Destiny 2 Eases Exhausting Power Grind for Renegades
▼ Summary
– Bungie is reversing its planned power reset for Destiny 2’s Renegades expansion, so players will not be knocked down to 200 power.
– Unstable Cores, the key infusion material for gear, will not be deleted as previously announced.
– A catch-up boost will raise all players to a baseline of 300 power next week to help with progression.
– The author questions how the lack of a power cap increase might affect high-tier gear acquisition from the start of Renegades.
– The article suggests Bungie’s power and reward system changes have created ongoing problems that remain unresolved within the game’s framework.
With the arrival of the Destiny 2 Renegades expansion, developer Bungie is implementing significant changes to address player concerns over the game’s demanding progression system. The studio is moving away from a previously announced plan that would have reset all players’ power levels and deleted key infusion materials, a strategy that risked alienating an already fatigued community.
Bungie confirmed in a recent announcement that a full seasonal power reset will not occur with the launch of Renegades. Players will retain their current power levels, and Unstable Cores, the primary infusion material for seasonal gear, will not be removed from inventories. Additionally, a catch-up boost is scheduled for next week, raising everyone’s baseline power to 300. This represents a substantial reversal from the studio’s original stance, acknowledging that forcing the entire player base through another exhaustive power grind was an unsustainable approach.
This shift in policy, while welcome, introduces new questions about the game’s reward structure. If power caps remain unchanged at the expansion’s launch, players could immediately begin acquiring top-tier seasonal gear without the customary effort. Even without a hard reset to 200 power, simply raising the maximum power cap effectively creates the same grinding scenario the changes aim to prevent.
The core issue appears to be a foundational problem with the game’s current systems. After more than a decade of iteration, Bungie seems to be revisiting fundamental questions about power and rewards, moving away from a previously stable model. The new framework has created its own set of complications, chief among them being that the relentless power grind is simply not enjoyable for a large portion of the audience. The studio is now tasked with solving these self-inflicted problems within a game architecture that may not have been designed to accommodate such drastic shifts.
In the short term, these announcements might motivate some players to engage with the game over the next two months, knowing their progress will carry forward. However, for many who have already stepped away after extensive grinding in previous seasons, the incentive to return immediately remains low. The fundamental challenge persists: most of Bungie’s recent adjustments are reactive fixes for problems introduced by the new system itself, rather than solutions for the system’s underlying flaws.
Looking ahead, there is speculation that the current seasonal model, often referred to as the “Portal,” has become so unpopular that Bungie may seek to phase it out entirely in the coming year. For now, the community awaits further details expected in an upcoming announcement.
(Source: Forbes)
