Returning to Destiny 2 in 2025

[J4MES OX4D 10,312]

Bungie are having a sale right now and in which you can get 3 expansions plus other content for around £7. I thought I'd revisit the game after an almost 5 year absence and it's a bit overwhelming , but I think I am slowly finding my feet.  There are lots of new things and quite a few old elements that I have forgotten about. I seem to be going through the New Light campaign for returning and new players which is a bit of a recap of sorts. Once that is out of the way I can have a look at the expansions I didn't stick around for.  This game is definitely a convoluted mess for returning players, let alone newcomers, and I think Bungie have made a lot of things rather shambolic and bloated. Much of it is a result of sustained development even with the vaulted content, but others are through efforts to drive income particularly when they went solo away from Activision and it looks quite messy.  

 

The content included in the Legacy Collection (2025) are:- 

The Final Shape Standard Edition
Lightfall Standard Edition
The Witch Queen Standard Edition
Beyond Light Pack
Shadowkeep Pack
Forsaken Pack
30th Anniversary Pack
Pit of Heresy Dungeon
Shattered Throne Dungeon
Grasp of Avarice Dungeon

 

I'm definitely going to look forward to working my way through this content and it may even lead me to purchase some of the newer expansions. I hope this bundle will get more people back to the game but it may be a little late in the day for many and I must say Destiny 2 is one of the least welcoming games for new players and even past veterans because of its approach and execution despite simple and enjoyable gameplay mechanics.  

[J4MES OX4D 10,312]

I've started Beyond Light today which I never got around to buying all those years ago. It's not part of the Legacy Collection but the whole campaign is free within the game which is great. Once that's done, then I can focus on the newer expansions I got yesterday. Slowly finding my feet and getting back into the swing of things. 

 

Just done the Praksis mission which was good fun! 

[GazzaGarratt 11,229]

Funny you have come back to Destiny James, because I've just bought the next update after a long 12-18 months off it.

 

They've tried to find different ways to answer the new player experience, but as any existing game continually updates, there's probably no one single answer. They've created the 'Portal' page to help new people. I prefer the map but if you don't know how Destiny works, it does the best job of pushing you to do things in the game that you don't need to know how the world map works.

 

Beyond Light weirdly was one of the lesser story beats in terms of the campaign, albeit there were some cracking missions in it. The whole Beyond Light part introduced more so the best aesthetically pleasing raid of the lot and also a few fantastic story and gameplay inside the standalone exotic missions.

 

You've then got to go through the new way they've delivered story campaigns and that takes it up a notch. Its interesting to see the way Destiny has gone. For all the annoyance of where the game has gone, I play campaigns elsewhere and they don't hit as hard as these. I think the gameplay loop is the one they need to focus on - so much going on, its easy to get lost.

 

I have the new campaign which apparently is the best story but the new mechanic could somewhat make it not as exciting. Its not so bad so far after playing one mission. The PvE content now in the game is well worth it for £7.

[Sennex 2,001]

I played it a few hours a week up until about 3 weeks ago. I just can't do the grind anymore, its pointless, and not really that much fun anymore. (For me, not others)

 

Bungie is way to focused on Marathon, and them killing everyones light level back down to 10 again just seems really lame and an easy way out for Developers.

 

This steam review pretty much sums it up for me:

HOLY JUMPING DREIDELS BATMAN! bungle is releasing a new DLC? AND the servers are going to be busted for at least TWO DAYS!?! AWESOME!!!! what's that? they're also rolling out another round of sunsetting, removing hundreds of hours worth of game missions, grind, activities, a handful of unique areas with narratives and quests, AND all the loot they contained, despite over FIVE years of negative feedback and complaints?? sounds like a BLAST!!! i can't WAIT to have to explain to new players about what happened in the Season of שקל!!
wait, say that again?! they're going to make nearly ALL of my armor and most of my guns OBSOLETE by POWER CREEPING them?!?? TAKE MY MONEY!!!! huh, there's more?!? bungie fired ALL of their good composers, so nearly 40% of the soundtrack is just REMIXES of songs we're ALREADY HEARD???? truly a MASTERCLASS in RECYCLING!!!! wait, you've got even more?!? you're telling me the new destination will have NO lost sectors, only THREE armor exotics on launch, in addition to neglecting gambit and crucible for ANOTHER year?? YABBA DABBA DON'T MIND IF I DO!!!!!! I LOVE GIVING BUNGIE MONEY FOR KICKING ME IN THE ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GazzaGarratt 11,229]

