It’s Time for Destiny 2 to Take Another Shot at a Divisive Feature

Highlights

• Destiny 2 failed to reestablish the excitement of factions, with players always gravitating towards the faction with the best rewards.
• The lack of engagement from the community led to factions being eventually removed from the game.
• However, now could be a good time for Destiny 2 to reintroduce factions with fresh twists, like new allies and different activities to keep players invested.

Factions were one of the most exciting things about the original Destiny, bringing the community together in a way that almost no other activity could. By pledging allegiance to a particular faction in Destiny — Future War Cult, New Monarchy, or Dead Orbit — players could participate in activities to increase their rank with that faction and then reap unique rewards as a result. Each faction gave players access to powerful rewards along the track to max out their rank, eventually resulting in a unique Exotic class item they could wear to show off their faction pride. However, this is largely where this story ends, as Destiny 2 attempted to implement a faction system but failed to execute it properly.

Destiny 2 reintroduced factions in its first year with week-long Faction Rallies, which saw players once again pledging allegiance to either Future War Cult, New Monarchy, or Dead Orbit and then earning a major discount on a powerful weapon. Unfortunately, since each faction only offered one weapon as a reward, players would simply find out which weapon was best and pledge to the faction that offered it, thereby defeating the purpose. Destiny 2 attempted to improve factions during the Warmind DLC with better rewards, but the entire system was eventually removed from the game due to a lack of engagement from the community. Now, several years later, there might be reason enough for factions to return to Destiny 2.

It’s Time for Destiny 2 to Bring Back Factions

Destiny 2 Needs Regular Content Loops Like Factions Now More Than Ever

Destiny 2 is hardly ever in need of more content, as it certainly has enough to keep players busy for months on end. However, the goal should never be to keep players busy but to have a content loop that is rewarding enough to keep players coming back. In its current state, there is more than enough content to keep casual players coming back for extended periods, but Destiny 2‘s hardcore community arguably runs that feeling of reward dry fairly quickly and is then in need of something new. Now, the recent announcement that Destiny 2‘s episodic acts will no longer be time-gated is a double-edged sword, as it allows players to play at their own pace but simultaneously takes even more incentive away for players to return to the game at regular intervals.

Given the current state of Destiny 2‘s regular content loops, it might need something like Faction Rallies again to keep players invested. Sure, it has activities like Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris that make regular appearances, but these only appeal to a certain portion of the Destiny 2 community. Additionally, Desitny 2‘s limited-time seasonal events, like the Dawning and the Solstice of Heroes, have all but worn out their welcome. Factions, on the other hand, might feel fresh enough to warrant extended playtime from players, especially if they are executed well.

Destiny 2 Now Has a Chance to Reimagine Factions in The Final Shape

To prevent Destiny 2‘s faction system from feeling too antiquated or like nothing more than recycled content, they could be reimagined in The Final Shape with the Guardians’ new allies. Each of Destiny‘s former factions either fled the Tower or was killed off, which gives credence to new factions forming in their stead. As such, perhaps some friendly Eliksni or Cabal could represent new factions to be allied with, along with their respective weapons and armor. Commander Zavala could even represent the Guardians as a faction to complete the triangle for the ultimate rivalry.

The Destiny 2 community has reined in their expectations for factions ever returning to the game, especially now with events like Guardian Games seemingly replacing them. That being said, Bungie has consistently proven that if the cry for a particular feature is loud enough, it will listen and respond accordingly.