The launch ofDestiny 2’s monumental Final Shape expansion marked the end of an age for the game, and the beginning of a whole new one. It was the stopping point of a decade-long journey for a lot of players, but the expansion’s introduction of an episodic model has helped to tie up the loose ends left after destroying the Witness and pave the way to a new story in the world ofDestiny 2. The game’s episodes quickly became one of its most widely-discussed controversies, though, thanks to their overall similarity to the earlier seasonal model, and while there remains plenty of discussion around whether the episodic model should be here to stay, it does have its benefits for some types of players.
With all three episodes following The Final Shape having released, though, it’s clear they essentially work the same way as seasons, asmanyDestiny 2fans initially feared.Destiny 2’s episodic content was originally described by Bungie as a vehicle to deliver higher-quality, self-contained stories to keep players engaged with new adventures over the course of the year, whereas the seasonal model aimed to slowly progress the overarching story of the Light and Dark saga across four separate content drops per year. Realistically,Destiny 2’s episodes present a modified approach to the seasonal model, with some of the key differences being:
The Pros and Cons of the Episodic Structure
To some extent,Destiny 2’s episodic modelcan be boiled down to a less diverse supply of content per year, with the benefit of being delivered more consistently. Most players agree that each ofDestiny 2’s episodes doesn’t feel particularly larger or more significant than a good season typically does, and so the type of player that’s consistently engaged with the game throughout the year tends to criticizeDestiny 2’s episodic model due to it resulting in the release of three content packages throughout the year instead of the usual four.
Still, this doesn’t mean thatDestiny 2now simply releases one less ‘season’ per year. With each episode’s battle pass including 200 tiers instead of the 100 that fans are used to, that’s still a total of 600 tiers per year - 200 more than fans had in the past. EachDestiny 2episode’s battle passisn’t unlocked in full right off the bat, though - with episodes being broken up into three acts each, new tiers on battle passes are unlocked as new acts are released, helping to keep regular players hooked across an episode’s lengthier runtime.
Each new act also introduces new artifact perks and seasonal weapons to obtain, with players only having to wait around 6 weeks per act instead of the full 12 weeks between seasons. With each season featuring its own setting and variety of loot, it’s safe to say thatDestiny 2’s traditional seasonal model offers a more diverse range of content per year - but when considering the quantity of exotic missions and battle pass sizes offered by the game’s episodes, along with the fact thatDestiny 2has still received its usual two annual dungeonsthis year, it’s hard to say whether seasons or episodes offer more content.
Episodes Are Ideal For The Story-Minded Casual Fan, But Not Daily Players
Destiny 2’s episodes are still packed with seasonal gimmicks and activitiesthat fans would expect, though ultimately, different types ofDestiny 2players likely have different answers about whether the game should return to its traditional seasonal model. With episodes focusing on delivering more story-focused, campaign-like experiences which will hopefully remain permanent parts of the game, they might seem particularly appealing to the type of player who only plays the game for brief periods occasionally to experience the narrative progression. Players who are actively engaged withDestiny 2on a daily basis, on the other hand, will almost certainly get more out of the seasonal model in the long run.
