What we want from the Destiny 2 Showcase

The Destiny 2 Showcase is right around the corner on 22nd August 2023, and that means we’re on the cusp of finding out more about the Final Shape, the last expansion in the Light vs Darkness Saga. Today I want to have a look at what I’d like to see from the Destiny 2 Showcase, plus I’ve got some community input too.

Without further delay, let’s dive into it.

Final Shape Reveal

This goes without question and is likly to be the majority of the showcase. What’s the story with the Final Shape, what can we expect and what new features are coming to the game. We’ve seen Cayde-6 teased, speaking to Ikora Rey possibly inside the Traveler. We could get confirmation of a new subclass, the 3rd darkness subclass to join Stasis and Strand. I’d like to see who is going to be coming back for the Final Shape and get that Avengers Endgame moment with The Vanguard teaming up with Caital, Eris, Drifter, Mara, Mithrax, Saint-14, and perhaps even Savathun Vs The Witness and Xivu Arath.

Bungie recently confirmed in the State of the Game the Final Shape’s story campaign and raid would be the culmination of the story, so it’s going to be very interesting to see whether Bungie land this thing. Regarding new featues I think we’re going to hear plans about the leveling system, as there’s been plenty of feedback regarding that, and Bungie have been talking about trying something new. It’s a risky one, even though the current levelling system is fairly tired at this point. I’m certainly hoping for something more like Witch Queen, compared to Lightfall.

Next Season

Bungie’s latest season in the year of Lightfall releases on the same day as the Showcase, and the last 2 showcases have provided a deep dive into the season and what we can expect. Regarding the story I imagine we’re going to be resurrecting Savathun with the help of her ghost Immaru. That’s most likely going to be the main story, and alongside that I imagine we’re going to get more Maya Sundaresh and Vex teases, but more about that in the minute. We’ve got balance patches, new weapons, probably a new activity and a some kind of iteration on the seasonal model.

Returning Raid

One of the main features next season is going to be a returning raid from Destiny 1. Two years ago we got The Vault of Glass, still one of my favourite raids to this day. Last year we got King’s Fall, and this year I think we’re going to get Crota’s End. If we’re going to be ressurecting Savathun this season in the story, then a companion to that could be another Hive raid. Bungie don’t normally care about the reprised raids fitting into the story, but I think we’re going to have a Hive focus, aligning with Savathun, perhaps applying pressure to Xivu Arath to turn against the Witness. Crota’s End was the smaller of the raids in Destiny 1, btu to me it makes more sense than Wrath of the Machine. Wrath has Splicer fallen enemy types, plus we already have the raid weapon in the game, Outbreak Prime (reintroduced as the Zero Hour exotic weapon). While Crota’s End is smaller, I think Bungie are going to have a look at some of the encounters and perhaps rework them.

Post Final Shape

Bungie should spend some time talking about plans after Final Shape. What’s going to happen to Destiny 2? It’s likely they’re going to kick off another saga, and reassure fans that Destiny 2 isn’t going anywhere. There’s been a lot of confusion in the community with people talking about Destiny 2 ending, or Bungie working on Destiny 3. Bungie has been clear in the past Destiny 3 isn’t in the works, and that Destiny 2 will continue after the Final Shape. How it’s going to continue is a big question. For example, with a major expansion we buy for the campaign, raid and the following 4 seasons of content.

If the story is going to wrap up during the campaign and the raid, then what are the 4 seasons going to be about, and what will they build up to? A few years ago when Bungie revealed Beyond Light, they laid out their plans for Witch Queen, and Lightfall, then they added in The Final Shape later on. I’d like to see Bungie do something similar to this and give us a tease of at least the next major expansion, and give us some hints about the story. During this season’s Veil Containment weekly messages we’ve been finding out more about Maya Sundaresh and The Vex. Bungie also did some press interview talking about the narrative and it sounds like we’re going to be getting more in depth stories about The Vex coming soon.

More Destiny 2 Games

Bungie revealed recently they are working on Marathon, their PVP focused extraction shooter. I have a feeling BUngie are working on more than Destiny 2 and Marathon, and I expect them to reveal plans for a Destiny 2 mobile game. I don’t know exactly what the game is going to be or whether its a stand alone game or a companion experience, but we’ve heard rumblings of a mobile game for some time, and now would be the perfect time to announce it.

PVP support

Regarding PVP, we know we’re getting a new map set in the Vex Network called Multiplex. Bungie have said we’re going to see gameplay of the new map, plus later in The Final Shape seasons we’re going to get a new modifier called Checkmate, plus a new party mode called Relic. We’ve got more matchmaking improvements coming, but other than that it looks like slim pickings for PVP updates. I don’t think we’re going to get the overhaul that the PVP community wants to see. New maps are the major thing people want to see. I would love to see Bungie introduced a Forge Mode into the game, but we’re getting into the territory of a wish list here. While Bungie developed a feature rich Forge Mode for Halo in years gone by, that isn’t the Bungie we know today and I think it’s unlikley. However, that would be one interesting way to solve the lack of PVP maps, let the community create them.

State of the Game hints

Regarding other updates from State of the Game recently we’ve heard hints about a revamped Seasonal Model, switching up the way Bungie present us seasonal content.

“We’ve been working behind the scenes to shake up the Seasonal paradigm this year to subvert player expectations and make each Season feel unique. We know our players are looking for more variety in repeatable Seasonal activities, and more than anything, we want to constantly surprise everyone with what comes next in each Season.”

Bungie haven’t gone into specifics, but it’s likely we’ll hear more at the showcase.

We’ve also got new weapon subfamilies coming into the game.

“Looking further into the future, we’ll be introducing some entirely new weapon subfamilies with The Final Shape. Tune into the Showcase on August 22nd to get your first look at some of these in action, as well as some other unexpected additions to Destiny 2’s arsenal yet to come.”

Community asks

@DarkCyberUK
A legacy collection of the old campaigns, re-worked as a single player experience.

I really like this idea from DarkCyberUK. We have the Red War Campaign, plus the Forsaken Campaign no longer in the game, plus Curse of Osiris and Warmind story elements. While I think it’s unlikely we’ll see this content again in Destiny 2, given it would be fairly confusing from a narrative point of view, personally I’d love to see this content in the game in some way.

Let me know what you want to see from the Destiny 2 Showcase in the comments.