Bungie had long been preparing the fires of war for Destiny 2. The Eclipse expansion has been the gasoline can that has turned the spark of The Witch Queen in a fire that has spread throughout the solar system. The Witness has finally found the Traveler and Calus scours Neptune in search of a secret power.
I’ve played around 30 hourscompleted the Eclipse campaign, explored Neomuna and advanced into the season of resistance to tell you everything you need to know about the expansion: is it worth it? Does it cost what Bungie is asking?
This analysis is SPOILER FREE from Destiny 2: Eclipse
History and setting: epicity that leaves you wanting more… too many
The expansion Destiny 2 Eclipse introduces the War against The Witness and his vassal Emperor Calus, an old acquaintance of the Red War. The beginning is simply epic: cinematics with everything that has happened so far, action, shootings, arrival in Neomuna and first tests of the Tether subclass.
The story focuses on the neomuna defense, city of Neptune, and of the power it hides. Although The Witness is presented as the ultimate enemy, our direct adversary will be Emperor Calus and his legions.
The best thing about the story is all the lore surrounding Neomuna, the Binding, Osiris, and the Cloudwalkers. It has turned out deeper than I expected at first. I especially liked all the Philosophy Surrounding Bondage and Osiris’ relationship with the Cloudwalkers.
The worst of the campaign: it is too short and you are left with the feeling that everything you have done is completely expendable. It consists of 3 Episodes made up of various missions that you can complete in a game session on any given afternoon. I understand that this ending is part of a larger plan that Bungie will develop in the Seasons and its weekly missions, and ultimately in the final expansion of light and darkness.
Although history has its pluses and minuses, the neomuna city manages to save the ship by the hair. The artistic section of both the city and the expansion in general (weapons, armor and more) is beautiful. It has conquered me that everything is bathed in purple, blue and orange colors. All Eclipse is full of color.
The mapping is quite large, very labyrinthine (ideal for explorers and secrets) and its design has a lot of verticality. Its lost sectors are longer than usual and you can find side missions, patrols, public events, Eclipse events and enemies through a tube. The spawn of enemies is going crazy.
Despite having been very excited and amused, I admit that the story It is not up to scratch of the 50 and 99 euros that cost the standard and standard edition + Annual Pass respectively. I remind you that the standard version only includes the campaign, the Tether subclass and the Neomuna location. The most expensive has access to dungeons, seasons and more. One of lime and one of sand.
Eclipse Revolutionizes the Way You Play Destiny 2: Tether, Guidance and Objectives, Commendations, and More
The real wonder of Eclipse is all the changes that are introduced for free and that completely revolutionize the how to play destiny 2. He’s still a looter-first person shooter with a lot of fun gunplay. The essence remains, but how you play changes radically.
The new one subclass BindingUnlocked progressively throughout the Eclipse campaign, this is a new way to play Destiny 2, allowing for greater mobility and verticality during combat, which until now has been limited to jumping and dodging. The downside is that his abilities they take too long to recharge with respect to the frenetic style of play that it proposes.
Bungie has kept its word not to repeat the nonsense of stasis, which is unlocked by completing bounties with three ultra-repeating objectives with a weekly limit. La Atadura has a much simpler, funnier and more accessible system: use the tether to eliminate enemies and collect the green specks they drop to unlock grenades, shards and more. Also, there is no weekly limit. In my opinion, a complete success.
- Destination Map: now it is cleaner and more organized. Mars disappears, the CLME closes the rooms corresponding to the past seasons and the EDZ recovers the Villa, the first refuge of the original Destiny 2. The content that enters through the one that exits.
- Character Menu– You can now manage all your armor, weapons, and mods from the same page, without needing to fade in and out of each piece with a little black fade. A section is also added to save your character constructions (builds) and be able to switch between them without the need for third-party applications or change piece by piece. Needless to say, this was one of the most anticipated changes.
- The armor and mod system undergoes the biggest change in the history of destiny 2 in order to be simpler and more accessible for all players, especially newbies. The armors lose their charge of light and each piece has general and specific modifiers. This is one of the best things to happen to the game in years, but there are details to refine.
- The Season Artifact modifiers they are now passive and must be activated with their corresponding weapons and subclasses. For example: when you get the Overload Bows mod, all bows you carry will have Overload. You won’t have to apply it to a piece of armor. Character builds are infinitely easier because of this.
- The worst of Eclipse with a MUCH difference is the difficulty balance. Bungie has chosen to nerf the health and abilities of the guardians and increase the health of the enemies. And they have slipped a bit. It is soporific to face some bosses alone. In my opinion, difficulty is adding new mechanics to force us to learn and adapt, not take power away from players and give it to enemies.
- The expansion also includes new weapons, armor, exotic gear, and more Neomuna-themed cosmetics. Anything that is new content is always welcome.
Finally, the Eclipse update adds two very important social sections: achievement system and guide called Guardian levelsand a mention system that acts as the user’s reputation. Guardian Levels serve two purposes: showcasing a player’s seniority and experience, and offering an orderly path for newcomers to follow.
The mention system has no mystery: at the end of all the activities you can value other guardians depending on how you play. Alliance means that it promotes team play and mastery defines the ability to teach other guardians. Fun and leadership don’t have much to explain.
Is Destiny 2: Eclipse worth it? Yes but no
Destiny 2.Eclipse It’s a huge expansion that includes a number of highly-requested and important changes, and it’s a treat for any fan willing to pay up and put in a lot of hours. The free update It has enough improvements to give it a try and/or return to the game, and even to consider buying the expansion.
Now, is Eclipse worth the 50 euros that Bungie asks for? NO. The campaign is too short. I’m not asking for it to last 40 hours, but I’m not asking for it to be completed in any given afternoon. If we remove the changes from the free update and the content pertaining to Season of Resistance, we are left with an expansion that objectively not worth what it costs…as fun and epic as it seems to us fans. It’s not worth it.
And the “game as a service” argument doesn’t work for me. I understand that the story needs to extend beyond the expansion and that there are narrative plans for the seasons and beyond… but Bungie has to justify the 50 euros that asks for the base content without depending on the seasons, and it doesn’t.
The Eclipse expansion is epic, beautiful, exciting and incredible at all levels, but unfortunately Bungie still does not know how to measure what it asks for its content. My recommendation is only addressed to those who are going to dedicate time to amortize the purchase and they can afford the seasons, either with the Standard + Annual Pass pack (99 euros) or by buying each season separately.
Destiny 2: Eclipse
| platforms | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S |
|---|---|
| multiplayer | Yes, Cooperative PVE and PVP |
| developer | Bungie |
| Company | Bungie |
| Launch | February 28, 2023 |
The best
- The history and setting of Neomuna are brutal.
- The Tether subclass is very, very fun.
- All improvements related to administration and gameplay.
Worst
- The story is too short. The base content of the expansion is not worth what Bungie is asking for.
- The vertical design of some area of Neomuna is regular.
- Difficulty balancing has the wrong focus.