Destiny 2’s first year was filled with setbacks, tremendous criticism, and the loss of many dedicated Destiny fans. However, the Warmind expansion was a step in the right direction on several fronts. With the launch of Destiny 2’s second year on the horizon, it’s time to take a look at the second expansion for Destiny 2 and highlight some of the biggest improvements that Bungie brought to the game.

5 Better Leveling and Power Grind

When Bungie announced that the power leveling in Destiny 2 would be slower, the announcement was met with skeptical excitement. Destiny 2 needed a power leveling system that flowed better than what the game currently had. Power was too easy to come by, and many players ran out of things to do quickly. End game content was virtually meaningless since powerful gear was so plentiful.

But with Warmind, Bungie scaled back the power progression so players didn’t reach max power in the first week. With the recent changes to Heroic Strikes as well, the power curve is much more accessible and rewarding over a long period of time. It also encourages participation in a diversity of activity.

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4 Better Patrol Design

The Mars patrol area is certainly a cut above the other areas in Destiny 2, especially when compared to its predecessor, Mercury. Hellas Basin, while not quite as large as Io or Nessus, is packed with enough content to make it feel massive. From the plethora of memory fragments to collect to the Escalation Protocol pillars, Hellas Basin is what a patrol area should be: dense with content. At the time of writing, Mars is typically full of people running Escalation Protocol or exploring everything that Hellas Basin has to offer.

3 Harder and More Challenging Content

The difficulty delta changed with the launch of Warmind, which changed how damage is both dealt and received throughout the various activities in Destiny 2. Tie this in with the leveling changes and that creates a more challenging endgame environment. The Spire of Stars raid lair was an incredibly difficult encounter at launch, even for the most skilled Destiny 2 players. Heroic strikes provide a challenging, but fun, experience. The lethality of enemies in Escalation Protocol, even after the nerf, still makes patrolling Mars a hazard until players reach higher power levels. It’s refreshing to have a challenge to face off against in Destiny 2.

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2 More Faction Rewards

One of the more surprising and welcome additions that came with Warmind was the introduction of more vendor rewards. Previously, the only real faction rewards were some armor and ornaments. Now there is a reason to keep grinding strikes for Zavala. There’s a reason to chase Glory and Valor in the Crucible for Shaxx. Even Trials got an exclusive ghost shell to quest after. Destiny 2 desperately needed more items to chase, more reasons to keep coming back to the game. There is still work to be done in this category, but Bungie has made a step in the right direction.

1 Better Quality of Life Changes

Destiny 2 fans have long awaited the glorious multi-emote wheel. Such a small addition can make a huge impact on the game. It feels good to be able to equip four different exotic emotes and use them on-the-fly, instead of digging through menus to equip the one you want at that moment. The addition of more vault space, and dismantling from the postmaster and vault may seem insignificant, bu makes a world of difference when dealing with the large amount of drops that Destiny 2 throws at the player. It’s the little things that make the game more enjoyable. Hopefully, Bungie will show off more upcoming quality-of-life changes during their Year 2 reveal livestream on June 5.

Destiny 2 had a rough launch for many fans, but Warmind seems to be the step in the right direction that the game needed. Destiny had a very similar launch dilemma during year one, but by the time Taken King arrived, the game made a complete 180. Hopefully, with the launch of the upcoming September expansion, Destiny 2 will be the game many fans want it to be.