‘Pay to lose’: Destiny 2 fanbase slams Bungie over Starter Pack shortcomings

Destiny 2’s Season of the Wish has landed today along with an assortment of other bundles and packages, one of which is the Destiny 2 Starter Pack—and fans are blasting Bungie on what they believe is an “obvious cash-grab” with the bundle.

The $15 USD Starter Pack comes with three Exotic weapons—Traveler’s Chosen, Ruinous Effigy, and Sleeper Simulant—as well as an Exotic ship, Sparrow, Ghost Shell, and a smattering of in-game currency including Glimmer, 50 Enhancement Cores, five Enhancement Prisms and an Ascendant Shard. It’s the furthest thing from what players were expecting out of the pack and comes off as greedy and an absolute joke.

One player said they expected the bundle to include previous DLC or a new mission for new players to become accustomed to the game, which has proven notoriously difficult to attract fresh faces to over the years. They weren’t alone: “I thought the same thing, [I] went from being excited for kinderguardians to apathetic for them,” another added.

Others were confused as to what Bungie expected a “New Light” to use these “coveted” resources on. Destiny 2 players complete endgame activities to unlock and earn high-stat and high-grade armor to use their Prisms and Shards on upgrading. Should a D2 newbie blow these resources on an under-statted and low-level piece of gear, it would truly be a complete waste and they wouldn’t know any better until they continued playing.

And what about the Exotics on offer? Sleeper Simulant is a top pick, don’t get me wrong, but I and others believe Ruinous Effigy and Traveler’s Chosen are very situational and complex to use even for seasoned vets. For a rookie Guardian? I bet they won’t even know how to use the Orb the Trace Rifle spawns, let alone how to combo it with a subclass and abilities.

It’s been a tough 2023 for Bungie; delays to Destiny 2’s final classic expansion The Final Shape and new title Marathon, mass layoffs in October, and a dwindling player base as players become disinterested in the seasonal model have seen the company go to lengths to curry favor with their fanbase. This, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to be hitting the mark and sets a terrible precedent for future bundles whereby in-game currency can be sold for cash.

We’ll see what else Bungie has in store for Season of the Wish but this bundle should have been left on the cutting room floor.