10 reasons to dive back into Destiny 2 with The Final Shape

Time to dust off your Ghost and change the oil in your Sparrow, Guardian. Whether it’s been years or days since you’ve played, here are ten reasons why you should return and finish the decade-long fight in Destiny 2: The Final Shape.

Prismatic allows Guardians to create their own subclass

In what may be the coolest feature in Destiny 2 to date, the new Prismatic subclass in The Final Shape allows Guardians to mix and match abilities from every subclass to create their own. Want to tangle your enemies with a Strand grenade and set them alight with Solar hammers? Go for it! Feel like slowing enemies with Stasis and whipping out Golden Gun? Everyone in The Crucible will hate you, but go wild!

Beyond the near-limitless subclass blends of Prismatic, this unique subclass also features a new mechanic known as the Transcendence. Balance the power of Light and Dark enough in combat, and you’ll receive special fusion grenades, such as the Titan’s Arc-Strand grenade, instant cooldown refreshes, and weapon damage bonuses.

Harness the power of two Exotics with Exotic class items

The customization of the Prismatic subclass expands even further with Exotic class items, which roll with two random Exotic perks inspired by iconic Exotic armor from all classes. 

An exciting example provided by Bungie was a Titan Mark with the power of both the Warlock’s Ophidian Aspect and the Titan’s Precious Scars, resulting in an Exotic that increases melee range and provides burst healing from final blows.

Battle new enemy types with the Dread 

Bored of fighting the same foes for the last decade? Allow me to introduce the Dread, Destiny’s newest faction, which includes six new enemy types, plus the Tormentor previously introduced in Lightfall. 

As flying alien bats with guns, the Grim are my favorite so far, though I’m sure I’ll be cursing them when the expansion launches. There’s also the melee-orientated Husk, which spawns a Geist when destroyed, the Stasis-wielding Attendant, and the Strand-twisting Weaver. 

Reunite with Cayde-6

Cayde-6 went out with a bang in Forsaken, and his sacrifice was necessary to introduce our beloved Crow, but everyone’s favorite wise-cracking Exo is sorely missed. Luckily for Colonel and Guardians everywhere, Cayde-6 is returning in The Final Shape.

Granted, we have no idea how Cayde returns or what role he’s set to play. We don’t even know if he’s genuinely alive or the result of whatever the hell is going on inside the Traveler, but either way, one of Destiny’s greatest characters is finally coming home. The paracausal cherry on top is that Nathan Fillion is also returning to voice Cayde after being temporarily replaced by Nolan North during his last appearance.

Rediscover the original Tower and familiar locations

The Pale Heart of the Traveler is the central zone in The Final Shape and the most unique location in the entire franchise. Described as a “linear destination,” the Pale Heart features twisted versions of familiar locations, such as Destiny 1’s iconic Tower.  

The places we explore in the Pale Heart reflect our previous adventures throughout the years and crescendoes into an increasingly warped and abstract world the closer we get to The Witness’ monolith. The video preview and handful of screenshots available are absolutely gorgeous, and with the creative freedom a location like this provides, I can’t wait to see what Bungie’s art team produces.

A new and improved HUD

Image: Bungie

With thousands of buffs and debuffs in the game and only four shown at once, it’s often difficult to understand precisely what’s happening in the heat of battle. With The Final Shape, Destiny 2’s HUD is getting a fresh coat of paint that makes it far easier to see your and your enemies’ buffs and debuffs.

• Primary modifiers, such as those essential for raids, appear below your health.
• Weapon modifiers now show above the super bar and weapon information.
• High-priority buffs will “push” low-priority buffs, so the most vital information is always available.
• Buffs and debuffs will have new icons that are easier to absorb at a glance and more accessible to colorblind Guardians.
• Timers now display to the left of a buff icon.
• More buffs can be shown on screen (previously limited to four).

Bungie is still working on final adjustments to the HUD before the launch of The Final Shape, but the previews so far look far cleaner than what we currently have. With buffs and debuffs being practically impossible to miss, you’ll have to think of a new excuse for wiping the entire party during a Raid. Lag, maybe? That’s always a good one.

