Destiny 2 only just gave players their first glimpse at a new wave-based activity coming to the game with Into The Light on April 9, but members in the community have already stepped up to defend it from a wave of initial negativity.
Despite being part of an upcoming Destiny 2 update that’s completely free, reactions in the reveal stream’s chat heavily honed in on the fact the new activity, titled Onslaught, takes place on a destroyed version of the Crucible map Midtown. Onslaught will also be bringing back popular weapons of yesteryear such as Midnight Coup instead of introducing new guns for players to acquire. A screenshot from a post on X (formerly Twitter) showing the chat flooded with recycling emotes became a hotbed of discussion on social media, with both content creators and fans expressing frustration at this “pointless” mentality.
“How long have we been asking for a horde mode,” one player said, pointing to the fact the wave-based style of gameplay has been a top community request since Destiny 2 launched. “This is probably one of the best replayable activity designs,” they continued, bemoaning that instead, players are talking about reused assets.
Destiny 2 content creator Ascendant Nomad shared a similar sentiment. “Reused PvP map means they spent more time on the nuances of the game mode, and it looks really, really good,” he said, adding that how fun the game mode turns out to be and the loot up for grabs will far outweigh its location.
The defenses of Bungie’s decision were further bolstered by examples drawn from the studio’s history in the Halo franchise. Firefight, a similar wave-based activity first introduced in Halo 3: ODST, made use of areas pulled from campaign levels and multiplayer maps rather than creating wholly new arenas. Onslaught follows in Firefight’s footsteps, and Destiny 2’s former community manager Dylan Gafner was happy to draw the comparison. “Firefight maps leveraging MP maps feels perfectly fine and fun as hell, especially when they add little twists.” he wrote in reply to Ascendant Nomad.
And Onslaught has no end of those little twists. It may take place on familiar turf, but the mode features defense construction, upgrades, and excursions into Pyramid ship locations to defeat bosses and trigger Rifts—all of which makes the vibe of playing in the rubble of Midtown very different from your average PvP match.
While we won’t know the full details on what loot will be available from it until next week’s stream on March 26, Bungie teased that players who reach the highest waves on offer in the harder difficulties will have no shortage of drops to farm for.
After months of the conversation around Destiny 2 looking grim, sparked by dwindling player numbers and a lackluster Guardian Games event, it’s an unexpectedly heartwarming sight to see many fans rally behind the developer and reaffirm excitement for Into The Light. The free update is the last opportunity Destiny 2 has to build hype for The Final Shape’s launch in June after a lengthy delay, making the support all the more vital.
