The Deep Before Dawn (D2 SotD Content Review) [7/4/23]
Lightfall’s inaugural season is officially over, and we’ve entered the build up to what will become The Final Shape. Between strong post campaign missions and a steady release of content, last season went about as well as it could have given the more upfront let downs of Light fall. That being said this new season will be the last of many things players are accustomed to and I'm very excited to see how Bungie goes about starting introducing us to next year's big moment.
From the bottom up, our journey to the end is starting at the bottom of Titan's methane oceans. Recently returned to the system whether by The Witness or Savathûn, we've gone back to big ol blue to save Deputy Commander Sloane and her new worm(ish) god(ish) friend Asha. The seasonal gameplay loop I think is really cool but the weak point is definitely the 6 man activity Salvage.
In order to help the Drifter help Sloane escape her Taken corruption, 6 players descend on one of Titans’ remaining research platforms to Salvage golden age tech and keep Xivu Arath’s forces at bay. The problem being that Xivus forces must be tired given their lack of density or power overall.
The first 10 minutes of this activity are mindless grinding through enemies and completing half naked objectives with less threat than the Cosmodrome. By the time this has been published there will be a Legendary version of the activity made available, but the default version of the activity is extremely bland until you get to the boss. With a couple different bosses in rotation like past seasons there is usually one key mechanic unique to the boss, even a few blips of brain activity at the end of a slaughter can still feel refreshing.
Deep Dives on the other hand are a fantastic experiment that achieves the sense of urgency and skill I think Bungie tried to achieve with The Reckoning back in season of the Drifter. 3 players are sent deeper below the crust of the ocean floor to find and defeat Xivu Arath’s lieutenants (including Kelgorath (again)). However, unlike any destiny 2 activity before it players will have a choice between two different buffs at the beginning of the mission as well as at the end of each section.
Players will also be able to activate alternate versions of each section of the mission by interacting with something that looks like toland the shattered. Completing these alternate versions of the encounters increases the quality of loot found at the end of the dungeon by quantity. Many players are not sure the reward increase is worth the extra difficulty and time spent in the encounter, but everyone seems to agree that it is actually still fun and most people do seem interested in seeing how this is iterated upon in the future.
I love keeping up with Destiny throughout the year, but I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea as the stagnant seasonal structure has taken it’s toll, but this season continues to deliver good content nonetheless. Next Season we will finally see what power and seasonal changes Bungie has been talking about forever now. I really hope this is a great springboard season so we can finish the expansion strong, and so far I think we’re on track.
