Past expansions from both the original Destiny and Destiny 2 have set the bar high in terms of new, game changing additions. Namely, introducing new/revamped subclasses, enemies, and destinations alongside memorable storylines has been what made past expansions stand above some of the rest. While new expansions could come with any combination of different components, replicating the successes from the best of Destiny and Destiny 2’s expansions would be a safe way to deliver an experience that satisfies the community.
While Lightfall may have added the Strand Darkness subclass, Tormentor enemy, and Neomuna destination, not having a new enemy variety was a missed opportunity. Neomuna is an entirely new destination for the Guardians to explore, yet it features the Cabal and Vex that the community is already familiar with. While the new Shadow-Legion Cabal stand out from the existing Cabal due to their new over-shield technology, it’s not quite enough to classify them as a new enemy type. Also worth mentioning, the story of the Lightfall expansion hasn’t been received too well by the community so far, although future seasonal content and storylines may take the spotlight. After the community’s frustrations with Lightfall, hopefully The Final Shape expansion doesn’t suffer from the same shortcomings.
The Final Shape should learn from Destiny's best expansions
Back in the original Destiny, the Taken King expansion added the Taken enemy variety, the Dreadnought destination, and a new skill tree for each of the character’s three Light subclasses. Although the Taken weren’t a fully original enemy type, their sheer variety throughout Destiny and Destiny 2 has been hard to ignore. It’s clear that Bungie is proud of their creation of Taken enemies because of how frequently they continue to appear throughout the sequel's ongoing story. The subclass additions also continue to be used to this day by many players. Having a story that highlighted the origins of one of the Traveler’s many enemies proved to be a great avenue for a Destiny expansion to showcase.
The 2014 Forsaken expansion for Destiny 2 added the Scorn variety of enemies, the Tangled Shore and Dreaming City destinations, and also a new skill tree for each of the three Light subclasses. Aside from a story that divided the Destiny community at the time, Forsaken was another majorly successful expansion for the Destiny games. The Scorn variety of enemies still exist throughout the game despite most of the expansion’s content retiring to Destiny 2’s content vault and the story from this expansion is still being explored through the surviving characters. The subclass additions, new enemy type, and story have had a lasting impression on Destiny 2 that future expansions would be wise to learn from.
Even the 2022 Witch Queen expansion for Destiny 2 added the Hive Lightbearers enemy type, the Savathun’s Throne World destination, and updates to existing subclasses. Although it didn’t add a “new” subclass, most of the subclass 3.0 updates were released around the time of this expansion, and they forever changed the way that character builds play. The Witch Queen was received fairly well by the community, which supports how closely it can be compared to the features that made other expansions a big hit.
With the impending The Final Shape expansion already generating hype, the community’s expectations are high as ever for the culmination of Destiny 2’s Light and Darkness saga. Recent leaks for Destiny 2’s future content speculate that a third subclass from the Darkness will be available for players to wield in the future, which if true, bodes extremely well. Given how the Witness and the Darkness have been creeping in the background of Destiny 2 since the game’s launch, their long awaited appearance could be undermined if they are once again just modified versions of existing enemies.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
