Details are scant when it comes to what will be brought to the table in Destiny 2′s season 23, which is still over two months away from its projected launch. But that hasn’t stopped the game’s weapons and economy team from unexpectedly dropping a small morsel of information in response to community critique surrounding the acquisition of world drop loot.
On Reddit, the Destiny 2 Team account confirmed today that foundry weapon focusing—a popular feature first introduced in Season of Plunder last year—will be making a permanent return to the game next season. Previously, the focusing option was tied down to Season of Plunder’s Star Chart vendor, which meant it went away once the Lightfall expansion launched in February.
The confirmation came in response to a post from three days ago, where players were bemoaning how much of a “nightmare” the current acquisition system was for world loot weapons. Destiny 2 introduced new foundries into the game in season 22, most notable being Nadir with its powerful Origin Trait. This only made the lack of easy access to non-seasonal guns all the more palpable.
“Trying to get specific world loot pool weapons with any consistency is nigh impossible currently, and it’s honestly pretty inexcusable when we previously had a system that fixed this problem for the most part,” wrote u/ryan13ts. “The system wasn’t perfect, but it was a godsend to what we have now for going for world loot pool weapons, which is basically nothing.”
“We feel the same way,” responded the Destiny 2 Team account, “and are excited to mention that foundry weapon focusing is making a permanent return in Season 23.”
A permanent return means this previously seasonal mechanic will more than likely be transferred into the hands of a vendor like Banshee-44, the resident Gunsmith. Taking it out of the H.E.L.M will allow it to exist beyond any given expansion year, even if it remains a mystery for now how players will use the focusing system if it isn’t with seasonal engrams like before. The removal of the universal Umbral Engram system means Destiny 2 doesn’t currently have any general purpose Engrams players could utilize.
Further details about this system and other economy changes will undoubtedly be released later down the line, but it’s a comfort to know ahead of time that hunting down good rolls of new foundry weapons will no longer require a mix of prayer and sheer luck like it does now.