Destiny 2 is "heading into creative territories Bungie has never explored before"
"We're changing some things up in a big way with an all-new mechanic."
Destiny 2 developer Bungie has revealed plans to shake up how players progress in its upcoming expansion, The Final Shape.
In a "State of the Game" update posted to the official website, game director Joe Blackburn confirmed that as well as addressing "a number of player feedback items over the past few months", the team would be "rolling out something very new and different in Season 23".
"While there's always room for us to revise and improve, the community's response has reinforced that we're on the right track with norm-breaking efforts like these, and we'll be rolling out something very new and different in Season 23," Blackburn said (thanks, NME).
"Now, without spoiling anything ahead of the Showcase, our next Season will be heading into creative territories we've never explored before. We're changing some things up in a big way, including the Seasonal progression paradigm with an all-new mechanic. All will be revealed on August 22."
The key pillars of these "creative territories"? "Expand players' imaginations, bring challenge back to Destiny, enrich our content, and connect our Guardians".
And it won't be raising the power cap when Season 22 is upon us, either.
"We've seen a ton of positive feedback on this decision from players who appreciate being able to play at their own pace, rather than feeling compelled to chase Pinnacles each week," Blackburn explains.
"Of course, we'll still have plenty of activities where Power is crucial, including Master raid and dungeon content, Legend and Master Nightfalls, Grandmasters, Legend and Master Solo Lost Sectors, and Trials of Osiris. This will still be the case throughout Season 22, and your Artifact Power will still be as important as ever.
"For those craving even tougher challenges, we raised the bar on Grandmaster (GM) Nightfall difficulty this Season with our first PsiOps Battlegrounds GM, which will make an additional appearance before the end of the Season for those who didn't get a chance to take it on the first time. As usual, we’ll continue to monitor feedback as we add more Battlegrounds to the Vanguard Nightfall and GM schedule later in Lightfall's year."
For more, including on how these changes will be rolled out across various modes such as Nightfall, Gambit, and Crucible, head on over to the blog post. For everything else, Blackburn teases we'll find out more in the Showcase, which is scheduled for 22nd August.
Bungie recently won a lawsuit against a player who repeatedly harassed, threatened, and doxxed one of its employees. It also recently took several other Destiny players to court and won - albeit for the sale of cheat devices and software.