This weekend, Destiny 2 players successfully completed the first Community Challenge, which tasked the fan base with completing a number of tasks on Mars. And in return for completing the Mars Community Challenge, Bungie would unlock bonus rewards in the Menagerie every Friday until the release of Shadowkeep on October 1st.
The bonus rewards for the Menagerie in Destiny 2 will grant players an extra item each time they use the Chalice of Opulence to craft something. So, Friday players unlocked two drops (three with an upgraded Chalice) and then next Friday Bungie will unlock three. This will continue until every Menagerie run grants 5 total rewards on September 27th.
However, what Bungie had not said is what will happen once Destiny 2: Shadowkeep releases, but players now have an answer. On October 1st, Menagerie rewards will revert back to their normal state where one completion unlocks one reward. But, Bungie Community Manager DMG04 suggests that this won’t always be the case. In fact, it’s very likely that bonus Menagerie periods will be a part of the regular Destiny 2 cycle, like Double Valor or Double Infamy weeks/weekends.
Many Destiny 2 players will likely be disappointed to hear that the Menagerie bonus rewards are going away but Bungie made it clear upfront this was not a permanent bonus. And the promise of this bonus returning could help bring life back to the Menagerie like Bungie brought life back to Mars (especially Escalation Protocol) with this Community Challenge.
Ultimately, though, the lessons learned from Menagerie will inform how Bungie designs its activities moving forward. While the fail forward mechanic of eliminating a fail state in Menagerie is smart, the rewards system (as it was intended) does not feel worth the effort. When there was a Menagerie exploit that let players use the Chalice of Opulence multiple times per run, it was a good way to grind for gear. However, once Bungie nerfed the Menagerie, the need to complete the activity dropped dramatically.
The hope is that the Vex Offensive activity that is coming with Shadowkeep will build on what Menagerie did right and offer a rewarding experience that feels worth the effort. The armor set certainly has a look to it and there will be weapons available exclusively from Vex Offensive, but as Bungie learned from Reckoning, cool gear can only entice so many players.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep releases October 1, 2019 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.