Destiny 2 fans are a week away from getting their hands on the highly anticipated Lightfall expansion, which will take Guardians to the diamond shores of Neomuna and let them unlock the power to weave reality and entangle enemies with Strand. Lightfall is changing many aspects of Destiny 2 when it comes to the core gameplay loop and the buildcrafting experience, with the latter receiving a complete overhaul thanks to the many new effects and features Bungie is adding to the game. The company also shows that it's dedicated to improving Destiny 2 based on players' feedback, which shows thanks to the upcoming changes to core playlists and seasonal vendors.
Even though Lightfall seems to be set for success, there is one lingering question that hasn't found a clear answer yet. In fact, it's unclear how Destiny 2's Power Level changes will impact the game on many fronts, starting from the sometimes FOMO-inducing grind that typically plagues every Season to the freedom of joining the shooter's latest entry at any given time. Based on the state of the game post shared by Destiny 2 director Joe Blackburn, it seems that Bungie is set on removing the seasonal pinnacle cap increases starting with Season of the Deep, and while it's a good change, it's also concerning for other reasons.
Lightfall Might Introduce a Grind Problem in Destiny 2 While Fixing Another
Destiny 2's Lightfall expansion will feature the typical Power Level increase that players are used to, with Power typically skipping a couple of hundred levels, possibly settling at 1,800 this time around. This on its own is sort of a controversial approach because, on one hand, new expansions such as Lightfall have a plethora of content to offer and players don't want to spend a lot of time grinding, and on the other hand, it does fulfill that power fantasy of becoming much stronger than ever. Lightfall's Legendary Campaign is a perfect example of this, offering more rewards if players complete more difficult encounters.
However, starting with Destiny 2's Season 22, which Blackburn called Season of the Deep, Bungie plans on removing Power Level increases in the form of the so-called seasonal cap. This is intended as a way to make endgame content more accessible for players at all times, but unless this is properly addressed, it could also easily lead to another issue: the seasonal artifact. Since Bungie seemingly has no plans to remove the seasonal artifact's bonus levels, those will become the main and only way for players to increase their Power Level, removing sources of Pinnacle Gear.
While the seasonal artifact's bonus levels provide an immediate and effective goal for players to become more powerful and better engage with the game's most difficult activities, it's also worth noting that these levels reset every Season when a new artifact drops. As such, players won't have the feeling of ever-increasing power, and instead, every Season could feel like a blank slate, completely washing away one's efforts only to start again. Not only does this create a huge grind problem in Destiny 2, but it poses the question as to why Power Level is still a thing, and how accessible endgame content will be.
Endgame content like Destiny 2's Grandmaster Nightfalls is often considered the most challenging the game has to offer, and it also comes with limitations, like one's Power Level. This should be changed accordingly to avoid problems with players not being able to join the game when they want only to find themselves in a battle against time to level up as quickly as possible only to tackle endgame content. On top of that, the artifact's bonus levels resetting every Season means that one's requirements to enter a Raid, for example, will have to depend on how much that Guardian is willing to grind during a given Season - and more intensely than before. This issue might not even be exclusive to Lightfall, considering Bungie's plans.
It's also worth pointing out that the Power Level cap in Destiny 2's Season of Defiance will be the same as that of Season 23 by this logic, which can be a blessing and a curse. The grind could quickly become stale for some players, as in an effort to battle FOMO and promote accessibility, Destiny 2 could paradoxically gain different FOMO elements and accessibility issues instead of breaking away from them. Ultimately, while it's likely that Bungie is making these changes knowing the risks, going into Lightfall not knowing how exactly this grind-related problem will be tackled is strange, especially considering the company's admirable efforts to remain transparent at all times.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
