estiny 2 will be moving away from Eververse transactions — at least slightly — in Year 4 and beyond, Bungie has confirmed, as the developers look to reverse the “lackluster” reception their franchise has received in 2020 so far.
Bungie’s mega-franchise has been on the receiving end of a few scathing uproars from the Destiny community recently. Trials of Osiris was a major flop, and Guardians are getting a bit tired of the title’s new seasonal model.
However, in-game store Eververse leads the way. No Destiny feature has been lashed for as vehemently. Like many free-to-play titles these days, Destiny 2 has microtransactions. Bungie’s is based around Bright Dust and Silver.
At first, Guardians didn’t mind Tess Everis’ microtransactions landing in the Tower. She sold cool new armor, weapon skins, and emotes players couldn’t find anywhere else. Now, Destiny’s businesswoman has basically taken over.
Eververse’s expanded role has been the Destiny 2 addition that has drawn the most ire from the community. It’s something Luke Smith and the team at Bungie have noticed — and now they’ve confirmed things are going to change.
Destiny 2 to introduce transmogrification in Year 4
“As you know, rewards for your character come from a variety of places. However, in today’s Destiny the balance of rewards is not where we want it to be,” Smith said. “To be blunt, there isn’t enough pursuit out in the world. We’re going to fix it.”
First off the bat is a major overhaul for Destiny’s armor system. More specifically, Smith said in Bungie’s latest dev blog, the sci-fi franchise would finally be bringing a “transmogrification system” to its armory wheelhouse.
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Transmogrification is a concept that many other loot-based titles like World of Warcraft and Diablo 3 have employed in the past. Players will be able to turn any piece of armor into what Bungie is calling “Universal Ornaments.”
Eververse-specific armor sets to be removed
Smith explained this was the first of a few moves away from having to spend real-life money to customize Guardians. Adding to this, Destiny will no longer have Eververse-specific armor each season. Instead, it will be tied to gameplay.
Players can expect “new weapons to come from Strikes, Crucible, or Gambit, depending on the player’s choice,” Smith elaborated. Bungie’s helmsman also confirmed Bright Engrams are set to be overhauled once Year 4 arrives.
Destiny 2’s transmog system may still be a ways off though, Smith added. As Bungie work through their “huge changes” across the rest of 2020, they’ve tentatively locked in Year 4 — set to start in October — for the swap.
Eververse taking a back seat isn’t the only change Bungie is aiming for either. They’ve also unveiled plans to fix Trials of Osiris next season, and confirmed the franchise will be heading to next-gen consoles in 2020.
Bungie is expected to announce their official plans for Year 4, and continued support for Destiny 2, during Summer Game Fest next month.
