Destiny 2’s Season of the Wish Broke a 9-Month Streak at The Worst Possible Time

Highlights

• Destiny 2’s Season of the Wish lacks new Exotic armor for all classes, which is a disappointment for players who enjoy the novelty and the grind for these items.
• The absence of new Exotic armor makes it harder for Season of the Wish to retain players, especially during the game’s longest season ever.
• With player morale at an all-time low, Bungie needed to add new loot in this specific niche to rebuild goodwill and faith in the community.

For many long-time fans, it is no mystery that Destiny 2 hasn’t had a great year. Despite high highs with releases like Season of the Deep and Season of the Witch, there were very low lows that were and still are quite hard on the game’s reputation or the community’s morale, like Lightfall’s poor reception, the many microtransactions in the game ramping up with every season, and the recent layoffs at Bungie, with The Final Shape delay topping it all just a few days ago. Destiny 2 needed a win, and not only did Season of the Wish include the controversial Starter Pack on Steam, but it broke a good streak that had remained unbroken since Lightfall’s launch – and it did so at the worst time.

One of the main allures of new seasons is that they typically add plenty of exclusive loot for players to chase, be it new Exotic weapons, seasonal or otherwise craftable guns, armor pieces, or something else. Season of the Witch’s new seasonal mods are also a good addition for shaking up the meta, and so are the many Exotic reworks or the multiple sandbox ability changes for Destiny 2, including Stasis buffs. All of these elements are great for keeping Destiny 2 alive season by season, but the latest release is lacking an important grind.

Destiny 2’s Season of the Witch Adds no New Exotic Armor

Why Season of the Wish Needed New Exotic Armor for All Classes

Destiny 2‘s Season of the Wish is the first time no new Exotic armor pieces have been added for all three classes since the release of Lightfall, as last year’s Season of the Seraph also did the same. The addition of new Exotic armor for each class is always a thrilling thing for Destiny 2 players, as it means new buildcrafting tools are introduced, fans are kept engaged for longer due to the novelty and the grind for a good roll on these items, and it makes farming endgame content feel more timely.

Even though one could argue that overhauling 20 older Exotics provides players with the same tools, if not more, this is both something that is periodically done in the game and something that won’t dramatically change a given Exotic’s identity and effects (in most cases). A new Exotic armor in Destiny 2 achieves all that, and Season of the Wish is the worst time possible for Bungie to not add new loot in this specific niche for two big reasons:

• Season of the Wish is slated to become the longest Destiny 2 season ever, sitting at 190 days with The Final Shape’s new release date of June 4, compared to Season of the Lost’s 183 days total
• Player morale is at an all-time low, and Bungie needed to rebuild goodwill and faith in the community

The Problem With No New Exotic Armor in Destiny 2

Not delivering new Exotic armor makes Season of the Wish’s player retention for Destiny 2 even harder from the get-go, as each class would have had a new buildcrafting option to obtain and try out. There’s a good chance that Season 23 will feature a secret mission a la Presage and Operation: Seraph’s Shield, but that doesn’t mean it will be enough.

Destiny 2 hit an all-time player count low recently, and without much content coming to make the wait until The Final Shape worth it, like the 30th Anniversary Pack with Season of the Lost, Season of the Wish could have used the extra help from new Exotics. The silver lining is that the new seasonal activities are interesting and quite challenging, but it’s too soon to tell if they will indeed provide players with enough reasons to log back into the game after a while.