One of Destiny 2’s biggest ongoing issues has always been its monetization practices. Although players would never say no to getting more content than what’s currently on offer, paid expansions like Forsaken or Warmind, and seasons like Season of Dawn have never been an issue. However, microtransactions and the Eververse store, including both Silver and loot boxes, have caused widespread controversy for Bungie ever since it came into existence in Destiny 1. That was until Bungie introduced the new Battle Pass-style system in Season of the Undying, a system that appears to be here to stay.
Like Season of the Undying, Season of Dawn has its own Season Pass with 100 tiers of rewards to unlock all by playing the game and earning experience. Eververse is still around with its usual range of content for purchase through Silver and Bright Dust, and the amount of new content in the store rather than earnt through gameplay is still a topic that’s up for debate. On the other hand, the Season Pass and its reward system have received universal acclaim from the community, offering a variety of rewards from XP boosters, to planetary materials, Exotic weapons, new gear, ornaments, and more. But are the Destiny 2's season pass rewards worth the cost of admission? Let’s take a look.
What Rewards Come From the Season Pass?
For the sake of this article, we're only going to be looking at the rewards for the paid Season Pass as the free tier is available to all Destiny 2 players, and specifically referring to the seasonal rank rewards. There are 100 tiers of rewards to be unlocked, each with one item granted every time players earn 100,000 XP points and level up. Before players even start to level up the Season Pass, they will receive a package with the new Symmetry Exotic Scout Rifle and a full set of the Righteous Seasonal Gear.
From there tier rewards include the new seasonal currency Fractaline, Glimmer Boosts, XP Boosts, Shaders, Enhancement Cores, Legendary Shards, Bright Dust, Legendary and Exotic Engrams, and additional boosts for the Obelisks and Sundial activity. More sought after rewards include Season Pass exclusive loot such as higher leveled Righteous Gear drops, Finishers, Emblems, Weapons, Armor and Weapon Ornaments, Ascendant Shards, an Exotic Ghost Shell, and an Exotic Emote.
The Season of Dawn pass rewards are almost identical to Season of the Undying which also included basic items like planetary materials, XP boosters, and Exotic Engrams, as well as Seasonal Gear, a Finisher, Armor and Weapon Ornaments, and more. The only major differences that appear to be varied from season to season are activity-specific boosts and currency, then variations on the Exotic rewards. For example, Season of the Undying offered the Never Live It Down Exotic Ship whereas Season of Dawn has replaced the ship for the Saint-14 themed Saintly Exotic Ghost Shell.
Does the Season Pass Justify the Cost of the Season?
In short, yes. While buying a season in Destiny 2 gives players access to every bit of content that's released over that three-month period, the season pass offers enough unique and exclusive content to justify it's relatively low price point; even lower if purchased with the Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Deluxe Edition. The Season Pass offers new weapons and gear, Exotics weapons and other Exotic loot, XP boosts and upgrade materials that will help with other content in the game, and Eververse engrams and Bright Dust to avoid the need to spend extra money on Silver.
One thing that Destiny 2 has done really well with its Season Pass is the way the leveling system has been handled. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare recently introduced its own Battle Pass with its first season of content and in order to level up, players need to play for roughly 45-50 minutes. Modern Warfare's Battle Pass leveling is based purely on time and doesn't include any time spent outside of matches. For Destiny 2, each level requires 100,000 XP and players can continuously grind out bounties for complete control over how fast they level, whereas Modern Warfare almost requires players to play specific modes that take longer in order to avoid downtime spent in lobbies.
While longterm players might be disappointed at the amount of content available in each season now that Bungie has split from Activision, their approach to DLC and Seasons in Year 3 of Destiny 2 feels like an improvement over anything that's come before. As long as players have new reasons to return to the game and unique and exciting loot to earnt, the community will continue to come back every day. And so far, the Season Pass has been a great addition to the game and helped create a simple, streamlined reward system.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.