It’s been two weeks into Season of the Splicer and like anything Bungie releases there is so good, some great and some just plain bad. New to the this season Destiny adds a new 6-player activity called Override, over 30 new and returning guns, and of course the most beloved raid in the history of destiny Vault of Glass. First it’s only right to start with what is great so far this season.
The Great
Every season Bungie adds new seasonal weapons along with a slew of new perks to go with these weapons. In terms of new seasonal weapons there are 6, and not all are good, but there are a couple standouts that should be part of every guardians arsenal. First the Gridskipper: A 540 Rpm Void pulse rifle, it combines fire rate along with accuracy to be a formidable force in PVP and PVE. Lookout for perks like Frenzy, Killing Wind and Heating Up. The Second gun to Lookout for Is Ignition Code: A Kinetic grenade launcher. The thing that makes the Ignition Code a must get is not only is one of the mods this season Unstoppable grenade launcher, but it also comes with Blinding grenades which is incredibly useful for any activity especially Grandmaster Nightfalls. Now all the weapons look cool as hell and everyone fares differently so give them all a try.
Coming into this season we knew that this was the season we finally get Vault of Glass. Knowing Bungie every Guardian feared that they would ruin one of the most memorable things from the first Destiny. Bungie stated that they had to change things to make it more difficult because modern Guardians would stomp the Vault. This past Saturday the day finally came where Guardians could finally revisit the Vault of Glass. When stepping onto Venus at the start of the raid an instant blast of nostalgia comes over you as all the memories come rushing back. Going through the Raid you realize that Bungie changed and tweaked a lot of mechanics in almost every encounter. The raid is genuinely hard , so much so, that I highly recommend going into the raid with only competent people. Now I haven’t had the luck to pull some of the most classic guns such as the Fatebringer or Vex Mythoclast, but stay tuned for the reviews when I do. Destiny 2 Vault of Glass ain’t the breeze it was in it’s original form, and my clan and I have still yet to get through it smoothly, however it’s still a load of fun and I recommend it to anyone willing to put in the effort.
The Good
The one thing Bungie has always been good at is storytelling. One thing I dislike is the way Bungie drip feeds the story on a weekly basis. This seasons story revolves around the Vex who have simulated an endless night in the last City, home to the last remanence of humanity. Ikora and the Guardians turn to the last of the Fallen who still worship the Traveler and their leader Mithrax. He uses an ancient hacking technology known as Splicing which will help us end this endless night. The best part of the seasonal story came this reset when a new weekly mission became available. It’s called Expunge and it mostly consists of a jumping puzzle with a somewhat simple boss. The thing that makes this mission so well done is the atmosphere. It feels like your in a Tron like simulation trying to hack the system. My hope is that bungie releases a mission of this quality weekly, however I don’t want to get my hopes up seeing how Bungie has been known to disappoint.
The Bad
The lack of care that Bungie puts into PVP is abysmal. First off I can’t even remember the last time Bungie put new maps into the game. Second, ever since Bungie introduced Stasis in Beyond Light, it has become the main source of aggravation when playing PVP. 9 out of 10 people use Stasis when they are forced to play this Ass part of the game due to challenges and bounties. It is beyond aggravating the amount of times you get frozen in a single game of Crucible. The pinnacle of PVP is Trials of Osiris and there is good exclusive loot attached to it. Here is the thing, not many people play Trials so the people you get matched up with are sweaty try-hards or cheaters. It’s gotten to a point where they have to fix PVP soon or just downright take it out of the game. Not a single person rationally believes it’s good.
Ever since Season of Opulence, where they introduced the Menagerie, players have been clamoring for a new 6-player activity. This season they introduced Override, the new 6-player activity for Season of the Splicer. We should have made it clear that we wanted a good 6-player activity, because Override just doesn’t cut it. The mode has everyone’s favorite mechanic, Mote collecting. Your goal is to basically collect motes, kill enemy’s, then kill a vex boss that has way to little health for a 6-player activity. I honestly think Override wasn’t meant to be a 6-player activity and is only this way to appease the masses. From the amount of motes it takes to fill the bank, to the health of the bosses, everything is way to easy to be for 6 people. It’s repetitive, boring and the only way to get the seasonal currency to focus engrams for the new guns. Here’s hoping that the hard “Corrupted” version is a bit better.
With anything Bungie releases you have to take the good with the bad, and that’s no different with Season of the Splicer. There is still lots to come with things like Solstice of Heroes, Grandmaster and Master difficulty Vault of Glass. There is a lot to grind for and a lot more in depth I could have gone on certain things. As far as the beginning of the season goes, I would say that due to the inclusion of Vault of Glass, this season has been pretty good so far. Hopefully the missions remain pretty cool and the rumored dungeon actually is a thing. Until then I’ll leave you with this, Transmog is nice, the way it was implemented sucks.
Rongo 