Bungie Changes XP System, Teases More Updates For 'Destiny 2'

Destiny 2 players will receive a plethora of information about the game over the next few days. Studio director Luke Smith tweeted that he will reveal additional details this week about some of the upcoming changes to the overall game experience. This will probably also touch on the subject of the recent controversy on the amount of experience points earned during specific game activities.

Smith tweeted that the “systems side” of next month’s update includes changes to the economy, which covers the game’s many vendors; a new reward system for weapons and armor; and overall gameplay updates. In addition, Smith and project lead Mark Noseworthy will answer questions and respond to player concerns that have continued to pile up since the game’s console launch in December.

The tweet comes after the studio revealed that it added a system in the game that scaled the amount of experience points acquired in some portions of the game. A user on the Destiny Reddit page conducted some independent research and found that the game wasn’t providing the correct amount of experience points in some activities. Bungie then responded with a post that said a system was set in place to prevent players from farming specific events.

For example, the amount of experience points would scale up when playing Crucible competitive matches or the Leviathan Raid, which it said were “longer or fixed duration activities.” If you participated in Public Events, which were shorter activities that were “quickly, repeatedly chained” for a few hours then the amount of experience gained would scale down.

The system was initially included so players wouldn’t be able to easily gain Bright Engrams, which are rewarded when a player fills the experience bar after their character reaches level 20. These engrams contain cosmetic items such as shaders, weapon skins, and emotes. You can purchase Bright Engrams with real-world money as well, which could explain why a limiter system was implemented in the first place.  

Nevertheless, Bungie said that it wasn’t satisfied with the results of the feature. Coupled with the community outrage over the issue, the studio immediately deactivated it at the end of last week so you should already see the changes in your recent gameplay sessions.

In addition to Smith’s comments on upcoming features, Bungie is still on track for its third and final livestream for the upcoming “Curse of Osiris” expansion for Destiny 2. This week’s stream will focus on some of the new weapons and gear that comes with the downloadable content.