On Bungie’s account went out this weird tweet. A totally random dictionary definition of “Ambassador” had the core elements either redacted or just absent, in the typical closing from a spy thriller, and then invited one to discover Lodi’s journey in The Edge of Fate. A meltdown in the Destiny 2 community ensued.
For anyone who isn’t following the latest developments, Lodi is a brand-new character introduced in The Edge of Fate, the latest Destiny 2 expansion. He’s said to be some kind of diplomat or ambassador?? But the players do have some… very strong feelings about him and the state of the game right now, frankly.
The replies to this tweet are sheer anarchy. Some player @MarkDa7is bids, “Lodi my beloved,” which is nice. Then you scroll all the way down to @wildzilla who says, “He is a slightly less cringe version of nimbus,” which hurts. Then @TailsOfUchiha goes harder with “His dialogue is cringy. The story is terrible. What a rip off of Loki.” Man, guys, tell us how you really feel.
But it is not just about Lodi. Almost everyone else is using this as an excuse to bellyache about everything that is going on with Destiny 2 right now. @SirCosta11 inquires, “Where are new strikes and new pvp maps???” Then @Doug32008989 retorts, “Seriously stop with the stupid tutorial campaigns and use those resources for some strikes and PvP maps.”
Then there’s the pronouns thing, if that is even a thing? Apparently, some players are seriously pissed off about character pronouns in the game. @bungieisbad simply says “Figures ‘bound’ and pronouns” whatever that means. And @ringedboy comments “thx god he doesnt have pronouns like saint 14” which, like… what even is happening here. The culture war has reached the Tower, apparently.
Then we have random comments like @KamalaLostBigly’s “Is that the dude from Half Life?” which no, no its not. And @_follaparedes wonders, “So is lodi british or whats going on in here then”, which is honestly a valid question about his accent.
But here’s some real tea on how players envisage hooking this in with consequential TWID (This Week in Destiny), which allegedly was some form of PR disaster?? @Phantom49635033 flatly asks: “Are you seriously advertising edge of fate in a tweet right now after the PR disaster that was TWID?” Then @Rocky_H_Johnson put forth a whole rant about how, “gotta love how we went from no communication to we want to hear from you but we dont care what you want but go off anyways.”
Obviously, Kenway is going to want Bungie to push this character, but the alternative way that Bungie took the tweet, it was just opening the gates for the entire community’s complaints.” @JJaccuzi even adds, “I’m actually surprised you guys haven’t gotten death threats im surprised I haven’t sent some myself lol.” which uhmmm… maybe don’t say that even as a joke.
Some players actually seem to like Lodi! “@JamesMc53504889 genuinely enjoyed his interactions with the guardian and other characters. He is no Nimbus that’s for sure…:P,” so Nimbus must have been really bad if Lodi is an upgrade.
There are more changes gameplay-wise that people are pissed about. “@DivineShadow15 You know what lodi would like? To make solo ops in Caldera fun not nerf em to the ground you bums,” sounds like some specific gameplay complaints. Meanwhile, “@phrog_lmao I’m really missing being the healer in expert Nether,” which sounds like it might be about removed content?
One would have thought a small intricately woven character tweet would trigger another huge complaint session about the entire state of the game, be it story complaints or gameplay issues or… whatever pronouns are about. If there’s one thing the Destiny 2 players have plenty of, it’s passion; equally passionate about being pissed off is the Destiny 2 community.
What’s interesting is, however, this is an example of Bungie’s communication strategy seemingly failing them. For a mysterious character tease, this has quickly become an opportunity for the players to vent all their grievances. According to Rocky_H_Johnson, it is “the most out of touch I’ve ever seen this studio in the lifespan of the game,” pretty harsh.
At the end of the day, Lodi seems to be just another character in Destiny’s ever-growing universe, but the reaction to him tells a bigger story about the games current state. Players want more substantial content like new strikes, and PvP maps; they want better communication from Bungie, and they have… opinions about character writing and representation.
Whether Lodi will become the beacon for the people or will serve as fodder for yet another mass of grievances is yet to be determined. What is for sure, however, is that the Destiny 2 community is going to speak, and speak they will. Always.
