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My name is Robbie Stevens and I’m the Assistant Game Director for Destiny 2. Over the past few months we’ve been sharing details about the future of Destiny 2 in developer deep dives (link to deep dive page) and livestreams. The Destiny 2 Team is hard at work, paving the way for Codename Frontiers.
The new destination in Codename Apollo is Content Complete, which means we’re focused on polishing the non-linear campaign, Metroidvania gameplay experience, developing the finer details of the world and fleshing out the numerous quests that you’ll discover during the journey through new frontiers.
The Core Game Portal, activities, modifiers, and next generation gear that will be Destiny’s new backbone are coming online. We’re playtesting every week and have planned multiple summits in the coming months with members of the Destiny community to provide invaluable feedback and help us hone our executions.
Additionally, we’re hiring a handful of Gameplay Specialist positions. Our specialists, sourced from the community, will be in the trenches with the dev team playtesting the new Core Game progression and gameplay systems as well as Codename Apollo’s campaign and postgame. These specialists provide us with the kind of perspective you can only get from dedicated players.
We’ll be going dark on Codename Frontiers communications for a little while. The team needs time to playtest, collect feedback, and cook before we emerge again with more details.
Breaking Bones
Destiny has a long history of reinventing itself in response to community feedback and the expectations of players. Our north star, however, remains unchanged: we strive to build worlds that inspire friendship and to create amazing gaming experiences that leave an indelible mark on people’s lives.
We’ve started breaking bones and trying new things with Episodes. Some of those changes have been well received by the community, like the Vesper’s Host Dungeon Race. The team found just the right mix of challenge and length to elevate the dungeon to the bar set by Contest Raids. I can’t wait to watch the next race when Heresy launches in February.
Other changes have had a rocky start. Weapon crafting removed the joy of earning a random weapon, that feeling that any drop could matter, so we introduced enhanceable weapons. The Revenant Tonics were meant to provide loot agency in-lieu of crafting and give you a fresh way to chase gear. But we know we missed the mark with the Tonic timers and not guaranteeing a weapon from the active Tonic. So, we’re in the process of developing changes to make Tonics last longer and give better payouts on top of a series of bug fixes planned for December 17 (stay tuned for future patch notes!). Also, we see how these changes are putting pressure on your vault, so we’re in the early stages of planning long-term changes to relieve vault pressure that will start manifest later in the year of Codename Frontiers.
In response to the desirability of seasonal weapons, in the short term for Heresy we’ve developed a new tier of seasonal weapon dubbed the Heretical Arsenal. More details on these weapons as we approach Heresy but rest assured that it will be clear when they hit your inventory that they’re worth inspecting. These changes are stepping stones that help us evaluate our long-term plans to create a deeper weapon chase in Codename Frontiers.
Episodes introduced a new content cadence with Acts. While there are new activities, loot, and quests rolling out at a consistent cadence, this change created lulls in our gameplay calendar at the end of an Episode, so for the final weeks of Revenant there will be a special pursuit similar to Riven’s Wishes where you can complete quests to choose from a list of new and desirable rewards .
Additionally, we’ve been evaluating feedback from Revenant’s content rollout, and we’ve made changes to Heresy that strike a better balance between everything dropping on day one of an Act vs. meaningful reasons to return throughout the Episode. We’re taking an approach where the vast majority of the activities content will be available on the first day of an Act and subsequent weeks will add or evolve the content based on the story. Also, we’re adjusting the Act rollout schedule so that there is less downtime in the gameplay calendar later in the Episode. Heresy will be our last season in the Episode format. The team has taken some big swings to create new activities that evolve throughout the Episode and create big secrets to uncover on the Dreadnaught.
Widening the Focus
As Revenant approaches its final Act, where you’ll delve into a Dracula’s Castle-inspired fortress, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the feedback we’ve received around the Echoes and Revenant story, as well as the hunger for purpose and meaning in a post-Witness world. Our first two Episodes had a tight focus: establishing Maya Sundaresh and her Echo of Command as a force to be reckoned with. Fikrul re-emerged with the power to create an undead army for one last showdown with the Guardian and his Dad. We set out to deliver on narrative promises set up in the Light and Darkness Saga that we couldn't tie off in The Final Shape: the Kell of Kells, the Hive siblings, showcasing the effect killing The Witness had on the world, and more. By prioritizing satisfying conclusions we want to clear a path for bold, new storylines in the saga to come.
In Heresy, we’re widening the focus of the story to the Hive pantheon and ancient Eldritch forces that shape the universe. The events of Heresy close the door on the Light and Darkness Saga and act as prologue to Codename Apollo where the Guardian’s purpose in the next saga starts to take focus.
New Frontiers
On a personal note, this past November marked my ninth year at Bungie. I’ve seen Bungie and Destiny go through many changes over the last decade. What remains constant is the player community and Destiny team’s commitment and dedication to this one-of-a-kind space opera, and our drive to take Destiny to places we only could have imagined a decade ago. It’s appropriate that during Destiny’s 10th anniversary we reshape the game so that we can continue the enduring legacy of this universe that millions of people call home.
We’re eternally grateful to you, our Guardians, for your passion and dedication to Destiny that enables us to chart a course to new frontiers.