Bungie have outlined the various changes that are coming to Destiny 2 with the arrival of Seasons 22, 23 and The Final Shape, including an overhauled “seasonal progression paradigm with an all-new mechanic.”
“The team is laser-focused on ensuring the connective tissue in our storytelling between Seasons 20-23 and The Final Shape is more impactful than last year’s Seasons were leading up to Lightfall,” said game director Joe Blackburn in a post to Bungie’s own blog. It added that fan feedback has been listened to regarding the launch of Lightfall in March, which was considered to be a weak narrative chapter.
Bungie’s goals going forward are to “expand players’ imaginations”, “bring challenge back to Destiny“, “enrich our content” and “connect our Guardians”. That will be achieved in the planned alterations to the game that will roll out over the second half of 2023.
Specifically speaking, these entail game stability updates in Season 22 and Season 23, new weapons for ritual vendors and new maps and modes like Crucible getting the Vex Multiplex map, Relic mode and Checkmate modifier.
On the other hand, Gambit is receiving the Cathedral of Scars map as well as Shadow Legion and Lucent Hive enemy types. Season 22 is introducing three new strand aspects, namely Whirling Maelstrom for Hunters, Banner of War for Titans, and Weavewalk for Warlocks.
Moreover, stasis aspects and fragments will be moved to the vendor system with transmats turning into unlocks rather than consumable items.
“Without spoiling anything ahead of the Showcase, our next Season will be heading into creative territories we’ve never explored before. We’re changing some things up in a big way, including the Seasonal progression paradigm with an all-new mechanic,” explained Blackburn, adding that this will be “very new and different” for players.
It’s difficult to discern what this means on the scant detail that the studio was offering in the blog post, but more information will be provided on August 22.
In other gaming news, Baldur’s Gate 3 seems to be a smash hit for Larian Studios, securing the title of the second most successful Steam launch of this year.