For many fans, Shadowkeep is the most exciting DLC to come for Destiny 2, as it is the first bit of content the Bungie team will release after their separation from Activision Blizzard. We have already seen a lot of the content that is going to be introduced, including hints of the story, the return of the Moon from D1, and a new feature called finishing moves.
Finishing moves are perhaps the most intriguing addition from a gameplay perspective. It is not often that Bungie adds completely new mechanics, especially just coming off of the new classes and supers added in Forsaken. Recently, some new information has come to light as to the nature of these moves.
Finishing moves, asides from being awesome cosmetically, have been revealed to also have gameplay functionality as well. Guardians are able to add mods to armor pieces, much like Super mods, Mobility mods, Paragon mods, etc., that make finishing moves more worthwhile. A given example was the ability for finishing moves to drop ammunition for your fireteam.
This is an exciting prospect. After the Bungie/EA split, some fans believed that the Bungie team will be adding more MMO type build options to the game. We have seen this already with the support class added to Warlock in the form of Well of Radiance, and in one of the newest exotic handcannons called Lumina.
The finishing moves, however, come with a bit of a trade-off. Players will still be able to take damage while in the animation, and the moves will cost a varying amount of super energy. This is a hefty price to pay, so hopefully, the abilities we gain for finishing moves will be worth it. Luckily, the Destiny 2 team has added in several exotics that increase the rate of Super energy gain, including the newest addition to the weapons roster- Bad Juju.
The team at Bungie has also made a smart decision regarding the customization of these animations. It has been confirmed that the perk finishing moves give, will be separate from the actual animation used. This means in essence, that players will not have to choose between their favorite animation cosmetically, and the best perk for their current build.
In its current state, guardians will only be able to have one move equipt at a time. However, the team has stated they plan on expanding this after Shadowkeep’s release. Eventually, Bungie plans to add several different slots for the cosmetic finishers. In game which animation your guardian decides to do will be randomized. This is another great addition as it keeps certain finishers from becoming too stale.
