Destiny 2: Season of the Lost has finally seen the return of Queen Mara Sov. She’s come back – from who knows where – just in the nick of time to see our beloved Osiris transform into Savathun. Turns out, the deceitful Witch Queen has been disguised as the previously exiled Warlock Vanguard since around the time Crow came on to the scene.
And now, the Guardian is working hard to restore the Dreaming City, as Mara Sov has struck a deal with Savathun to help excise the Hive god’s worm – the source of her power and of her slow demise (oh, the double-edge blade that is sword logic). Anyway, we’re bound to be betrayed at some point, else the Witch Queen expansion would not actually be on the horizon.
For all the narrative elements and storytelling that Season of the Lost gets right, I can’t help but feel like I’ve been here before. Like I’m stuck in some kind of grind-powered hamster wheel. The Shattered Realm is a cool new place to explore, especially while we get little snippets of conversations from characters, but other elements of the season are just tired.
Take, for instance, the Wayfinder’s Compass vendor. Players are yet again asked to level up a Three Tier Object – which I’ve written about previously. But instead of letting us smash it out as fast as we want, the upgrades are locked behind weekly challenges. It’s painfully slow and all but forces players to play every single week. I’d rather play in large chunks – smash it out in one week and dip my toe in to experience the story when it happens. No doubt the Witch Queen will have another Three Tier Object, but by golly I hope that Bungie thinks up another way of presenting it.
Then there’s the Astral Alignment activity. Players launch it from the Blind Well, fight through two locations where batteries or Penumbra/Antumbra buffs (like those from the Last Wish raid) must be inserted, before returning to the Blind Well to fight a boss. It’s like a longer, more tedious version of the Override activity from Season 14.
I will say that the seasonal currency (Parallax Trajectory) is significantly easier to acquire. This feels far better than needing to play one activity to acquire x-currency to take to another activity. I’m actually rewarded for grinding my face into Crucible or zoning out while playing Strikes. Plus, new weapons and perks are always a joy to tinker with.
Perhaps one of the main problems I’m having with the season is that I don’t know what’s coming next. There’s actually no roadmap, which is odd given that (to my knowledge) all previous seasons received one around the time each one launched. But we do have the Bungie 30th Anniversary coming in December, with its new dungeon and Gjallarhorn, so there’s something to set our sights on.
For now, I’m just going to get back to farming XP to rank up this dang Artifact and earn more Power so I can participate in the tough end-game content – like Grand Master Nightfalls. Or maybe a Master Vault of Glass if I feel like my morale is creeping a bit too high.
I know some of you play Destiny 2. How are you liking the new season and how does it compare to the previous seasons on offer (or your favorite one)? Even though it has its faults, I’m pretty excited to see how the story unfolds this season.
