Destiny 2’s new Episode might just be enough to get back on the grind

Bungie revealed some of the content coming to Destiny 2 in Episode Heresy, including weapons, activity, and more. While there are still some unanswered questions, these additions might be the reason to hop back into the game as we prepare for Codename: Frontiers.

The main addition to Destiny 2 in Heresy, showcased during the developer livestream on Jan. 28, is the return of the Dreadnaught. While it won’t be available as a patrol zone, an Exploration mode of the seasonal activity offers the “patrol-esque” experience with toned-down difficulty. You can take your time exploring the Dreadnaught and find hidden secrets, like the seasonal fragile mods, that make you stronger.

Alongside the Dreadnaught comes the seasonal activity, The Nether. The Nether focuses on a roguelite experience with random rooms, encounters, and buffs, similar to The Coil or the Deep Dives from Season of the Deep. The Coil was a fun and replayable seasonal activity, and so was the Contest of Elders from Revenant. The main issue with the Contest of Elders (at least for me) was that it launched in the second Act with only a few new weapons. However, The Nether is Heresy’s flagship activity, which, with enough variety, can be a reason to sink a bunch of hours into the game.

The biggest concern with The Nether is health, as it doesn’t regenerate, and the ability healing is also significantly reduced. Instead, we get increased base health and shields. This might be an issue, especially when it comes to buildcrafting, but it all depends on how often we can find pots with heals, which seem to be the main source of replenishing health. In the best-case scenario, this will be a minor thing to worry about.

This takes us to the weapons. Heresy introduces Adept seasonal weapons (aka the Heretical Arsenal) that go on par with the shiny weapons from Into the Light. Personally, this aspirational pursuit was the best part of Into the Light, and with the activity done right, it may end up in a fun, replayable loop. There’s also a new system to focus the weapons through the Tome of Want, which sounds similar to attunement from Into the Light. No more broken Tonics (hopefully).

It still feels like Bungie could’ve added crafting for base weapons, leaving only the Adept versions to RNG, similar to how it works in raids. Alternatively, if Bungie really wants to go back on crafting, at least offer good curated rolls for players who may not have enough time or interest in grinding god rolls.

There are still a few unanswered questions, though, and the biggest one is the story. Bungie hasn’t revealed almost anything about the seasonal story, except for a Dread who’s chasing down the Echo and Oryx’s return (even if it’s just a ghost form), which isn’t particularly exciting. Granted, it was just a tease, so we’ll have to see what the story is all about once the Episode drops.

Overall, Heresy seems solid on paper and an improvement over Revenant. New Aspects for more buildcrafting options, Exotic reworks, reprised Vault of Glass weapons, updated Trials of Osiris, and more should create enough things to do as long the game isn’t plagued with bugs. Bungie also mentioned that Acts in Heresy won’t have a fixed length. Act Two, for example, will only last three weeks, which should eliminate the content drought at the end of each Act.