Today, Bungie delivers a fresh bounty of items for Guardians to use in Destiny that doubles as a thank you for playing the game, and a gift to celebrate the New Year.
As reported a few weeks ago, Destiny players will receive a January gift of 15 Strange Coins, 15 Motes of Light, as well as an unspecified Emblem. While the in-game currency is set to be given to all players today, the free badge can only be obtained by logging into Destiny in between January 7 to January 10 to “mark the fact that you were there”, and they will then be doled out on January 12.
Bungie has announced that the bounty of Strange Coins and Motes of Light “should” be arriving today, but the developer has yet to clarify as to whether or not the they've officially been delivered by way of Destiny's in-game Postmaster. Bearing that in mind, the studio has made players aware that they may need to make room in their inventory to accept the loot. Regarding the matter, Bungie wrote:
“Think of it as a gift card you can use in the Tower, where the stores are always open and there is a never a line. Buy something nice from Xûr with those Coins, but don’t spend all your Motes to upgrade one item. See the Postmaster for your packages when the time comes – you may have to clear your backlog for them to appear.”
Although supplementary details of what's to come after the loot drop are scant to say the least, Bungie's first Weekly Update of 2016 should arrive sometime this afternoon to give fans a better idea of what else is in store for the year. About a month ago, developers teased a new raid for 2016, and fresh DLC that will supposedly add up to an experience primed to be bigger than The Taken King's release in September 2015, so Bungie will more than likely begin to flesh out those particulars today.
Bungie's present of Strange Coins and Motes of Light for Destiny players is certainly a good start to 2016, but it's necessary for the studio to find even more ways to keep its momentum going throughout the rest of the year, and ensure fans stay engaged with the game. The studio's inclusion of the Sparrow Racing League at the beginning of December was a fun addition, as well as a great example of the type of out-of-the-box thinking Bungie has the potential to employ going forward, but with a slew of stellar titles on the horizon as its competition, Destiny's developers will need to get even more creative with its add-ons.
Sure, there are still plenty of ways for Guardians to enjoy the game at the moment — its different PvP modes, gear grinding, and alternate difficulties for raids offer a variety of solid gameplay options — but Bungie should consider altering the paradigm altogether if it wants Destiny to truly outshine other titles on the market. However, if fans continue to come back for more of the same, it only makes sense to adopt the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy.
Destiny and its most recent expansion, The Taken King, is available for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.