Bungie published new information on Faction Rallies, the next special event coming to Destiny 2, as part of its weekly update. But now that we know a bit more about the next activity we’ll see in game, we’re a little concerned that Bungie doesn’t have a great idea of what kinds of content the average Destiny 2 player wants to see more of.
Beginning next week, players can swear allegiance to one of the three factions (Dead Orbit, Future War Cult and New Monarchy) that reside in the Tower. Once you’ve chosen a side, you’ll complete a smattering of activities -- coincidentally, the very same activities you’re already grinding for Clan XP -- in support of that faction. Each completed activity will yield faction tokens, in addition to the usual rewards, which can be traded for additional loot. Destiny 2 Senior Designer Tim Williams says each faction representative will have its own means of attracting new members to their cause.
“They’ll offer a suite of rewards to help the Guardians rise up against any enemy threats. As an incentive, each faction has set aside a powerful weapon to entice players to choose their side,” Williams says. “The faction whose Guardians collect the most faction packages will be declared the winner. The winning faction will offer the weapon to everyone, but all who pledged loyalty will receive it with a huge discount as repayment for their contributions to their faction’s cause.”
Bungie says the winning faction will only pay 1,000 Glimmer for their faction’s firearm. Everyone else will see a 50K price tag. Granted, Glimmer isn’t much of an issue after you hit the level cap, one of the requirements for participation in the Faction Rally. But the real question is whether or not Destiny 2 players are even going to care about the event.
A growing number of players are taking issue with the depth of Bungie’s latest shared-world shooter. And it’s hard to imagine those fans being pleased by a new event that doesn’t expand the list of activities available in-game. Part of what made Trials of the Nine so exciting last weekend was the knowledge that it was different from anything else we’d seen in Destiny 2. Sure, the timed event didn’t radically alter the Crucible, but it did at least offer a new structure for competitive matches and the promise of a new social space for those succeeded in combat. Meanwhile, Faction Rally just asks us to keep grinding the same activities we’re already bored of.
Additional details on next weekend’s Faction Rally, along with images of all the new armor sets the Destiny 2 community is competing for, are available in Bungie’s weekly update. The first Faction Rally begins at 5 a.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Destiny 2 is currently available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game hits PC on Oct. 24.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Destiny 2 news in 2017 and however long Bungie supports Destiny 2 in the years ahead.