33 minutes ago, Sennex said:

I played it a few hours a week up until about 3 weeks ago. I just can't do the grind anymore, its pointless, and not really that much fun anymore. (For me, not others)

 

Bungie is way to focused on Marathon, and them killing everyones light level back down to 10 again just seems really lame and an easy way out for Developers.

 

Yeah I mean I've paid for it because I wanted to play the story content. I don't ever play it for the grind anymore - I think quite a few did the same 2 years ago. It felt better to play without the grind for sure...the only thing that stopped me loving it was that people went away because its a game best loved when you're playing with others. Theres so many guns now that I don't worry about getting everything...but maybe thats the problem too. With too many objectives, it can feel pointless as you sense something else will come out in 6 months and smash the current AR I'm focused on.

 

Ah, heck. I dunno. It felt really good to boot it back up. I really enjoy the Journey page actually so I may just do the new story and focus on that as I very much doubt I'll be able to do a Deep Stone Crypt Raid anytime soon.

[Sennex 2,001]

I agree that its a game best played with others, but that being said, I spent the vast majority of my time solo in both games.

 

Regardless, Bungie making Kepler a solo space is such a weird choice.

[GazzaGarratt 11,229]

1 hour ago, Sennex said:

Regardless, Bungie making Kepler a solo space is such a weird choice.

 

Hard agree...and didn't know that 🤣 What I don't get is that if they did a World Update 2.0, to essentially re-go over worlds in terms of just exploring, they could do so much more with them. That coupled with allowing you to take more than 3 (I'd personally ask for 9 cos that was always the max player instance for stuff like Protocol on Mars) would allow for a far more enjoyable experience of just playing the game.

 

With the Portal page being introduced though, they probably realise the new gamer way is to gorge content so quickly that they don't want to just explore for a session. They want the shiny mission yesterday and want to complete it in 47 seconds. I feel gamers are a small part to pay in where its ended up.

[J4MES OX4D 10,312]

1 hour ago, GazzaGarratt said:

 

Yeah I mean I've paid for it because I wanted to play the story content. I don't ever play it for the grind anymore - I think quite a few did the same 2 years ago. It felt better to play without the grind for sure...the only thing that stopped me loving it was that people went away because its a game best loved when you're playing with others. Theres so many guns now that I don't worry about getting everything...but maybe thats the problem too. With too many objectives, it can feel pointless as you sense something else will come out in 6 months and smash the current AR I'm focused on.

 

Ah, heck. I dunno. It felt really good to boot it back up. I really enjoy the Journey page actually so I may just do the new story and focus on that as I very much doubt I'll be able to do a Deep Stone Crypt Raid anytime soon.

I had a bit of a shock returning and my power level at zero. I'm just playing for the story now and not too worried about seeking out all the exotic gear and doing add these padded side quests. Beyond Light had a 34-step mission and then some extras at the end which was good enough and I saw all I needed to see. Just started The Witch Queen on legendary which seems a real step up in narrative and mission-depth terms. 

 

Not really sure how power level works these days or when things got reset. Seems a lot of back-end changes have been made with things removed and others added. I had to sift through and remove a lot of obsolete stuff in my inventory too. 

 

If I am still playing after finishing these campaigns then I'll happily buy into the new content at full price as what I have now is a steal!

[Sennex 2,001]

I didn't mind the Final Shape, but there was zero chance I was doing it 3 times. The story wasn't bad, but man was it tedious at times.

 

I enjoyed Beyond Light but I think the Witch Queen was my favorite. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,229]

1 hour ago, J4MES OX4D said:

Not really sure how power level works these days or when things got reset. Seems a lot of back-end changes have been made with things removed and others added. I had to sift through and remove a lot of obsolete stuff in my inventory too. 

