Destiny 2 in December has been…eventful. It noticed the launch of the Bungie 30th Anniversary DLC, which has introduced a complete lot of recent content material to the sport, and has been, in a phrase, hilarious. I’ve been having a blast within the new Grasp of Avarice dungeon and taking part in Dares of Eternity, the place the dialogue is superb. The new weapons impressed by Bungie’s previous video games, together with Halo, all really feel nice. Mostly, the entire expertise has simply been extraordinarily lighthearted and enjoyable, and I’ve loved each minute of it.Not every little thing was optimistic, although. Last week, IGN’s Rebekah Valentine revealed a wonderful, prolonged report detailing tales from present and former Bungie workers in regards to the tradition of the studio. It’s a protracted, worthy examine circumstances on the studio each previous and current, and factors out quite a lot of issues from all through Bungie’s historical past. It additionally appears the developer is making some actual enhancements within the realms of its tradition, the security of its office, its dedication to the well-being of its employees, and its inclusivity. Following the report, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons launched an announcement detailing enhancements Bungie mentioned it has made, in addition to strides it’s making towards being higher. Most lately, Bungie’s long-time head of human sources stepped down.
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Now Playing: Destiny 2 Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack Livestream
Reports of frat-like tradition, discrimination, and poor working circumstances abound within the video video games business, and the IGN report reveals that Bungie has suffered from quite a lot of that very same rot. The studio additionally appears to have been working towards bettering that state of affairs, and I doubt it is a coincidence that Destiny 2 has improved considerably as a sport throughout the identical interval that Bungie has been attempting to advance as a studio. IGN’s report reveals that the studio has a protracted technique to go, nevertheless, and it is vital to shine a light-weight on tales reminiscent of these with a view to maintain studios accountable and to attempt to assist enhance the circumstances beneath which video video games are made. Hopefully, Bungie actually is making itself the sort of place to work that its builders and followers could be pleased with.I additionally hope that the unimaginable work everybody at Bungie has turned out over the past 12 months specifically, together with the 30th Anniversary DLC, is a supply of delight, and proof that issues on the studio are getting higher.Wheel of Adversity, flip flip flipWhen Xur and the horse did the traditional “Say goodnight, Xur,” “Goodnight, Xur” joke, I misplaced it.It wasn’t too shocking, however Bungie 30th Anniversary DLC, Destiny 2’s mini-expansion to carry us over for the discharge of The Witch Queen, turned out manner higher than it had any proper to. The enlargement is stuffed with enjoyable and goofy issues to chase, just like the Halo-inspired Forerunner pistol, the completely phenomenal BXR pulse rifle that takes after Halo’s battle rifle, and the long-lasting Gjallarhorn. The infusion of cool new weapons into the sandbox has freshened up outdated actions fairly a bit within the final couple of weeks.A shock standout, although, is Dares of Eternity. This is the free new exercise Bungie added for the 30th Anniversary, and it takes after different nice six-player actions from the previous, just like the Menagerie. It’s simply easy sufficient that you would be able to run it with anybody and simply complicated sufficient that it would not really feel like one more taking pictures gallery. The actual motive it is so good, nevertheless, is Xur.Dares of Eternity imagines a complete new goofy little bit of lore for Destiny 2, basically a cosmic sport present that takes place in a black gap and offers out prizes gathered from varied colliding realities that mix into each other. The “paraverse” is one thing we have not actually heard about earlier than in Destiny 2–in reality, whereas alternate planes of existence have been a factor for some time, I believe the paraverse could be an all-new idea within the story, though I’m not so aware of all Destiny lore to have the ability to say that definitively. It makes for an excellent rationalization for Halo, Marathon, and Myth stuff displaying up within the sport, and it additionally provides a complete new potential dimension to the Destiny universe by making alternate realities a definitive factor that might pop up at any time. The Nine certain are bizarre.Maybe these things will solely be for laughs, however the paraverse presents quite a lot of enjoyable prospects.There are quite a lot of prospects right here with the potential for parallel universes, however in the intervening time, the paraverse is only one huge joke manufacturing facility and I’m right here for it. Xur specifically has been wonderful the final two weeks. The enigmatic Agent of the Nine has been displaying up each week for years in Destiny and Destiny 2, and we have realized virtually nothing about him. He’s unusual on his own–a puppet of the Nine, apparently willed into existence by them–but he is additionally been sort of boring. Without actually discovering out something about what Xur’s entire deal is, he has sort of turn into a non-entity within the universe. He’s a pop-up retailer and little else.Until now, that’s. Xur seems in Dares of Eternity to ship goofy riffs on cliche sport present traces, and all of it’s nice. Stuff like, “From beautiful downtown Torobatl, give it up for the Cabal,” “Did you forget to say, ‘No whammies?'” and, “Though we are trapped in a formless void, we hope you’ll join us next time on Dares of Eternity” set Xur as one of many weirdest and now funniest characters within the sport. He’s beholden to the Nine and the Starhorse–what even is that?