It’s easier than ever to find groups for every activity

If you don’t have a fireteam on hand, jumping into group content in Destiny 2 can be daunting, leading to players missing out on some of the game’s best activities. With the new in-game Fireteam Finder feature, creating and joining groups has never been easier. No third-party sites, Discord servers, or clunky apps are needed to find the right players for any activity. 

Even as someone who tends to keep to themselves in Destiny, I have to admit that the Fireteam Finder is one of my favorite features in recent years. While Bungie.net worked to find other players for group content without matchmaking, the hassle discouraged me from raiding as much as I would’ve liked to.

Fireteam Finder is not a new feature in The Final Shape, but it is a recent change that makes the Destiny experience much smoother and opens up new doors for fellow introverted players. Whether that’s jumping into Onslaught to gear up before launch or finding Guardians to fight The Witness and experience the culmination of the Light and Dark saga.

Finish the fight with an Epic Raid

That’s right! For the first time in Destiny 2, the climax of an expansion’s main story will take place during a Raid. While we’ve only seen it in recent years, The Witness is the “main villain” of the Destiny franchise and has been pulling the strings behind the scenes for the last decade. Rather than (permanently) gunning it down in The Final Shape’s last mission, Guardians must team up to defeat The Witness in an epic raid.

As someone deeply disappointed with Calus — a character built up through multiple raids and seasons over six years — being relegated to a bullet sponge boss at the end of Lightfall, I’m ecstatic to give The Witness the grandiloquent sendoff it deserves.  If we actually manage to kill it, that is. Villains in Destiny don’t seem to stay dead for long.

Though the Fireteam Finder will hopefully make it a piece of paracausal cake to find Guardians to take down the Witness, Bungie has promised that there’ll be a compromise for non-raiders to experience The Final Shape’s climax in some way. 

Goodbye seasons, hello Episodes

Image: Bungie

Destiny 2’s storytelling through Seasons has been heavily scrutinized recently, and rightly so. While the writing has seen some phenomenal moments (Hive god Eric Morn, anyone?), the current seasonal system is far from the best way to tell these stories. Thankfully, post-launch content in The Final Shape will be told through the brand-new Episode system, which promises “more cinematic-style experiences throughout the Final Shape year and the Episodes with it than the seasons [they’ve] ever developed before,” according to assistant game director Robbie Stevens.

Episodes are storylines split into three Acts, each lasting around six weeks. Each Act introduces new story content, Exotics, missions, weapons, activities, cosmetics, and surprises. “It’s all about deeper story moments. It’s all about more weapons, more loot, more often. And it really provides the team with the platform to go much deeper into the themes and fantasies and story of any individual episode as compared to the seasons you know of today.” 

The story is my favorite part of Destiny 2, and I can’t wait to see what Bungie is cooking up with a system that allows for longer storylines, more cutscenes, and far more freedom. Especially with Heresy, The Final Shape’s third episode, which likely reveals what schemes the newly-resurrected Savathûn has been devising. 

Each class gains a new Super

Bored of the same old Supers? Every Class will receive an incredible new Super in The Final Shape. One of them involves outfitting your Fireteam with void axes, and, no, I will never use anything else.

Warlock: Song of Flame (Solar)

The Warlock’s new Solar Super is Song of Flame. This overcharges your melee ability and turns your grenade into a sentient bird friend that hones in on enemies and explodes. It also applies Scorch to your and your allies’ weapons and increases their ability regeneration and damage resistance.

Hunter: Storm’s Edge (Arc)

The Warlock’s new Arc Super is Storm’s Edge. This throws a dagger that teleports you to its location, unleashing a devastating “whirlwind strike” at nearby enemies. You can use this up to three times for colossal damage, and the potential for some incredible movement plays in PvP.

Titan: Twilight Arsenal (Void)

The Warlock’s new Void Super is Twilight Arsenal. Similar to Hammer of Sol, Twilight Arsenal involves throwing Void axes (not hammers!) that drag in enemies, explode, and weaken anything that survives. Anyone in your fireteam can then pick up these axes to throw again. Fun for the whole family!

Convinced yet? You can pre-order The Final Shape right now to immediately unlock a Pyramid-inspired ship. The Into The Light update also recently dropped, which is entirely free-to-play, easy to jump into, and a ton of fun. Just don’t buy the tripwires in Onslaught, yeah?

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