Just recently, Bungie officialy released the Destiny 2 update named ‘Renegades’, along with a tweet that inquires as to what is better than having a single Stasis Mortar turret in the Lawless Frontier. The response, unquestionably, is to have two of them along with a Piker Swoop Bike. This is the new content and it is unlocked right now. Furthermore, it allows players to explore new methods of causing disaster in the universe of the multiplayer online game, which has indeed been running for years. Still, the reaction from the community has been mixed, containing excitement about the new gear but also, at the same time, serious frustrations about the game’s direction that are deeply felt.

At first glance, the gear seems impressively beautiful. The Stasis Mortar turret is a well-known Destiny deployable but now you can have two? And a Piker Swoop Bike, too? What a pure joy! Dreaming of power and fun like this is what keeps people playing even in character leveling zones or even taking on challenging content. Redfeather was one player who jumped to the call and asked if the bike was the one that could be summoned and if it would get Strand bolas, indicating that even the excitement over new toys is unending. Another player, Hero361, was just so happy, and simply said ‘Yo! You gave us speeder bikes!’. Indeed, the simple satisfaction of spotting new loot in a looter shooter is unescapable.

Nevertheless, scrolling through the responses is like a trip to a different dimension. The situation is similar to that of a farmer who loves his land but is continuously mistreated. The new content is a signal flare but the conversation quickly flew to the major concerns that players have been dealing with for years.

The thread initiated by Rogerio Menecucci was one of the main discussions that got straight to the issue: the cost and the whole Destiny 2 thing. He points out “exorbitant prices” for cosmetic items offered as paid story DLC, bugs and repetitiveness. He definitely is not the only one. Several other people in the thread support him, and one of them is Leach8887, who is labeling the yearly cost for a short DLC as ‘bs’. He also suggests that the story should be free and not ‘vaulted’—this is a clear reference to Bungie’s unpopular decision to take down older material. Justin Clark even backs up the idea by saying that he wishes for a whole new prequel story set during the Golden Age. This is not only about one update; it is about the whole business model that is mainly accused of keeping the narrative behind a steep paywall that is charged yearly.

Additionally, there is the issue with bugs and glitches that sometimes seem to be more annoying than usual with this update. Andrewtime2kill tweets about a mission-breaking bug in the ‘Fire and Ice’ quest which resulted in a restart and finishes his tweet by saying ‘great fg game you got here.’ Daniel Cole had very harsh experience as he performed an invader’s job perfectly and received an ascendant box, but the game then glitched and transported him to orbit before he could do anything with it. He says, ‘Feels bad,’ and one can almost hear the sigh coming from the monitor. Piotr Kowalczyk complains that he prefers the more chaotic 1v3 format over the orderly 1v1 invasions. On the other hand, I_Am_Excell provides a detailed account of how the invasion reward system is not rightfully rewarding skill. These complaints are very specific; they are not abstract but very small, annoying moments that cause the gameplay cycle to break.

And, just a minute, what was I saying? Oh, yes, the community’s wishlist. Players are not only calling for fixes but also dreaming out loud. A user named HiredGun goes on a mini-rant across several replies, suggesting everything from an auction house and player trading, to sidekick pets that you can unlock, to the introduction of completely new playable races such as the Eliksni or Cabal. He even goes so far as to say that it would be awesome if these new lockout characters were to have a cue taken from Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer which was already quite diverse in terms of character options. It is a demand for deeper, more holistic changes along with new ideas to eradicate the feeling of having content becoming ‘stale.’

Most interestingly, there seems to be a somewhat different interaction going on through memes and inside jokes. One user posts a picture of a ‘homeless guy’ who is trying to deceive them. A different item is just a screenshot of a pink crystal that gives no hint as to what the context is. Then there’s the ‘Not Swap’ issue. A couple of comments, from dembouzx1 and MccurdyRiley, simply ask to ‘announce reverted’. This online discussion is happening on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox, where the fans are deeply engaged.