Bungie introduced the Content Vault into Destiny 2 with Beyond Light and the start of Year 4 on November 10, 2020. The Destiny Content Vault is a means for Bungie to vault certain content in the game to make room for new content, while keeping the game's file size more manageable. This system has its pros and cons for different parts of the game.
Destiny 2 originally kicked off with a clean slate for Guardians of Destiny while providing an easy entry point for New Light Guardians too. With the Cabal completely wiping out the original Tower and the vaults where Guardians held their gear, Guardians started Destiny 2 by stepping into a war with the Cabal. With the start Destiny 2 and The Red War, all of Destiny’s original content was taken away and set aside for something new.
Destiny 2's Growth
After The Red War, Destiny 2 continued to grow as new content and new seasons continued to release. Destiny 2: Forsaken signaled the start of Year 2, bringing with it the death of the Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6, an important story plot for Destiny moving forward. Forsaken also brought new destinations and Campaign story content for Guardians to explore, making Destiny 2 bigger with more things to do.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep launched Year 3 for Destiny 2, bringing back the Moon from Destiny 1 and exploring more of Oryx’s sister, Savathun: The Witch Queen, who has an upcoming expansion titled after her. Many Guardians were excited to go back to the Moon, while others looked at this as recycled content. As the seasons progressed and Shadowkeep pushed through Year 3 of Destiny 2, Bungie announced the Destiny Content Vault, beginning at the start of Year 4.
At the start of Year 4 with the launch of Destiny 2: Beyond Light, Guardians felt the immediate effects of the Destiny Content Vault. Mercury, Mars, Titan, Io, The Farm, and The Leviathan are all destinations that were moved into the Destiny Content Vault. All activities associated with these destinations were also moved to the Destiny Content Vault, including Destiny 2’s original Raid, the Raid Lairs, and the Crown of Sorrow Raid.
The Cons
Core Destiny 2 Campaigns The Red War, Curse of Osiris, and Warmind were also vaulted along with the narratives from Season of the Forge, Season of the Drifter, and Season of Opulence. This meant that Guardians, new or veteran, could no longer experience these stories or campaign missions. For new Guardians, this means not having a way in-game to catch up and experience the story and lore, which could be a deciding factor to not invest time into Destiny 2.
The Destiny Content Vault not only removed the Campaigns and Raids of previous content, but also removed various side activities from Destiny 2. Gambit and Gambit Prime were traded out for a new single version. The Reckoning, Escalation Protocol, The Whisper and Zero Hour Dungeons, multiple Strikes, and various Crucible game modes and maps were also vaulted.
Because of the loss of a bunch of content all at once, the launch of Beyond Light hit Guardians pretty hard. Paired with Sunsetting, Guardians were almost forced into a fresh start. Many players felt as if their time and money had been taken for granted now that a lot of paid content was removed from Destiny 2. This left Bungie in a tough position to try and fill content gaps as well as produce quality content to make the Destiny Content Vault worth it.
Recently, however, Bungie announced that the Forsaken Campaign will also be moving to the Destiny Content Vault, taking away another year of core story moments. Forsaken has been regarded as one of the better Campaigns in Destiny 2, and has strong connections to Destiny 2’s new character, Crow. While Bungie has been giving some explanation about Crow in Destiny 2, New Light players who begin the game after Forsaken is vaulted will not be able to form as deep of an understanding of Crow within the Destiny 2 universe. This could cause some confusion around his character in the future.
The Pros
On a positive note, the Destiny Content Vault allows Bungie to more efficiently maintain and update Destiny 2 with new content. This means that Bungie can respond to player feedback faster due less overall content in the game, and obviously, more content means more potential for game-breaking bugs. This further allows Bungie to avoid having to release Destiny 3 sooner rather than later. However, with the recent announcement of a new Destiny Saga, Bungie could still release a Destiny 3 in the future.
The Destiny Content Vault also allows the return of fan favorite content from previous years of Destiny’s history such as the return of the Vault of Glass Raid next season. Bungie’s approach with the Destiny Content Vault also allows it to bring back content that was popular, while removing content that Guardians are not interacting with. This allows Bungie to make better use of that space in the game's code, maintaining a stable file size while improving overall playability of the game.
Destiny 2, with the help of the Destiny Content Vault, can continue to grow with relevant story content without growing big enough to create unnecessary bugs from its size. Bungie is also aware of current seasonal content expiring too early and is making steps to ensure some seasonal content stays around for its relevant expansion. This will also help keep relevant content in the game longer for Guardians to enjoy.
Worth It?
With many of the negatives of the Destiny Content Vault more apparent to Guardians, it can be easy to forget about the positives it can bring. While there are downsides to the Destiny Content Vault, there are also some relevant upsides for Guardians to take into consideration. Many of the positives of the Destiny Content Vault are behind the scenes, making for a more stable game in the long term. With news of Destiny expanding into a new Saga in a few years, long term stability is important.
Guardians will have to make their own decision on if the Destiny Content Vault is a worthwhile addition to Destiny 2. In the meantime, the Cabal are back for another round, bringing their Empress, Caiatl, and her Battlegrounds with them. Empress Caiatl, as well as the seasonal Battlegrounds activity, are safe from the Destiny Content Vault, at least for now.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.