Like the first game, Destiny 2 story expansions were released during successive Years, adding not only story content but additional seasonal activities, dungeons, raids, and gear for players to accrue. However, Year Four’s expansion overhauled the game, causing much of the content from the first three years to be vaulted or sunset to make room for new content. The recent reveal of the upcoming Lightfall expansion revealed that no additional content would be sunset. However, nothing has been mentioned regarding past material, which should be brought back.
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Provide the Full Destiny 2 Story Content
One of the primary reasons that the sunsetted content for Destiny 2 should be brought back is to provide players with the exclusive story content of the game. Year One of Destiny 2 saw the release of Curse of Osiris and Warmind; Year Two overhauled the game with Forsaken; Year Three released Shadowkeep. With Shadowkeep and beyond, it was not necessary to have played the past material to understand the events; however, many of the story beats that occurred were referenced through these later expansions.
Despite containing some standalone elements, many players lack the full story if they start with new characters or wish to replay their favorite parts of past content. Destiny 2’s lore being so extensive and intricate, asks for its entire story to be available for old and new players. With access to only the recent updates, the player experience is short-changed, and so are the multilayered world-building and events that have transpired along the way.
Destiny 2 Players Deserve A Complete Package
Destiny 2 has a definitive learning curve for new players to acclimate to the story and world. In the past, it has been difficult for new players to grasp the full scope of what is going on, along with the numerous gameplay mechanics and feature events. When Shadowkeep was released in Year Three, Destiny 2 became free to play with a new story introduction called New Light, which brought back some elements from the first game to orient new players.
While Destiny 2’s New Light continues to this day, the fact that so much content has been retired means that new players are missing vital pieces of information and story that aren’t fully captured with the recent introduction. The stories are absent, rob new players of experiences others enjoyed, and the emotional story beats and arcs don’t resonate the same way since new players cannot experience them themselves.
One prime example is the story beats surrounding Cayde-6. A prevalent character who often provided comical and general relief when situations were dire was eventually killed during the Forsaken story expansion. Cayde-6’s death was monumental, causing shock and heartbreak amongst fans and players, creating a surge of conflict within the story, and showcasing the growing seriousness and darkness of the Destiny 2 world. New players are informed about Cayde-6 yet have no emotional attachment to him or the events surrounding his life, death, and legacy.
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Return Past Gear, Items, and Rewards
In addition to story content being sunset with the start of Destiny 2 Year Four, many additional features that came along with the story expansions were also vaulted. This includes armor, weapons, items, rewards, seasons, dungeons, raids, and so on. The decision to vault or sunset these stories and features was described as a way to save storage space for the overall Destiny 2 game, but also because newer material was created with the help of better technology, which made working with old and new features at the same time complex.
From a game design aspect, this makes sense and could be understood initially. However, more and more games are featuring remastered graphics and overhauls to run efficiently on better technology, so there shouldn’t be a reason why Destiny 2 can’t do the same. The fact that the game is so popular and beloved certainly makes it viable for such an overhaul, considering it is one of the most popular live-service shooters to date.
Additionally, new players are missing out on the chance to experience such rewarding, fun, and thrilling content, and players that already paid for that content and the rewards that came with those expansions also suffer. To have their Exotic armor, weapons, items, and tips now no longer available or completely obsolete creates a certain amount of frustration and tension. Time, patience, money, and work often went into procuring these strategic features, and having them taken away doesn’t leave many players thrilled.
Destiny 2 has a vibrant story that begs players, old and new alike, to embark upon new or old Destiny 2 Guardian characters. However, with the release of the recent story expansion, past content vital to the game was vaulted. With the Lightfall trailer revealing that such actions wouldn’t happen again, many players asked if that meant past material would return. While no definite answer has been provided, there are many reasons to bring those sunsetted stories back. Offering the whole story for everyone, returning strong story beats and emotional arcs, and the chance to utilize rewards paid for with money and hard work make a compelling argument for their return.
Destiny 2 is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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