Bungie’s latest Developer Insight revealed what players can expect from raids and dungeons starting with Destiny 2 Codename: Frontiers.
The biggest change is decreasing raids and dungeons from two a year, to one per expansion. If that is confusing, Codename: Apollo will launch with a new raid; with Codename: Behemoth giving players a new dungeon to explore. Given this is a massive decrease in content, a number of changes were made to give these additions more life.
Bungie confirmed each year will start with a raid being added. This is basically how things have always worked, though if it’s confusing expansions will alternate between adding a raid, and dungeon. Mainstays like Contest mode will persist, as will exclusive weapons at the higher tiers being added in Destiny 2 Codename: Frontiers.
To add to the experience a new set of options called Feats will be added. These are essentially modifiers, such as contest mode enemies, that offer better rewards for those who overcome said challenges.
Speaking of challenges, Bungie described the upcoming raid challenge changes as follows.
In the first Major Update following Codename: Apollo, the raid will receive a Challenge Update, adding new rewards, new mechanics, new Feats, and potentially even new encounters. This update will kick off with a Raid Race event and be a venue for experienced raiders to further challenge their skills.
Beating said challenges will give exclusive rewards, new weapons, and even an exotic catalyst.
Since dungeons are now included with the second expansion the divisive Dungeon Key system will go away. It was also confirmed they will have weapon and armor sets on par with raids.
A new raid event will also be included with the fourth and final update for a year. Bungie is still figuring out what exactly players can expect, but odds are it will be similar to Pantheon.
Another Developer Insight centered on combat modifiers was also released. The full overview of that can be found below.
THE PROBLEM
Today in Destiny, playing the same PvE activity repeatedly can feel like a chore—particularly when chasing a reward or following a narrative. Running through the latest Exotic mission the second, third, and fourth time just doesn’t feel fun enough to justify the time spent. Eventually you know when each enemy spawns, where to fight them, and how to win without any challenge. This is a component of Destiny 2 we want to greatly improve with Codename: Frontiers — keeping activities fresh and challenging, each time you run them.
THE SOLUTION
Improve the experience of replaying activity content by adding variety and unpredictability to each playthrough.
A FIRST-CLASS MODIFIERS SYSTEM
Destiny 2 has added modifiers to activities since the launch of the first Nightfall (who else remembers trying to wrangle Solar shield shanks in 2014 Archon Priest?). With Codename: Frontiers, we’re investing more than ever in our modifier systems to improve the fun and challenge in activities.
We are:
- Creating combatant-focused modifiers that change the way players approach combat on every playthrough: Banes, Enemy Modifiers, and Combat Modifiers.
- Designing modifiers so that they can combine to create a wide variety of experiences.
- Reduce barriers to entry and time-to-fun by reducing the number of build crafting-necessary modifiers and replacing them with new Combat Modifiers.
BANES
Also known as ‘combatant affix modifiers,’ an enemy unit with a Bane will present a different challenge to players according to which Bane is affecting them. Enemies that spawn with these modifiers appear unpredictably during an activity, so each run will present a different challenge.
Here are two of the Banes we will be releasing in Episode 2: Revenant as we start testing out this new system ahead of Codename: Frontiers:
Meteors & Shock
The Meteors Bane gives combatants the ability to launch Solar projectiles that track but can be shot down. Shock will continuously build up a charge that will discharge on a single target within line of sight, and killing a unit with this Bane causes it to spread to others nearby.
Here are sneak previews of other in-development Banes we are working on (all are still in-development and subject to change):
Berserk
Killing combatants with Berserk causes other combatants nearby to enrage.https://www.youtube.com/embed/tkKsQipRJ0M
Punchable
Punchable combatants are immune to all ranged damage and damage from status effects until they are hit with a melee attack.
Nuclear
Once a unit with the Nuclear Bane reaches low health, it begins an arming sequence. If the unit is not defeated before the sequence completes, it explodes in a massive fiery shockwave.
ENEMY MODIFIERS
While Banes will appear intermittently on individual units, Enemy Modifiers are used to change base aspects of all enemies in an activity. Adjust your strategies to account for an active Enemy Modifier or you may end up flat-footed when something unexpected happens.
For example, under a certain Enemy Modifier shipping in Revenant, some enemies may have copied some Tricks about booby-trapping their drops from a famous Scorn Baron…
COMBAT MODIFIERS
Modifiers aren’t just about changing enemies –they can affect players too. Surge mods are a classic modifier type that’s been used for years in Destiny ritual activities, but we’ve come to realize that too many forceful build crafting modifiers can become barriers for players. So, we’ve been working to create new modifiers that are more accepting of varied strategies and builds.
More on these modifiers to come!
FAQ
WHAT ABOUT CHAMPIONS? WILL THEY BE USING BANES TOO?
Champions still exist in our new future for modifiers, but they won’t be hosting any Banes.
CAN BANES STACK ON AN ENEMY?
In Revenant only one Bane can be present on an enemy at a time.
ARE YOU REPLACING ALL THE OLD MODIFIERS WITH THESE NEW ONES?
No, we’re trying to strike a balance of keeping the best of the old modifiers that work well with the new ones. But these new modifiers raise the bar enough that we will most likely start to retire the older ones over time.
