Destiny 2: The 5 Hardest Strikes The 5 Easiest
Since the release of Destiny 2, monetization has been a thorn in all player's sides. Though Bungie tweaked it to be fairer, players still resented the idea that Bungie was selling a $49.99 Season Pass with microtransactions on top of it all while asking players to pay up front to get the game. Anyone hoping things would get better after Bungie's split from Activision isn't going to be happy to hear what's happening in Shadowkeep.
Probably the biggest albatross hanging over the entire expansion, however, is the lack of anything new. Despite some additional areas to explore and a fresh coat of paint, this is a map players already paid $60 to explore back in 2014. Nightmares are just reskinned versions of enemies we've already fought and they don't behave any differently. Two of the three new Crucible maps are remasters of old maps. The new Nightmare activities are against bosses that players have already fought hundreds of times. The new Strikes and Raid are excellent additions, but you don't even need to own Shadowkeep to play the Strikes. For $34.99, players should expect more and Bungie should have provided plenty of new content rather than rehashing older material.
Clocking in at four-to-five hours, Shadowkeep's campaign generally overstays its welcome despite such a short completion time. The campaign doesn't offer anything interesting in the way of revelations or mission design. Instead, it spends most of its length tasking players with mindless busywork. After that, it ends on an interesting yet unsatisfying cliffhanger that likely won't be addressed until the inevitable Destiny 3. The campaign never approaches the awful Dark Below or Curse of Osiris , but it's a severe drop in quality from Forsaken.
Aiding players greatly is its White Nail, an Exotic Perk that not only grants this weapon high precision damage at the base but also refills the magazine when landing three quick precision hits. As such, Whisper of the Worm becomes an incentivizing weapon for snipers who don't want to reposition often and can take advantage of its extra sh
Players who are not a fan of teamwork will absolutely hate The Corrupted strike. The level on its own is one of the hardest in-game levels players will face anyway but the added need to rely on your teammates makes coordination between teams all the more imperat
The cycle of Destiny whiplash continues with Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. Like during the Destiny 2 Beginner Guide 1 era, we started with a lackluster opening, then got two awful expansions, got our significant overhaul, and now we're at the stopgap. Much like Rise of Iron , it's hard to shake the feeling that Bungie is just buying time until the inevitable next entry in the franchise. In this case, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep feels like Bungie is slow-walking to Destiny 3. The campaign ends up going nowhere, ending in an unsatisfying cliffhanger we likely won't see resolved for a while. Meanwhile, as great as the Moon is compared to its incarnation in the first game, there's no getting around the fact that we've already seen and paid for this before. The core gameplay is still the star of the show, the Moon is a fun place to play around in, the Strikes are imaginative and the new Seasonal Activity is a standout. But you can access all that without owning Shadowkeep (though the Seasonal Activity does require you to own the Season Pass). Destiny 2: Shadowkeep isn't bad, but it also feels wholly unnecessary when most of its selling points (Strikes, the Moon, Armor 2.0) can be played without owning it. This is one nightmare we didn't need to have.
Fatebringer , a Legendary Kinetic Hand Cannon, easily boasts some of the best handling of its weapon type. Its Adaptive Frame gives a well-grounded grip and easier maneuvering. The biggest boon of this weapon is that, with the correct perk combo, it can essentially roll with the benefits of three perks. This comes from the fact that it rolls Firefly in its second column, which is like a combination of Outlaw and Dragonfly, and this is without considering the first col
On top of this, Fatebringer can roll Rewind Rounds , which refunds 60% of landed shots when the cylinder is emptied, as well as Explosive Payload, which buffs weapon damage by around 15% in PvE, as well as makes 50% of the damage dealt completely unaffected by distance. This essentially extends the weapon's range and gives it a damage boost all in one perk. These two combinations mean that Fatebringer is loaded with benefits that other weapons can only dream
New expansion means new story, new story means new area and new area means new NPCs to give out fun stuff. Upon the initial Prison Break and Cayde’s death, Guardians will immediately make their way to The Tangled Shore in tracking down the escapees. The leader of this tangled web is a wonderful Fallen NPC named Spider. Spider helps in getting the ball rolling in tracking down the big-bads and seeking vengeance upon Uldren. He also is extremely helpful in getting one’s Light Level up the easy way. Sure, he sells the resources needed to now infuse gear into other gear, but honestly that will cost some serious glimmer. If not wanting to farm glimmer while wasting time, instead start chipping away at those bounties he has available. This is an easy first step in getting solid legendary gear that won’t break the bank or ones will. This will see Guardians returning to areas familiar such as the EDZ while heading into Lost Sectors to hunt those who’ve broken out of Prison. These are not the main Wardens in the main quest but regular high-level enemies that upon killing will complete a bounty for good gear. The Bounties stick around for a week making it a solid initial jumping off point.