Like many other Destiny 2 players, Iāve been slowly digging into The Final Shapeās post-campaign offerings, especially as I get ready to take on the expansionās especially demanding raid. Unsurprisingly, many of these quests, which center around the acquisition of rare and powerful armor and weapons, are some of the very best things to be found in The Final Shape, continuing Bungieās tradition of having strong tails in its expansions. The Final Shape has many pleasant surprises, but one of them, Dual Destiny, courted controversy amongst players this week.
Dual Destiny is the latest Exotic mission to grace Destiny 2, and it is one of its most unique. Exotic missions have come and gone to much acclaim, such as The Whisper and Zero Hour (which returned to the game via Into The Light some months ago), but Dual Destiny is the first one to have a real gimmick outside of a timer and some light puzzling. Dual Destiny can only be completed by two players, requires them to adorn certain subclassesāone Dark, one Lightāand demands a certain amount of communication. The reward at the end is pretty significant: an Exotic class item that can roll multiple perks, including ones previously accessible via class-specific equipment, meaning classes can now share abilities with one another.
Thatās a pretty game-changing incentive to complete what appears at first glance like a neat, but missable mission, and players are a bit incensed about the requirements to acquire such a transformative piece of equipment. Fans of Destiny 2 have gotten upset about secret Exotic missions like this before, because of their difficulty or the timed nature of them, but the ire around Dual Destiny is entirely different. Thereās a guaranteed way to make the mission appear , meaning you can only miss out on it by failing to commit to the process, at which point you should know what youāre getting into.. Folks who play Destiny 2 simply donāt want to have to do this mission with another player in order to get the Exotic class item, and theyāve been very loud about it
I totally understand disgruntled solo players. Iāve been playing Destiny for all ten years itās been around, and Iāve largely played the game solo. Iāve never had a Destiny static (a reliable group of folks to play with) and probably wonāt for a while still. There are six-player raids and three-man dungeons I still havenāt completed, and yes, Iām occasionally upset about the fact that I havenāt been able to experience some of the gameās best content due to lacking a fireteam. Even now, Iām not stoked that such a pivotal item is locked behind a quest I need to find someone else to complete, but believe it or not folks, this is not Bungieās problem. Itās mine, or yours
Destiny has always been a multiplayer-first game. Even if large chunks of it can be completed solo, itās entirely valid for the developer of a multiplayer title to make content specifically for audiences to engage with it on those terms. I donāt think the game needs to cater to an audience that wants to turn it into something it isnāt.
Not to mention, Destiny, as well as its community, have largely circumvented the issue at the heart of this situation. There are numerous forums and Discords where people can meet other players to play with. Over the years, Iāve met at least a couple of friends through Destiny like this. Nowadays, thereās a full-fledged system in the game called Fireteam Finder that allows you to make or search for posts in lieu of matchmaking, and while itās far from perfect, it is largely functional. Find a lone player, get on the mic for about half an hour to communicate some puzzles to one another, and then complete the mission and move on. It is actually as simple as that. It is a mission like any other, and when thereās a challenge in front of you, the goal is to overcome it.
As someone whoās got anxiety about playing games with literally anyone other than the friends Iāve played with for years, I understand how engaging in these systems may be asking a lot of certain folks. Iām sympathetic to the person whoās riddled with second thoughts and doubts about putting themselves out there, but Iām also not going to enable them to remain closed off. Nor am I going to join the chorus of players demanding that missions like Dual Destiny never be made in the first place because it chafes against what they believe should be allowed.
Destiny has always excelled when itās pushed itself and the people who play it. Without the kind of experimentation on display in Dual Destiny, we wouldnāt have much of its best content, which includes the numerous secret Exotic missions over the years, every Raid, and the gameās dungeons, which are my personal favorite. We wouldnāt have all of the community-based ARGs that the Destiny community has been privy to over the years. Thereās simply so much weād be missing if Bungie didnāt occasionally ask its players to come together for unique experiences. My advice is to lean into it the few times it happens. I donāt think youāll regret it.
Inevitably, Bungie will introduce an alternative way of getting the Exotic class items that isnāt tied to Dual Destiny. This was never going to be the only method to get them, it was just an interesting and novel way to handle things, while also testing the functionality of Bungieās new services and the willingness of its community. Itās been heartening watching folks give it a try despite hang ups and disabilities, such as some Guardians who are either mute or deaf. Though the Destiny community can be as toxic as any, seeing many offer to carry communication-averse players, or those who simply arenāt comfortable with the more involved mechanics of the encounter, is a reminder that these communal experiences are worth having in these games.
I hope Bungie takes that to heart. Iāve no doubt thereās reasonable criticism to be made about Dual Destiny, but its existence is actually one of the best things about games like Destiny 2. It is hardly a problem that needs expunging. Rather, itās a promise of what the game can look like when it and its team are allowed to fire on all cylinders, and continue to create novel experiences for this community all these years later.
