This fall, Destiny 2's Shadowkeep expansion is adding a new mechanic to the game in the form of finishing moves. When developer Bungie first revealed Shadowkeep and its finishing moves, they were described as a stylish way to land a final blow on enemies. Outside of them being an animation that players can trigger against enemies, little else was known about them. But now, Bungie has shed more light on how finishing moves are going to work in Shadowkeep.
Destiny 2 general manager Mark Noseworthy and franchise director Luke Smith revealed that finishing moves have much more benefit to players than just looking cool. Talking to Polygon, the developers said that players will be able to add mods to their armor that add a perk to their finishing moves—a positive trade-off for exposing themselves to danger during the animation. One example given of one of these mods was the player and their fireteam getting their ammo refilled after performing a finishing move. With different abilities available, the developers described that fireteams can coordinate their finishing moves during something like a boss fight to take the most advantage of them, adding a new layer of strategy to encounters.
Fortunately, the finishing move's gameplay-affecting benefit that comes from a mod slotted in a piece of armor is being kept separate from the cosmetic animation itself, which is similar to an emote. So if players like a particular finishing move, they can pick each move and the perk applied to it separately.
The finishing moves will come from different sources in the game, according to the developers, including a mixture of activities as well as through the Eververse Store. However, the developers made clear that the mods would only be earned through gameplay.
To use a finishing move, players will see an indicator on an enemy once their health gets low enough. Activating these finishing moves also come at a cost with Noseworthy saying that performing a finishing move will expend a bit of super energy, although it sounds like how much energy exactly is still being determined by developers as they continue to fine-tune Shadowkeep for its fall launch. In fact, much of this system is still in development so there could still be some variations to it once it releases this September.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version also in development.
Source: Polygon