Since its release back in 2017, the weapon meta in Destiny 2 has changed and evolved over time. However, certain weapons have seemingly been able to defy the meta, proving to be consistently strong or being the best solution to overcoming certain difficult activities. Naturally, these weapons become fan favorites though they only complicate the development process for the developers at Bungie who are constantly attempting to balance the game's many modes and activities while also introducing new gear each season such as the robust options added recently in Season of the Chosen.
Since their introduction as seasonal pinnacle weapons, the Revoker sniper rifle, Mountaintop grenade launcher, and Recluse submachine gun were clear examples of weapons that have defied the game's constantly shifting meta, retaining popularity with fans who have unlocked them and being strong options in most Destiny 2 activities. To combat these weapons and push players to discover new weapons, Bungie announced a sunsetting plan in 2020, which came to fruition with the Beyond Light expansion last November.
While very unpopular with players, the idea behind weapon sunsetting was to not only better balance the game, but allow for Bungie to continue to make new and interesting weapons for players who were constantly using the same gear. Essentially, the oldest weapons besides exotics, would be phased out with new weapons being added in to replace them. While the idea to move on from guns seemed solid on paper, in practice, it quickly became a huge headache for Bungie and the Destiny 2 player base.
What Went Wrong?
While making fan favorite weapons obsolete was never going to sit well with players, the system took on a life of its own in the first few weeks following the launch of Beyond Light. Arguably, the biggest issue with adding an infusion cap to older gear was that it was too effective right out of the gate, eliminating a huge pool of weapons with the new power cap level. Worse yet, the expansion and season didn't have a huge weapon pool to begin with, so there weren't a ton of viable replacement options. Naturally, this caused a huge stir on social media and sites like Reddit where the community began complaining about the new sunsetting system.
With how unpopular sunsetting had become and with Bungie realizing the bigger than expected number of weapons impacted, the studio quickly re-added previously sunset weapons specifically from the Season of the Worthy. This gave players back gear prominently used for the popular and powerful Warmind Cell builds. While this fix helped alleviate some of the pain points that the community was feeling, it didn't fix the core issue of sunsetting, like the ticking clock that was now on every weapon in the game.
While sunsetting was really aimed at the overly strong pinnacle weapons, it ultimately impacted everything from certain eras of Destiny 2, including gear that had been masterworked or gear that players likely dumped a lot of resources into to customize how they wanted. Naturally, this was upsetting for many players who felt like the time they had invested in the experience wasn't being respected. Some of these weapons required a lot of effort and hard work to obtain, and with sunsetting now looming, it meant that the grind may not be as worth it as it was prior to this announcement.
Part of the problem is that with sunsetting now active, gear now had an expiration date, which for many, reduced part of the fun knowing that in a few seasons gear wouldn't be useful anymore. Bungie recognized this problem and ultimately agreed that knowing guns had a shelf life took some of the fun out of the game. Plus, it ultimately didn't reduce the studio's workload as removing that many weapons from the loot pool means it has to work harder to replace them which meant shifting resources in order to quickly create more rewards. The studio was heavily criticized for the lack of weapons inside of the Beyond Light expansion and with sunsetting now active, the workload to add more increased even more.
How Bungie Plans To Fix
While fans settled in to their new reality of weapons and gear becoming less useful over time, Bungie apparently had a change of heart. In a surprising twist, the studio announced that it was abandoning its sunsetting plans entirely, mere months after first instituting it. The reveal came as part of Bungie's anticipated State of Destiny 2 blog post from assistant game director Joe Blackburn. In addition to plenty of other short and long term announcements including the unfortunate delay of the Witch Queen expansion into 2022, Blackburn addressed the infusion cap controversy in detail.
Bungie's original idea of adding infusion caps was its way of attempting to create a healthier look ecosystem and keeping the gear feeling fresh. However, following the backlash and the internal discussions surrounding the idea that legacy content now felt shallow, the studio decided to scrap the sunsetting process. In the end, the studio wants rewards to feel meaningful and continue to be valuable in helping to overcome challenges especially ones coming inside of The Witch Queen expansion.
Blackburn continued by saying that starting next season, Bungie won't be capping the infusion for any weapons and armor that have yet to reach the maximum cap. It's worth nothing that this won't be retroactive, so weapons that are currently sunset will remain that way. However, Bungie is not above reissuing gear so its entirely possible that loot could return at a later date in a new way, like the Black Armor weapons.
It's worth noting that even though weapon sunsetting is going away, Bungie isn't done with the idea of balancing gear in the future. For now, Blackburn admitted that the studio is brainstorming new ways to tuning and adjusting the meta, though nothing is set at this time. The studio has targeted a few weapons and builds that do need to be adjusted, such as the Warmind Cell gear as well as the legendary shotgun called Felwinter's Lie, which has continued to be extremely popular in PvP modes like the Crucible thanks to its damage output and higher than normal range.
Without the fear of weapons going away anymore, player investment may be once again on the rise. Dropping countless hours or resources to find that high level armor or god roll weapon is now appealing again, thanks to the knowledge that the weapon won't be made obsolete a few months later. It's surprising to see Bungie complete tear apart a newly implemented system intended to balance the game, but for the health of the community and the value of in-game rewards, it appears to be the correct call.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.