Bungie has revealed the new Desert Perpetual Epic Raid in Destiny 2, set to open on Saturday, September 27th, with reactions from the community being… well, things are a bit messy. The official tweet bids players to “assemble your fireteam and prepare your best damage rotations” and sign up for the World First Race; however, scrolling through the replies is like walking into a battlefield where everybody has something to say about the current state of the game. It is quite a mess and raw-and such is the state of Destiny 2’s divided soul today.
Basically, this raid presents the new endgame-level challenge for hardcore players. World First Race, a huge spectacle in itself, has clans who rarely sleep until attaining glory for being the first ever to clear new content; but this time, the announcements are hitting hard, carrying nearly a revolt against the game from its own players. In many replies, frustration has just started pouring out. Some player by the handle @Bungiehatefun shared a phrase, which probably encapsulates the general idea: “I haven’t even bothered getting to 300, I just can’t be bothered.” Another one came… “Everyone I know I quit the game because of the state of D2……..” Well, that certainly is not the hype that Bungie wanted to see.
And let’s talk about that loadout sitcuation. The tweet starts mentioning damage rotations, basically kicking off the huge game mechanics discussion. One user by the handle @youngkbeats gave plausible sarcasm, saying “Starts maybe, we might change the date. Also, leave your favorite weapons at home cuz we turning them bitches off.” This kicked off a conversation on swapping loadouts. @Zeniehh said,”Maybe look into fixing Combination, notswap and however many more bugs there are (I’ve lost count) before the Epic Raid lol.” This technical debate escalates into a bigger concern: that players feel the game is quite broken and Bungie’s answer, i.e. disabling weapons, is just a band-aid. @CalicoFlo gave the Destiny account a direct reply, stating, “Why is there even a disabled list. You have had months to tune the game. Isn’t that embarrassing to you that you can’t get it right and just have to ban items.” This is an actual middle finger scream.
Things start getting better when @ExSaucci and @Pikabrother1 enter into a throwdown regarding locked loadouts. Saucci says that if Bungie intends to stop swapping, they just use the locked loadout feature that exists in-game. Pikabrother1 fires back, arguing the locked loadouts “would be significantly worse and have 0 place being in any kind of raid/dungeon as what you need per encounter may/will vary.” Legit strategic debate pointing to how nuanced these systems really are. @Lucke_92 agrees, saying, “Exactly, why would anyone want to be stuck on their damage loadout the whole encounter lol.” That inside baseball talk is what drives the Destiny community-a fiery requirement of frustration and passion toward the game’s design choices.
But it ain’t all arguments. There’s a layer of apathy. Many replies are just people saying they’re done. @the_bruce13 simply said: “Already stopped playing.” @Sinatra7th says, “we’ll be on borderlands 4 instead this weekend.” Then comes a very clear declaration of @BorealisKnows: “nah the fun police ruined this game lmao.” That phrase “fun police” seems to pop up as a theme pointing to the hope that Bungie’s balance changes killed what fun was left in this game for many. If there ever was hype, it’s certainly tempered. @mf1786 said, “only one probably excited is aztecross, rickkackis, skarrow and datto😂🤣😂” – practically naming all the big content creators that earn from this game. It paints a picture of a loyal but dwindling hardcore audience.
Wait, what was I saying? Oh yeah, the raid itself. Despite all the negativity, there will be teams trying for World First. It’s a big thing in Destiny lands. This in turn, is a perfect showcase for the fractured player base. Some have said recent contest-mode raids have swung the other way with regard to difficulty tuning, Vorgethi stating they’re “gone way too far left” and saying they don’t agree “that only the best of the best should be able to complete them.” And it lobs back the questions to Bungie about whom endgame content is really for-the 1 percent or just the very large minority?
And then you get those oddball, completely random replies that make Twitter, Twitter. @supMitchh smashed the keyboard with “LUCKY PANTS PEACEKEEPERS ANTEDATE AGAPE FINALITYS AUGER MINT RETROGRADE” over and over. @TheBoneShackles predicted the raid is going to be “horr en dous” (which we suppose means horrendous?). For deserted lands, @bakery_prn punctuated “;completely fucking gay have fun dorks.” Meaning, based on appearances-or outright refusal to give-the reception could not be more scatter.
Weird is the best way to describe this for Destiny 2. A new raid must be an occasion to celebrate, the newest challenge for players to dive into. But somewhere in the middle of the announcement, bug, balance, and general “lost its way” complaints take charge. The Desert Perpetual Epic Raid comes sooner rather than later with fiercely heated venues for world first and is yet another cause for logging out for at least half of the player base. Never before has the gap between hardcore raiders and the average guy been so apparent. The reply section of this tweet is a perfect snapshot of the rift. Whether it will bring them all together or be just for the streamers and uber-dedicated, that will be seen down the road; but one thing for sure is that there will not be silence in the Destiny community.