 

Power level has just had a full reset, so probs a good time to start again lol. If you look at Armour too its had an update (Armour 3.0 now iirc?). So stats are essentially dumbed down a bit so no more intellect or other confusing words - its now:

• Health
• Melee
• Grenade
• Super
• Class
• Weapons

1 hour ago, J4MES OX4D said:

Just started The Witch Queen on legendary which seems a real step up in narrative and mission-depth terms. 

 

Witch Queen is hard to beat in terms of campaign. On Legendary it is a massive challenge and feels packed. The change to Normal and Legendary campaigns was such a brilliant move. Final Shape is up there with it, for obvious reasons.

 

55 minutes ago, Sennex said:

I didn't mind the Final Shape, but there was zero chance I was doing it 3 times. The story wasn't bad, but man was it tedious at times.

 

You're crazy doing it 3 times. Don't think I ever did a full story through 3 times even in D1. Maybe did D2 as it was a breeze when it came out on launch with everyone on.

[Sennex 2,001]

I did most all of the campaigns on every character from D1 to D2, Final Shape just broke my will to do it.

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,312]

Just done this mission on The Witch Queen campaign - step 4 I think. 

Did it on legendary, solo and with a power level below the required one, however it doesn't actually state the requirement. Absolutely hard as hell and probably took me well over an hour just like the previous mission. Pulsating stuff though and a fantastic challenge throughout. Machine guns are an absolute godsend against armoured elites and bosses. I can't actually believe how many enemies get thrown at you but you just have to thin the pack and chip away at anything and everything.

 

Really makes a change because some campaigns the missions last 6-10 minutes and are so easy but this is a huge ramp up in action, length and difficulty. 

[Sennex 2,001]

Witch queen had really decent power scaling. One of the reasons it was a ton of fun. They needed to do more expansions like it,

[Diddums 4,351]

NEW CONTENT EVERYBODY! 

 

Funny this should pop up, I've been wondering about going back, as whether you like to admit it or not, Density provided some of the most epic nights in gaming we've ever had.

 

I've genuinely been wanting to shoulder charge some noobs again for a while now, could the be the resurgence we secretly all want?

[J4MES OX4D 10,312]

8 hours ago, Sennex said:

Witch queen had really decent power scaling. One of the reasons it was a ton of fun. They needed to do more expansions like it,

I'm really enjoying this campaign - just finished the Savathun's right hand mission which was bloody challenging on solo legendary and took me well over an hour. Beyond Light I seemed to fly through in about 6 hours even with 34 quest steps but this one you really seem to get bang for your buck as every mission seems detailed, challenging and lasts longer than 15 minutes. 

[Sennex 2,001]

I can't even remember the names of the weapons anymore but the Grenade launcher that leaves the puddles that damage folks, and the Crafted SMG that poisons, really made that place easier.

 

Just need to switch them out.

 

I want to say my first legendary run in there I was using the crafted SMG, a Gunslinger hunter, and the Calus Mini-tool with the maxed out incandescent. None of which helps you anymore, sorry man, just reminiscing lol

[J4MES OX4D 10,312]

I did the Shadowkeep campaign earlier which took about 4 hours over a couple of days. I completely forgot about this back in the day as I did a lot of activities on the Moon but didn't actually buy into the expansion itself. Kinda glad I didn't pay full price for it when it released as it's largely just a load of busywork. The location is great but the story and quests are absolutely mediocre and progress being tied to bounties sucks. I can't complain too much as I got to experience it for free but this pales in comparison to the work and structure that The Witch Queen had. Beyond Light was even a solid step up although still lacking in some respects. 

[Sennex 2,001]

Agreed, it was a really bad expansion, only did it on one character and that was because of the armor bounties. Still though, if you can get in near the keep, the Public events were wildly popular up until I stopped playing. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,312]

So I've just begun Lightfall and this seems like an interesting location. However I've noticed the DLC has been appallingly received by many so I'm kinda dreading what I am walking into particularly on legendary. I did the first mission which felt like spongy busywork with an irritating boss that I had to cheese to a degree. Already not sold on the story or characters and it seems like a big step back from The Witch Queen. I'm still going to keep an open mind but I am expecting a tiresome and frustrating slog

[GazzaGarratt 11,229]

Glad you really enjoyed Witch Queen @J4MES OX4D, its right up there in terms of campaigns of any game really. Each mission felt chunky, difficult and the story was one that keeps you invested to the very end.

