With the early access period for Diablo 4 concluded, and the game officially available to everyone, many are quickly finding things to praise about the game. It seems like Diablo 4’s record-breaking sales are deserved, as everything from the gameplay to the voice acting has been celebrated by the franchise’s rapidly growing fan base. Build variety and the world of Sanctuary are a few more strengths, as are the world bosses found within the massive play space. It is these world bosses that Destiny 2 should make note of.
Diablo 4 and Destiny 2 are great games in their own right, with both titles having very different outlooks when it comes to loot and character progression, but there is some overlap between them. And while world bosses are not a shared mechanic, they absolutely should be. Encountering Ashava in the beta was a highlight for many, and as Diablo 4 players encounter more world bosses, they may start to wonder why they are not featured in more games. If incorporated correctly, they could be a boon for Destiny 2.
How World Bosses Like Diablo 4 Could Improve Destiny 2
Despite not being an MMO, the encounter with Diablo 4’s Ashava certainly felt like a battle from one, as players spend over ten minutes dodging attacks, reviving one another, and chipping away at the monster’s gargantuan health bar. Defeating the world boss feels like a genuine accomplishment because of this, and seeing so many players huddled up around its body or spawn location makes for a memorable community experience - the same kind of experience that Destiny 2 thrives upon.
With Destiny 2 being even closer to an MMO than Diablo 4, world bosses simply make sense within Bungie’s hit free-to-play title. Considering how many enemy types the developer has created over the years, it would also have plenty of options for world bosses. Variants of final campaign foes like Callus can be repurposed to work as world bosses, as could scaled-down Dungeon and Raid boss enemies. If added, the patrol zones of Destiny 2 could become a lot more interesting.
Perhaps Bungie could add one unique raid boss to every planet, matching it to the enemy races featured in that zone. For example, Nessus could have a powerful Vex world boss while the Cosmodrome features a deadly Fallen enemy. World bosses could be quite rare, spawning occasionally in one chunk of the map. When they are about to spawn in, players could get a message in the corner of their screen just like they do when enemy forces battle each other, pushing everyone to head to whichever zone the world boss is roaming around in.
The world boss’s health could scale depending on how many players are fighting it, and depending on how quickly it is defeated, it could have a higher chance of dropping some top-tier Exotic loot. With the Exotic pool being so deep now, and Bungie making Exotics much easier to get through Destiny 2 activities like Fishing and weekly engrams, guaranteed Exotic drops from world bosses seems fair. New Triumphs could be added for beating these bosses, with a special emblem, sparrow, or ghost shell acquired by conquering every one.
World bosses would be an excellent way to get players to return to old locations like Nessus and the Dreaming City. With Fishing being fairly well received by players, Bungie should continue looking into fresh gameplay experiences that freshen up patrol zones. Though collectible hunting and Destiny 2’s Public Events are enjoyable, eventually players find every secret and get bored of the same Public Events. Adding new things to Patrol Zones helps to stop the game from getting stale, and with the world bosses of Diablo 4 being such an adrenaline boost, trying to recapture that feeling in Destiny 2 could be worth the effort.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.