Our recent visit to Bungie headquarters confirmed what many fans have suspected for some time. Older legendary armor and weapons from across Destiny’s first year are not set to progress in power as Year Two begins. Simultaneously, dozens of new weapons and armor pieces are entering the game in an effort to revitalize the collection and discovery experience of the game.

Based on our time with the game, strong Year-One gear will serve players well for the opening hours of The Taken King, but new weaponry and armor will rapidly replace older items, both because of interesting new perks, but also for increased attack or defense values. The change also resets the gear progression flow through new Taken King-tier white, green, blue, and purple gear, providing meaningful distinctions between new items as you level up through the new content.

While Destiny has never strictly been considered an MMO, this approach for Year-Two gear echoes common practice in the MMO genre, including games like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV. Even so, it remains to be seen if fans are open to experimenting with the new arsenal if it means leaving old favorites behind.

“I definitely feel like some of our players are ready to play with some new toys,” says creative director Luke Smith. “And we’ve built a whole bunch of new toys. There are definitely some weapons that you are going to find better versions of – there’s going to be something that replaces that sniper rifle that you love.”

Our Take

Initial reaction to Destiny’s plans for old legendary gear for many long-time players will be sadness. As someone who is going to miss my Vision of Confluence, I share in the pain. However, I was lucky enough to get to experiment with many of the new weapons on offer in The Taken King, and many of the new weapons offer genuinely novel shooting experiences. While part of me enjoyed the chance to bring some of my old standbys into the recent House of Wolves expansion, I found after several weeks that I was uninterested in many of the new weapons, since few were as comfortable to shoot as existing favorites, particularly some of the older raid weapons. I’m excited to try out new options in the coming year, even if I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Fatebringer and its cousins.



