Constructive Deconstruction

On February 22, 2022, Bungie released their Witch Queen expansion for their popular looter-shooter, Destiny 2. Along with new weapons and powered-up enemies, the Void subclass got an overhaul. Instead of three play style options with predetermined perks locked in, Void 3.0 allowed players to mix and match abilities to better suit their personal tastes.

This new change got me more into build-crafting, so much so that I created my own builds and uploaded them on the Round Two Gaming YouTube channel. At the time of posting this, we’ll be a few days away from Bungie announcing which of the other two Light-based subclasses will be updated. (yes, I could’ve started the specialty builds last year with Stasis, but because Stasis is a Darkness subclass and I often let my morality dictate my gaming, I choose not to touch it)

The deeper I got into testing my own builds, the more I realized that Destiny 2’s customization system allows for more creativity than most other RPGs.

When looking at the current and future sandbox, Destiny 2 offers simple customization, yet the subtle nuances within your choices offer multiple possibilities. Within its limits, it fosters more creativity and ingenuity than traditional, run-of-the-mill RPGs. Loadouts can be broken down into two areas of customization: Abilities and Equipment.

The Cracked Titan (watch the video here)

When it comes to abilities, everyone has a major choice to make: which Guardian class do I want to play as?

This aspect is shared with other RPGs. The Titan is the strong warrior, the Hunter is the fleet-footed rogue, and the Warlock is the mystical mage. Once you’ve chosen your class, you then have four elemental subclasses you can choose from to further define your Guardian’s style.

Getting to the current state of Class Abilities has been an interesting journey. Back in the first Destiny game, you had to level up each subclass to unlock different abilities. This is RPG standard. However, one of the key areas Destiny deviated was that you could have Level 1 abilities equipped and still hold your own against someone with Level 20 abilities. Generally, everything was tuned to the same strength. As long as your character level was high enough, your Level 1 abilities could still wreck a raid boss.

This changed in Destiny 2. Instead of mixing and matching perks, the developers decided to create specific skill trees with the “most optimal” perks locked in. This took a lot of the players’ creative outlets away. Sure, we made due with what we had, but it felt confined and restricted.

Change came again in 2020 with the Beyond Light expansion. Not only was the icy Stasis element introduced, players were offered a new subclass customization menu. Instead of locked abilities, we could choose class-specific Aspects that changed the usual gameplay and stat-enhancing Fragments that were available for all classes. It wasn’t quite the level we had in Destiny 1, but it breathed chilly new life into the game and paved the way for some ludicrous ability combinations.

Obviously, the intuitive customization of Stasis created a massive disparity with the original Light subclasses. Players like me, who preferred the Light over the Darkness, had trouble competing with the variety of Stasis users. With the release The Witch Queen, the latest expansion, Bungie decided to level the playing field. Starting with Void, the Light subclasses are slowly getting reworked to match Stasis’s customization. Now, we have even more options to work with.

Again, Abilities unlocked at the beginning of the game can carry you through to the end, even if you’ve unlocked all of the other ones, because they’re kept at a roughly even strength. Some have longer cooldowns or lower power, but it all boils down to the player’s personal preference. Some choose the weaker, attack-from-a-distance Shield Throw, while others run the stronger, high-risk-high reward Shield Bash.

However, Abilities are only half of the puzzle.

The Glutton Warlock (watch the video here)

Weapon and Armor choice in Destiny 2 not only enhances abilities, but adds to the intuitive build-crafting that other RPGs cannot match.

In RPGs, having good equipment is critical. Armor gives boots to character stats and certain weapons come with special effects. Destiny 2 works much the same way. You start off with some basic armor and guns and, as you progress, you gain access to stronger and better gear.

One of the biggest assets Destiny 2 has is Random Rolls. You can get an identical piece of gear, but they won’t always share the same stat distribution. One set of gauntlets can boost Strength while another set increases Mobility. Two copies of the same gun can have different ability perks. This creates the hunt for “the god roll,” the best combination of stats and perks.

In addition to the regular gear, characters are allowed to equip one Exotic Weapon and one Exotic Armor piece. Exotic Weapons can be used by everyone, Armor Exotics are character specific, and all of them have bizarre abilities. One Exotic can grant you an extra grenade, while another can launch a homing rocket which splits into additional mini seekers upon impact.

Now, one would argue that other RPGs implement similar equipment regulations. That is indeed true. However, just like with Abilities, Weapons and Armor in Destiny 2 can be evened out across the board. In a traditional RPG, once you get the next best piece of gear, you’d have no reason to hold on to the old one. Its performance wouldn’t be able to keep up with the new one. This is how progression works. In Destiny 2, however, you can infuse the Weapons and Armor you like with stronger ones and increase their potency, allowing you to dive into harder content without giving up the gear you love. There are even cases where players don’t equip Exotics because their Legendary gear, which is one rarity level below Exotic, can outperform their newer and Exotic counterparts.

Because Abilities, Weapons, and Armor all operate on an equal playing field, players can test different combinations without hampering their progress. You can run the same Raids with different characters and gear and still succeed. Not many RPGs can do the same. What’s Bungie’s secret? What did they implement to keep everything so balanced?

The Stagehand Hunter (watch the video here)

The solution to keeping Ability and Weapon balance in Destiny 2 is Power Level.

Every piece of gear you obtain in the game has an assigned Power number. The average number of all your equipped items combined determines your Guardian’s overall Power Level. This affects both Weapon and Ability strength. As you get higher-numbered gear, your Power Level increases, too. As I mentioned before, you can infuse old, low-Power gear with newer, stronger pieces. Doing so allows you to keep using what you’re comfortable with without falling behind other players. You could be running all blue-grade gear and, theoretically, still outperform someone with all Legendaries if their Power Level is lower than yours.

The balance that Power Level gives us provides so many opportunities to try different Weapon loadouts and Ability builds. You could have a Hunter that snipes from the shadows or gets up close and personal. You could have a Warlock that blows everything up or aids allies with buffs. While there are limits in place, they only serve to strengthen creativity and ingenuity.

I have no doubt that there are other mainstream RPGs that allow for customization the same as or deeper than Destiny 2. You’re more than welcome to send those titles my way. I’d love to play them. What I am saying is that the way Bungie built Destiny 2’s system is very intuitive and allows me to keep coming back and try new things, even when the seasons are slow. I highly recommend you go out there and “give it a shot!”