Destiny 2 has been preparing for The Witch Queen expansion that releases in February 2022. The current Season of the Lost storyline, Savathun’s deceptions, and the ever-evolving relationships of characters have built up what players should expect to see. In preparation for all of this coming together, it was announced that some classic pieces of Destiny 2 content will be joining the Destiny Content Vault.
While the vault has been a contentious topic among fans, it has a clear goal: making space for new content while keeping relevant pieces in the game. With Destiny 2 being a live-service game, it’s in a constant state of evolution, but the large stories presented to players often bring entirely new locations, unique enemies, and a whole lot of assets that developers have to worry about. The vault has made these things more manageable, and with how much Savathun's Hive looks to be bringing in The Witch Queen, it makes sense that Destiny 2 wants to go into Year 5 with less clutter.
Forsaken
The most notable part of the Destiny 2 experience leaving will be the Forsaken expansion. This expansion, in many ways, set up Destiny 2 to go where it is now. It has major lore for Uldren Sov and Crow, is where Cayde-6 was killed, and brings the Scorn to the forefront. In some ways vaulting Forsaken doesn't make sense, but from a technical standpoint it may help maintain the quality of Destiny 2.
Forsaken includes a lot of content, and while the Last Wish raid and Dreaming City will remain available, removing the story of Forsaken and the Tangled Shore could pose problems down the line. Destiny 2 can be a fun game, but it isn’t a stranger to bugs and glitches. Players have excelled at breaking out of map boundaries, and the exotic fusion rifle Telesto continues to be a source of bugs. Reducing the content Destiny 2 has to worry about as it develops future content should help keep the game healthy.
It might not be ideal for everyone to see paid content like the Forsaken expansion removed, but since the introduction of the vault it has been inevitable that Forsaken would see its time to go. The silver lining is seeing the effort put in to keep a rotation that revives and updates old content. A good example is the return of the Vault of Glass raid, and fan speculation that the King’s Fall raid will return soon.
Seasonal Content
On top of vaulting the Forsaken expansion, much of the Year 4 content for Destiny 2 will also be leaving. This includes the weapon missions Presage and Harbinger, which are how players get some of the top-tier exotic weapons in Destiny 2. These missions are fun and challenging activities that have contributed to the story, but as The Witch Queen expansion approaches it becomes clear that they may not be as relevant. The good news for players still interested in getting unique rolls for Hawkmoon and Dead Man’s Tale, as well as their catalysts, is that an alternative method to obtain them is being worked on.
Other Year 4 content has largely run its course, and with a Year 5 Season Pass and the start of Season of [REDACTED] with The Witch Queen expansion, the last year’s story should be complete. While some fans have expressed disappointment that activities like Expunge or Astral Alignments will be taken away, Year 5 already has a lot it will be adding. On top of an entirely new Glaive weapon class, weapon crafting is also being added in Year 5.
This will likely mean an influx of new assets for Destiny 2 to use, so trimming back some of the seasonal activities from the last year is one of the best ways to open up space. While these seasonal activities did have their own contribution, the general understanding with a Season Pass is that once the seasons are over that content will be pushed aside, if not removed. With over four months until Wrathborn Hunts, Override, Harbinger, Presage, the Forest of Echoes, and Astral Alignments are retired, fans have a lot of time to get a feel for each.
The Tangled Shore
The last major addition to the vault is the Tangled Shore, home to the Spider and his crime family as well as two different strikes. While mini screebs in the Grandmaster Nightfall of the Hollowed Lair strike have been fun, the strike and Broodhold will be vaulted come February. With the removal of the Tangled Shore also comes all of its location-based activities and vendors, including Spider's lair, lost sectors, and public events.
While Spider’s future is up in the air as he tries to get himself smuggled out of the Reef, his purpose as a vendor will be moved to Master Rahool in the Tower. This is a good quality-of-life change for Destiny 2, as it allows players to have a more centralized currency exchange system. Having to load into the Tangled Shore instead of being able to do currency exchange in the Tower has been a pain, so easier access through Master Rahool makes sense in the long run.
Overall, the content being vaulted for Destiny 2 doesn’t feel as substantial when listed out, but fan reactions are understandable. In an age where the way money is approached in games can be divisive, taking out paid content will leave a bad taste in peoples' mouths. The upside is that additions to vault will be replaced by The Witch Queen, as well as a rotation of returning classics like a still unrevealed raid.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.