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It hasn't been an easy start to 2018 for Destiny 2. After a seemingly successful launch last year, player enthusiasm for the game continued to peter out, as Bungie frequently exploited the goodwill that had been fostered during those exciting first few weeks. There were unexpected controversies, reports of dwindling player counts, empty apologies, and a thoroughly disappointing first expansion, Curse of Osiris, all of which has left Destiny 2 looking unhealthier than its predecessor ever had been.
In other words, Bungie has a long road to redemption ahead of it, and it’s beginning that climb with yesterday’s update about the game’s future. This update included details about the upcoming second expansion, which the studio revealed is called Warmind, and “will send you to new places to meet new heroes and battle new enemies.”
The expansion is due to release across all available platforms on May 8 next month, but - aside from the teaser image seen above - that’s about all the details Bungie was willing to share in its Development Roadmap posted on the studio’s website yesterday, promising a Twitch stream on April 24 which will reveal more about the DLC and what it entails.
Given the title and Bungie’s history with expansions, though, we can make some well educated guesses about what players can expect from Warmind. There’ll no doubt be a new mini campaign, possibly starring the last known living Warmind (a hyper-intelligent, combat oriented AI) in Destiny lore, Rasputin, who hasn’t been sighted since his appearances in the original game.
On top of that, you can anticipate a new Zone with additional Strikes, Nightfalls, Public Events, and Crucible maps, on top of another Raid Lair for Leviathan. Bungie has already confirmed that all the new PvP maps will be available to every Destiny 2 player, not just those who own the Season Pass or have bought the Warmind expansion separately. The same goes for previous maps exclusive to the Curse of Osiris DLC from earlier this year, as Bungie attempts to make things clearer and less fragmented for the entire community.
The release of Warmind will also kick off Season 3 for Destiny 2, and Bungie’s new visualised Roadmap, pictured above, shows that a host of hotfixes and gameplay changes are being simultaneously rolled out in the hope of tackling players’ feedback relating to the game’s long-standing problems of sustainability and value.
The big stuff includes the return of Bounties from the original Destiny, a new Seasonal Event scheduled for the Summer, the implementation of Gear Collections for Season 4 in September, and the news that Private Matches will be available on the same day as Season 3 and Warmind’s launch, May 8.
“Recent updates have focused on immediate issues to the live game”, writes Game Director Christopher Barret in the Roadmap post, “but in the coming months our vision for the future is converging with critical player feedback to deliver transformative changes to Destiny 2.”
Whether all of this is enough to redeem Destiny 2’s standing amongst the community and bring back alienated players is a question that will hopefully lead to a positive answer for Bungie, but the long-term fate of the studio’s sci-fi sequel remains shaky for now.
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