 

Lightfall, funnily enough is still the only one I haven't gone all the way through to complete would you believe. I love the aesthic of the planet and missions, but it set off in a strange way - maybe its also because Strand is a completely different class ability that for me broker my brain abit 😅 I need to restart it actually to get to grips with it as lots of people use some abilities across many builds. Good news is you Final Shape and then this new one is apparently really good storywise.

 

What do you think to the 'Journey' page? I find that drives me forward with better objectives than the world now as I can see how it can get confusing if you don't know where to go.

[GazzaGarratt 11,229]

On 7/22/2025 at 8:42 PM, Diddums said:

NEW CONTENT EVERYBODY! 

 

Funny this should pop up, I've been wondering about going back, as whether you like to admit it or not, Density provided some of the most epic nights in gaming we've ever had.

 

I've genuinely been wanting to shoulder charge some noobs again for a while now, could the be the resurgence we secretly all want?

 

I think the real hard thing about this is it won't take long for the same people to say 'its not changed', although it has had some great QoL updates now. What its missing for me is a group of people that want to go on to the game and play at their own pace but are willing to help each other when needed. Missions are so much more fun in a group, apart from maybe some campaign missions that can give you some real challenge but not impossible to do alone.

 

There is loads for us to pick up on before we probably entered Crucible PvP again. Its mainly the class abilities to get your head around. I don't even know them all now, but there is an inbuilt build save which I think when you've built a few ways to play, you can switch your whole armour and guns in a second (rather than using 3rd party apps on your phone which we used to do).

[J4MES OX4D 10,312]

11 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

Glad you really enjoyed Witch Queen @J4MES OX4D, its right up there in terms of campaigns of any game really. Each mission felt chunky, difficult and the story was one that keeps you invested to the very end.

 

Lightfall, funnily enough is still the only one I haven't gone all the way through to complete would you believe. I love the aesthic of the planet and missions, but it set off in a strange way - maybe its also because Strand is a completely different class ability that for me broker my brain abit 😅 I need to restart it actually to get to grips with it as lots of people use some abilities across many builds. Good news is you Final Shape and then this new one is apparently really good storywise.

 

What do you think to the 'Journey' page? I find that drives me forward with better objectives than the world now as I can see how it can get confusing if you don't know where to go.

I've done a few hours on Lightfall now and it feels really off and I'm not sure why. Definitely a step back over The Witch Queen in narrative terms along with mission design but the does look fantastic. Really not a fan of the characters or writing either. 

 

The Journey page is ideal as it lays out everything so much easier so you know what needs to be done and what you can do.  Better than ducking in and out of the world map trying to find things haha! 

[Sennex 2,001]

Lightfall had some really odd choices for gated content. Which was really dumb considering there is no reason to gate it currently, but last I played it still was.

 

Honestly the last really fun expansion was Witch Queen. Everything that came after was just a lot of confusing decisions from Bungie. I still played the it up until a few weeks ago, but I just didn't understand why they did what they did.

 

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,312]

I finished Lightfall yesterday and was glad to put it to bed. I had to drop the difficulty to normal because it was no fun playing on legendary here unlike the Witch Queen. Firefights were just full on spongey spammy enemies and you would get obliterated from all directions in some battles. A couple of missions were enjoyable to a degree towards the end especially the tank one which reminded me of Halo but most were forgettable with boring objectives and predictable fights. The story was ok but written poorly and the likes of Nimbus and Osiris were both unbearable characters throughout. Worth finishing for the subclass and the story conclusion though. 

 

Completed the intro mission to The Final Shape which seems a much better location but I'm not sure if I'll start it yet. 

[Sennex 2,001]

Final shape is fun to solo, but the forced grouping after the main campaign was annoying, because people would just randomly charge around and do the stuff they needed to get done, but not communicate that at all.

 

Also, be prepared for a really janky Zavala storyline