What’s Leaving in Lightfall Destiny 2? A Comprehensive Guide
Destiny 2’s expansions often bring significant shifts, and Lightfall is no exception. While new content arrives, it also marks the departure of older activities, gear, and storylines. This article will give you a comprehensive breakdown of everything being vaulted with the release of Lightfall, ensuring you’re not caught off guard. Let’s dive into what’s leaving the game and answer some burning questions you might have.
Content Being Vaulted With Lightfall
When Lightfall launched, a significant chunk of content was moved into the Destiny Content Vault (DCV). The primary categories of content being removed are seasonal activities from The Witch Queen year, and specific exotic rewards tied to them. Here’s a detailed look:
Seasonal Content from Year 5 (The Witch Queen Year)
The core of what’s being vaulted pertains to the seasonal activities introduced during the Witch Queen expansion’s lifecycle. This means you’ll no longer have access to:
- Season of the Risen: This includes the seasonal activity, story missions, and related gear and triumphs.
- Season of the Haunted: All content from the Leviathan’s return and related seasonal activities are gone.
- Season of Plunder: Pirate-themed activities, story missions, and specific rewards have been removed.
- Season of the Seraph: The Rasputin-focused content, including its seasonal activity and storyline, is no longer available.
Exotic Cosmetic Items
Associated with the seasonal activities and various triumphs, specific Exotic cosmetic items are also no longer obtainable. These were often awarded for completing quests and unlocking triumphs within the removed seasonal content. If you didn’t grab them, they are unavailable for now.
Why is this happening?
The primary reason for content vaulting is to manage the game’s overall file size and maintain performance. By removing older, less-played content, Bungie aims to streamline the game and ensure it can continue to evolve with new content. It also allows them to refocus resources on fresh updates.
What’s Not Leaving?
It’s important to note what isn’t being vaulted. Core activities such as Strikes, Crucible, and Gambit remain. Also, older expansion content from Beyond Light and Shadowkeep is safe, at least for now. Free to play content such as Dares of Eternity will still be available too.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
To further clarify the situation and address potential questions, here are 15 frequently asked questions about the content leaving in Lightfall:
1. What exactly is the Destiny Content Vault (DCV)?
The Destiny Content Vault (DCV) is a system where older content is removed from the active game to manage file size and improve performance. This content might return at a later date but will be unavailable for the time being.
2. Will the vaulted seasonal activities ever return?
It’s possible that Bungie will bring back certain vaulted content in some form in the future, but there are no guarantees. No specific dates or plans for returns have been confirmed.
3. Are any expansions being removed with Lightfall?
No expansions were removed alongside Lightfall. The expansions like Beyond Light and Shadowkeep remain playable. It is just seasonal content that is being vaulted.
4. What about gear from the vaulted seasons?
Most of the gear, including weapons and armor from the vaulted seasons, will no longer be obtainable. However, some weapons and armor might be reissued in the future via other activities.
5. Will my character progress be affected by vaulting?
Your character progress will not be affected. The vaulting of content primarily removes access to specific activities, quests, and rewards, but your Guardian’s overall progress and items are safe.
6. What happens to the triumphs and seals associated with vaulted content?
Triumphs and seals related to vaulted seasonal content become unobtainable. If you have already completed them, they will remain on your account, but you can’t progress them further.
7. Does the change to armor elements affect vaulted armor?
The removal of armor elements has affected all armor in the game, including armor from vaulted content. All armor can now use any mods, irrespective of its original elemental affinity.
8. Is it possible to get the exotics that are no longer obtainable?
The specific Exotics tied to the removed content will not be obtainable through normal gameplay. It is possible they will come back in the future through different means, like Xur.
9. Will Destiny 2 become a smaller game with vaulting?
While the game’s file size might decrease somewhat, Destiny 2 is constantly adding new content. The overall size might not decrease significantly but the game will be better optimized.
10. Will Lightfall and its content be vaulted in the future?
It’s likely that content from the Lightfall year will be vaulted when a new expansion is released. This cycle is a core part of Destiny 2’s content strategy.
11. Did any story elements get removed?
The seasonal stories associated with the removed activities are not available anymore, however, the main storyline for expansions like The Witch Queen are untouched.
12. Will Destiny 2 characters be deleted?
Your characters are not being deleted. There have been past issues with characters temporarily missing due to server problems, but Bungie has stated that no characters will be permanently deleted.
13. Is Bungie done with Destiny 2 after Lightfall?
No, Bungie is not done with Destiny 2 after Lightfall. The game will continue with future content updates, new expansions, and ongoing stories, they are starting a new saga after the current one ends with The Final Shape expansion.
14. Why was Lightfall review-bombed?
Lightfall faced heavy criticism due to its story, new destination, and new subclass. Many players felt it was underwhelming and didn’t meet expectations. This did lead to review-bombing of the expansion.
15. Is Dares of Eternity going away?
No, Dares of Eternity is not going away. This free-to-play activity, which was introduced with the 30th Anniversary DLC, remains accessible.
Conclusion
Understanding what’s leaving with Lightfall is crucial for Destiny 2 players. While it might be disappointing to lose access to certain content, the vaulting system is part of the game’s life cycle. By keeping track of what’s going away, you can ensure you’re not missing out on any rewards or content you might want to experience before it’s gone. The main takeaway here is that seasonal content from the Witch Queen year, and associated cosmetics, are no longer available. As the game evolves, we will be on the lookout for future content and the return of vaulted content.