–and he is out right here taking part in sport present host seemingly with out even figuring out what that’s or what he is saying. It’s a giant, concerned gag that humanizes each Xur and the Nine in a manner we have not seen earlier than. Plus, it is now canon that the Nine–basically sentient beings representing the planets of the photo voltaic system–are followers of daytime Earth tv primarily from the 1970s and ’80s. Adjust your understanding of the sport world accordingly.Best served coldA pirate journey for buried treasure that laughs at you for being a grasping loot-chaser–Grasp of Avarice is magnificent.Speaking of jokes, let’s discuss in regards to the elaborate, phenomenal prank Bungie has pulled on the Destiny group: the Grasp of Avarice dungeon. The centerpiece of the 30th Anniversary DLC is a wonderful new chunk of endgame content material I’ve actually loved operating via, stuffed with enjoyable new mechanics and fascinating challenges. Like Dares, it is also very humorous, most notably as a result of the joke is on us.Grasp of Avarice is a protracted, extraordinarily particular dunk on Destiny 1 gamers from manner again when the sport first got here out some seven years in the past. When Bungie launched Destiny after having labored on it for years, with a selected imaginative and prescient for a live-game loot grind and a plan for the way rapidly you’ll go via endgame content material, gamers instantly broke the sport. They found the Loot Cave, which they used to bypass Bungie’s deliberate gear development. Now, granted, the loot development was very tough on the time, and it might undergo years of iterations and enhancements. (In reality, I hated the grind and I absolutely admit to being a Loot Cave consumer.) But it will possibly’t be understated that, no matter Bungie had deliberate for these early days of Destiny, gamers instantly discovered an exploit to bypass that plan–and sort of ruined no matter work had gone into creating it.Seven years later, Bungie releases Grasp of Avarice, which is a dungeon-length lampooning of all of us who stood in entrance of that dumb cave, taking pictures what had been basically Thralls in a barrel as a substitute of really taking part in the sport. The dungeon is a humorous and good-natured reference to the previous and a few shared notoriety in Destiny, for certain. It additionally suggests Bungie has been low-key salty in regards to the Loot Cave for the higher a part of a decade, and I really like that. Easter eggs, callbacks, and in-jokes are rampant within the video games business (the 30th Anniversary DLC is mainly fabricated from them), however I’ve by no means heard of one thing this elaborate or pointed or straight-up enjoyable, in so some ways.I wrote an extended piece on the extraordinarily good, superbly petty dunk that’s Grasp of Avarice that goes into an extended rationalization of the Loot Cave, so verify that out, particularly in the event you missed these early Destiny days and do not know what the deal is right here. Suffice it to say that I really like Grasp in each manner, however most significantly as a result of it is a joke aimed toward all us Destiny veterans. Touche, Bungo.Spreading vacation cheer”Now, we become bakers!”One very last thing to speak about actual fast: The Dawning this 12 months is a major step up from what it has been like in latest vacation seasons. Usually, the Dawning is about baking cookies to fulfill bounties and getting a few weapons within the course of. The gist is similar this 12 months as nicely, however with far more satisfying story hooks. Just because the Festival of the Lost this 12 months was extra elaborate and interesting because of the injection of somewhat ghost story enjoyable, the Dawning appears like one thing that really issues to the larger Destiny narrative, if just a bit.The particular elements of the Dawning which have added to my enjoyment this 12 months are its two story quests, The Pigeon Provides and Rite of Dawning. Both quests are fairly brief, they usually’re very text-heavy–don’t count on new cutscenes right here. But in the event you take the time to learn via them, you understand they’re pretty pointed story moments that assist the Dawning make extra sense throughout the story framework of Destiny 2.In The Pigeon Provides, Eva Levante crops the concept with Saint-14 that one thing good ought to be executed for the Eliksni refugees within the Last City. Saint’s state of affairs within the story in the mean time is a precarious one, as he is been traumatized by the lack of Osiris, however he is discovered new function within the safety of the Vanguard’s new Eliksni allies. Saint’s arc via final season, the Season of the Splicer, was notably sturdy, as he realized that his long-time enemies, the Fallen, are additionally folks, not simply homicide monsters. And he is made main strides towards being a good friend to them, reasonably than a legendary topic of concern of their tradition.So the search is all about serving to Saint make cookies for the Eliksni by gathering components vital to their tradition. The story is gentle and humorous, even when relegated to some pages of textual content, and finally, you get to go work together with Eliksni dad and mom and the infants they put on strapped to their chests, which squeal in delight at your vacation supply. It’s an excellent thought that really makes the Dawning really feel a bit extra like an actual vacation event–plus you get Zephyr, the brand new Stasis sword, on your hassle.Love these holiday-themed implements of destruction.Rite of Dawning tells an analogous story however with the Cabal, with Eva suggesting to Zavala that you simply and he do one thing good for Empress Caiatl. We have not heard a lot in regards to the Cabal empress because the finish of the Season of the Chosen. She’s popped up right here and there within the lore, however not a lot: She prompt nuking the Dreaming City to kill Savathun in a single entry, however Zavala turned her down; and she or he’s liaising with Crow and having some doubtlessly secret talks with Lord Saladin. Other than that, although, we do not actually know a lot in regards to the state of Vanguard-Cabal relations.The quest provides a bit there, with Zavala sending you out to collect some key gadgets to Cabal tradition to place collectively a present for Caiatl. It’s a small factor, with a couple of enjoyable moments scattered all through, however I actually like what it reveals in regards to the characters. Zavala goes out of his technique to honor Caiatl in the best way of her folks; Caiatl demonstrates gratitude for that honor. It provides somewhat taste to that ongoing story, refreshes the sensation of alliance between the characters, and hits on the themes of reconciliation and understanding which have permeated all of the Destiny 2 tales because the launch of Beyond Light.All of that’s to say that I’ve been actually having fun with Destiny 2 within the final couple of weeks. This has been an absolute banger of a 12 months for the game–the finest I’ve ever seen in years with Destiny–and even with minor tweaks, it appears like Bungie has discovered nice methods to punch every little thing up, together with its tried, true, and generally repetitive vacation occasions.So this is wanting ahead to an excellent 2022 for Destiny 2. The Witch Queen looms and tales are selecting up velocity as they rush towards collision. Especially given the sturdy end to this 12 months, I can not wait to see what’s subsequent.Let us know what you have been liking with the 30th Anniversary DLC and the Dawning, or anything, within the feedback under.