going to launch six of the BRAVE weapons with a new weapon releasing each subsequent week. This meant all the weapons would be unlocked around May 21; this caused an uproar. Bungie immediately changed this decision and now will have multiple weapons available to unlock every week, as evident by Hammerhead and Forbearance releasing as of the week of this article being written. Now, the entire arsenal will be available by April 30. I understand the original intention behind one weapon a week for prolonging player retention, but players are gonna get antsy waiting. Nobody who farmed Hung Jury rifles in Grandmasters is gonna care about farming one in Onslaught. I’m glad they reverted the change, but it wasn’t the best idea to begin with.
The best part about all of the BRAVE weapons is there is a quest that comes attached to every weapon. The quests boil down to using a weapon of the same type to unlock the one you want. So if you want The Recluse SMG, you have to use SMGs. They obviously differ in their requirements, I’m just generalizing for the sake of it. Once you complete the quest, you can attune the weapon at the Hall of Champions. Attuning a weapon means you are more likely to receive drops of that weapon as you complete Onslaught or open the chest with Trophies of Bravery, which can be earned quickly while completing bounties or objectives in Onslaught.
That’s what makes Into the Light ultimately such a wonderful update: everything is so streamlined and simple to understand. There’s so much content to grapple with, and I didn’t even mention all of it here. If there’s a specific gun you want to farm for, you attune it. Onslaught is just pure dumb fun. The best part is all players get to experience these changes. There is the argument being made that since these weapons are not craftable, you have to delete so many garbage rolls before you get the one you want. This is just normal for Destiny, and this is how the standard has been for years. Sure, some don’t like dealing with RNG, but for me it’s the rush I never get enough of. Finally getting that god roll is a feeling that never gets old and Into The Light brought that magic back for me. Even as I talk about it here, all I want to do is go back and grind. This update brought back my love for Destiny 2, and based on what we’ve seen of The Final Shape, it’s safe to say that I will be there come June 4.