Destiny 2’s timegated weapons will ruin Into The Light if Bungie doesn’t make changes

Into The Light has the potential to be one of the best updates in Destiny 2 history but Bungie’s insistence on timegating weapons will ruin it all unless they make big changes.

The biggest selling point of the upcoming Into The Light update is its reissued weapons that will bring back some of Destiny 2’s greatest-ever guns, even including those that made sunsetting a reality.

Just like so many other players, I was excited to once again get my hands on these iconic weapons, especially since they will all feature refreshed perk pools giving them new life. For the first time since Warlord’s Ruin, it finally felt like there was a reason to dive into the new content and get farming.

At least that was the case until yesterday’s TWID when Bungie revealed how these weapons will be distributed: “Half of these will be available starting April 9, including The Recluse, Hung Jury SR4, Succession, Edge Transit, Elsie’s Rifle and Falling Guillotine. The remainder will unlock one at a time each week through the week of May 21.”

Just like that, all the excitement and anticipation both myself and my clanmates had for Into The Light vanished. That may seem dramatic but after Lightfall’s troubled year, there was serious hope this update would turn things around and prove Bungie has learned their lesson.

Yet once again, Bungie insists on timegating new content meaning players will have to keep coming back every week to get all the guns. This is presumably an attempt to artificially inflate the game’s retention rate for one reason or another.

Timegated content is inherently anti-consumer. It forces people to play on the developer’s terms rather than their own making the whole experience less enjoyable. Rather than being able to dial in for a few weeks with their friends and enjoy what’s on offer, players are forced to log on week after week despite wanting to be done with the event.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Into The Light is Bungie’s last chance to sell the game’s many skeptics on The Final Shape. If Bungie can make fun and appealing content here then those unsure about the franchise’s future will assume the same will be true of the big expansion in June.

But what are those players going to think when they realize the weapon they want isn’t available for another six weeks for reasons that only benefit Bungie? It’ll vary from person to person but I suspect the consensus will be that Destiny hasn’t changed at all and the same will be true of The Final Shape.

These people won’t buy The Final Shape, which could be catastrophic for Destiny’s future. Given all the talk about missed revenue targets and project delays, Bungie can’t afford to get this wrong.

Thankfully, the solution is easy. Remove the timegated weapons and let players enjoy the update for what it is at their own pace. Just like when the timegated abilities of Stasis were removed, this will make for better content that more people will enjoy. That’s much I’m certain of.