WithDestiny 2being such a large live service game, Bungie’s goal is to provide lots of content for players to go through, and potentially even allow for the game to be played daily. This is not easily achievable because of how hard it is to make new content every so often, and even more so when there are a lot of different aspects to consider in terms of production, including the availability of voice actors or how many issues can arise during development. An example comes fromDestiny 2’s Season passes, which not only contain level-up prizes of all sorts, but also come with permanent access to that Season’s storyline and activities.
As such, a great source of additional content comes from reprised elements from the past, which is particularly doable withDestiny 2due to it being the successor toDestiny. Reprising content is not as easy as one would think, and according to the Game Director at Bungie forDestiny 2, Joe Blackburn, everything often goes through a lot of iterations and adjustments to better match thecurrent sandbox and meta. This means that anything that Bungie reprises intoDestiny 2is never the same as it was inDestiny, and that includes Raids like Vault of Glass or the upcoming Gjallarhorn.
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Destiny 2: Reprised Content is Never Fully the Same
During an interview with popular Twitch streamer and content creator Teawrex, Blackburn describe the thought process behind reprising any sort of content and adding it toDestiny 2. The first thing to be decided is surprisingly not very easy, as Bungie needs to visualize whether it would be better to remake an old classic in a new vest or to just make something entirely new, considering the limited time and resources. With reprised content, the goal is to bring back feelings of nostalgia for a specific area, activity, or weapon, something that makes players who witnessed that in the first game happy to see it return.
With Gjallarhorn, that’s relatively simple because of how many players loved theExotic rocket launcher inDestiny, so having it finally come back inDestiny 2is coming full circle. To some players, having Gjallarhorn once more could be a sign that they are playingDestinyagain, reliving their best memories and making new ones as well. But even then, this sort of content never comes without some form of significant change, asDestinyandDestiny 2are two very different games in terms of meta, player approach, and even scope.
Vault of Glassis the perfect example here, because it came back as it was, but also changed, with the addition of more enemy types and a few key mechanics reworked to improve the experience. Wyverns and Champions were added to make encounters more challenging, while some mechanics were adjusted to be more difficult and in line with the current Power Level, like the Oracles now needing to be defeated in the order they spawn in. Even the Moon is not the same as it was inDestiny, with theDestiny 2version featuring whole new architectures and a Strike that was not part of the original game.
Blackburn made a point about old content not being reprised exactly as it was, as players would eventually blast through it, so having Omnigul return with the same exact fight would be very ineffective inDestiny 2. Overall, thehype and expectations around the return of old classicsare inevitable, but for things like Gjallarhorn, players should also be aware that, though the heart of the weapon might be the same, the gun itself might undergo drastic changes.
Destiny 2is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
