Destiny 2 Dev Reveals What Bungie Wants to Do to Improve the New Player Experience

Destiny 2's Assistant Game Director, Robbie Stevens, says Bungie wants to make the game easier to jump into for new players. Attracting new users while keeping things engaging for those who've been there since the beginning is a careful balancing act for live service games. It seems the team behind Destiny 2 is aware of previous missteps in this arena and has plans to improve their approach going forward.

Bungie's flagship shooter has been able to remain fairly relevant since its 2017 release, despite fluctuating player counts at times. Still, some mechanics and features like the build-crafting system can be an obstacle to Destiny 2 players, with many citing confusion around how they work. Thankfully for those who've attempted the game and struggled to find their footing, Bungie is trying to lower the bar for entry.

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In an interview with YouTuber MrRoflWaffles, Stevens dug into the new player experience and how Bungie hopes to make it better. According to Stevens, the team agrees that "we need to find a way to have a more curated experience for the early parts of the game." At the same time, he expressed the importance of doing so in a way that doesn't take away from Destiny 2's depth of gameplay, especially regarding the build-craft system. Stevens mentioned toning down the game's instructions for some more basic, common shooter mechanics to make room to give players more time to learn more game-specific systems. Bungie already began this approach when Destiny 2 added Explorer Mode to teach new players how dungeons work, which Steven says helped more people play and complete those areas.

Bungie Wants to Introduce a "More Curated Experience" to Make Destiny 2 More Accessible

While Explorer Mode may have been part of Destiny 2's journey to an easier new player experience, Stevens clarified that future updates won't necessarily add a similar mode to other parts of the game. He also stressed that continuing to make the game more accessible is an ongoing goal for Bungie. According to Stevens, these "more curated experiences" will stretch beyond Destiny 2's Star Wars-inspired Renegades expansion, which will come out in December 2025.

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Easing new players into the game a little more isn't the only thing Bungie is changing. The company has also said Destiny 2 is getting one of its "most significant systemic overhauls" in the Edge of Fate expansion. Melee damage, armor, and Glaives all have hefty changes coming down the pipeline, and more tweaks and updates are likely in store as the team keeps rolling out new content throughout the year and beyond.