I don't know about you, but to me, Beyond Light just feels a bit more lonely than I’m used to in Destiny 2.
Generally, Beyond Light has been a pretty good addition to Destiny 2. It’s not perfect, as there are still some lingering loot issues and Stasis is still in need of some serious tuning in the Crucible, but besides that the new subclasses are fun, the new story-based campaign was interesting and the ongoing Dawning event is going a long way to reminding me that Destiny isn’t always a Scrooge when it comes to loot.
But one thing that still seems lacking in Destiny 2 is the togetherness. It seems like so much of both the expansion and current season is better done alone than with others that it’s making me long for the days of Menagerie Vex offensive for their six-person activities.
We’ll start with Season of the Hunt, where players are tasked with taking down a Wrathborn version of a typical Destiny 2 monster. Prior to hunting your target, you’ll have to slot the Cryptolith Lure with appropriate mutation mods to get the item that you want. Slot the right mutation mods and you’ll attract the prey that will provide you with new weapons and armor.
You can perform a Wrathborn Hunt with a full fireteam of three people, but if any of those fireteam members have a Cryptolith Lure slotted for something other than the fireteam leader, then they get nothing once the hunt is over. I’ve been screwed out of more than one item as a result of this issue and has led to me mostly going on solo hunts to avoid it.
Or how about the new Legendary Lost Sectors? These harder versions of traditional Lost Sectors have tougher enemies and Champions requiring a full suite of Champion mods--something that typically is best completed with a full fireteam. However, along with the Legendary Lost Sectors themselves came a new incentive to solo this difficult content. Do a Legendary Lost Sector without the usual help and you’ll have a chance to get an Exotic armor piece, with priority given to Exotic armor that you don’t already have.
Variks’ list of Sabotage quests to empower your rewards from completing Empire Hunts are likewise best performed solo since they’re mostly kill-farming, and sharing kills with friends means a slower completion. I’d even do Beyond Light’s Fragment quests solo if Destiny 2’s Strikes had a solo mode.
But I don't really want to play solo. I hardly see anyone these days thanks to the Pandemic, and Destiny 2 is more than just a game--it's how I socialize with friends I otherwise wouldn't hear from at all. Yes, Destiny 2 still has the usual Strikes, Gambit, and Crucible modes, but what I really want is a return of some of the six-player content that let whole groups of Guardians play without needing to deal with the challenge of a raid.
When Shadowkeep launched last year, Season of the Undying had a six-player Vex Offensive that was a relatively simple kill-fest that was derided by players at the time--including myself. But now I long for the good old days when my entire clan could group together for a few Vex Offensives and chat like it wasn't the end of the world.
Season of Dawn's Sundial was a similar six-player mode that was much more difficult than Vex Offensive but fulfilled a similar role. Once everyone learned how to fulfill the Sun Dial's Champion requirements, full clans could group up, kill a bunch of Cabal, and then get significant rewards at the end.
After that, Destiny 2 seems to have pivoted away from six-player activities outside of raids. New seasonal events have been limited to three-player matchmaking, with Destiny 2's only other six-player game mode--Season of Opulence's Menagerie--removed with Beyond Light along with the vast majority of its raids.
Destiny 2 just feels like it’s become far more insular these days. It’s time for the game to open back up, bring back some larger events that aren’t just raids, and maybe stop incentivizing solo play in general. With all the barriers being put up around the world, Destiny is one place where I’d rather we come together.