Destiny 2’s latest armor set vote is a battle of the bugs

The new year is in full swing, and with Destiny 2’s Festival of the Lost celebrations still many months away, the time has arrived once again for Bungie to present two competing armor set options for players to vote on based on what they want to see released in-game for the annual Halloween event.

In today’s This Week at Bungie blog, players got their first look at these two sets and details on how voting will be changing this year. The developer announced this year’s theme was “creepy crawlies,” with both concept sheets’ distinct visuals perfectly encapsulating that theme from the outset.

The bug kingdom has a diverse range of creatures to take inspiration from, but for the two sets that battle for players’ favor in the voting ring, spiders and beetles were where Bungie got the majority of its references from. The spider sets especially feature some of the most unique pieces that the classes have ever been given, with the Titan and Hunter standing out for how the spider’s legs have been incorporated into the chest plate and cloak respectively.

The beetle outfits are perhaps less visually distinct from other armors that have come before them but no doubt will have a more universally appealing aesthetic to them that matches better to player expectations of each class’ visual identity. Once again, Hunters have struck gold with the cloak though, with the beetle outfit option allowing the class to sport insect-like wings and a glowing horn with the cloak.

Whatever your preferences may be between the two sets, the way that voting for them works has changed pretty dramatically from last year’s monsters vs. mechs battle.

“Last year, voting was very close, but it wasn’t consistent across classes,” Bungie said. “To help make sure each class gets the armor set they’re most excited about, we’ve decided to let each class vote individually rather than bucketing armor sets together.”

Individual voting means that each class can get its desired outcome even if the majority of the voting population has different preferences. With Destiny 2’s player base dominated by Hunters, this will help Warlock and Titan players get the outfit they most want out of the options provided as well. If Warlocks prefer the beetle outfit to the spider one, they can still get the beetle outfit even if Hunters and Titans vote for the spider-themed armor. It’s a great change to see but does come at a price.

Because of the logistical issues that come with such a change, the previous year’s battles that saw two vastly different themes competing will be going away. “Instead of making two themes, we’ve chosen ‘creepy crawlies’ as this year’s theme,” Bungie said. “You’ll be voting on two different interpretations.” It’s a change that, if received well, will no doubt become the norm moving forward.

To vote, you’ll need to sign up to receive emails via your Bungie account. This year, you’ll only receive an email to vote on the armor set tied to your most-played class. But Bungie is aware that many people do play more than one class, so it will also be providing an additional voting link where you can submit your votes for a secondary class as well. It isn’t perfect but it’s still a more democratic system than previous incarnations.