This Week at Bungie - 7/15/2021

This week at Bungie, we talk rituals and reputation.

Week two of Solstice of Heroes began. Between celebrating your accomplishments over the last year and a return of sunlight to the Last City, things are feeling pretty good. Make sure to pack some sunscreen on your way to the EAZ. Wouldn't want you to get sunburnt.

We have six weeks until a new Season. There are many of us who have an insatiable appetite for content, but there's always going to be some time to relax during the Seasons of Destiny. Gives folks time to catch up, or just take a breather from our fight against the Darkness. We think it's about time we start trickling out some fun details. A few little snacks here and there, or a few bite-sized treats to enjoy if you aren't still chewing on a Season full of Overrides, Expunges, and more.

This week, our Season 15 appetizers come in the form of ritual reputation updates.

Earning a Reputation

The steady climb towards rewards and reputation is something I've come to love in Destiny 2 over the last few Seasons. Sometimes a reset can fly by when playing with a group of friends, but other times, I could get stuck trying to finish out my Gambit challenges. Even so, having a direct way to grind out some Ascendant Shards was a welcome change with the release of Beyond Light. This week, Rituals Lead Alan Blaine will be walking us through some great changes that the team has been working on to unify the reputation experiences of our ritual activities. As a warning, we are going to be diving a little deeper into the details here. If you're a Destiny 2 Novice, don't be afraid to ask questions. We'll be more than happy to answer what we can after this TWAB is live!

Alan: Hey Guardians! Season 15 will bring the next steps of our ritual unification that started all the way back in Season 13.

Unifying Ritual Ranks and Reputation

Over the last few Seasons, we've been looking to create a unified experience when playing ritual activities in Destiny 2. Starting with Crucible and Gambit, we created new vendor reputation systems and reward tracks. We did some backend work at the start of Season 14 in preparation for larger-scale changes to these reputations, while also preparing for the introduction of Vanguard Ranks.



Before we dive deeper on Vanguard Ranks, let's talk a little bit about the updates to reputation systems overall as we prepare for a future where more vendors are given similar treatment.

• In Season 15, ritual reputation systems on Lord Shaxx, The Drifter, and Commander Zavala will be known as Crucible, Gambit, and Vanguard Ranks.
  • The names Infamy and Valor will be retired.
    • Glory will continue to live as our competitive Crucible reputation system.
  • We are also introducing Trials Ranks in Season 15 -- more about that in a future TWAB.
• We're rebalancing all ranking systems to have similar progression times.
  • Our goal is to let players reset Vanguard, Crucible, and Gambit Ranks slightly faster, on average, than Valor currently allows.
  • There will no longer be ritual-specific rules that impede progress.
  • We are removing win streak bonuses, in exchange for activity streak bonuses.
  • Reputation bonus weeks have been standardized to 2x multipliers when active.
  • Bounties will no longer provide reputations as rewards, but primarily focus on XP.

We looked at how long it would take for players who win nearly every game to reset their reputation versus players who lose nearly every game and tuned it so that the total time taken to reset is only around 2x, rather than the 3-4x right now. Overall, we expect two-thirds of your reputation come from simply playing activities. If you win matches in Crucible or Gambit, you'll still reset a bit faster.

As we mentioned, Glory will continue to live as our competitive Crucible reputation system and will also retain win-streaks for faster ranking. We don't have any specific plans to share on Glory right now, but we will be looking at opportunities in future Seasons for potential updates.

Vanguard Ranks

Commander Zavala is getting a full ritual reputation, like Lord Shaxx and the Drifter before him. As a note, Vanguard Tokens are being retired, so make sure to spend them before Season 15 begins.

Players may earn Vanguard reputation when completing the following activities:

• Strikes
• Nightfalls
• Battlegrounds

For those looking to take on a challenge, Nightfalls give different bonuses based on completion medals, which can be earned through high scores and defeating all Champions. Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum medals grant reputation bonuses, and Nightfalls grant reputation multipliers depending on the difficulty of Nightfall selected. The more difficult the Nightfall, the higher the multiplier will be!



Zavala will also have a full reputation reward line, similar to the ones we added for Shaxx and Drifter in Season 13. Powerful rewards will be granted every third rank, and an Ascendant Shard will be rewarded when resetting the first time.

Activity Streaks and Reputation Bonuses

As noted above, Season 15 will introduce activity streaks. The longer you stay in Vanguard activities (playlists or direct launch), the larger your streak bonus is. Guardians can leave the matchmaking queue to snag bounties from the Tower or clean out their Postmaster in the H.E.L.M. without worry of losing their activity streaks. As a note, quitting activities or going AFK for extended periods of time will invalidate your streak, so be ready to play if you're looking to keep yours going.



As with Crucible and Gambit, Zavala will be looking to host weeklong reputation bonuses throughout a given Season. Stay tuned for in-game announcements.

Seasonal Ritual Weapon Quest and Ornaments

Next Season, we are moving the seasonal ritual weapon and ornaments to the reputation reward tracks of Vanguard, Crucible, and Gambit. As players increase their reputation during the Season, they'll work towards unlocking the weapon and respective ornaments from each vendor. We're also opting to update Seasonal Challenges, removing things like "In it for Infamy" in favor of challenges to earn ritual weapon rewards.

Grandmasters and Conqueror Gilding



Back when we introduced Grandmaster Nightfalls and the Conqueror title, with gilding Seals still nine months away, we wanted to give players a hard-to-reach goal that measured both skill, communication, build-crafting, and time commitment, but that was also mindful of player's time and real-life schedules. We saw a lot of feedback about rewards and general time commitments to reach Grandmaster levels, so we've been making some improvements Season over Season.

• We added better Masterworking material drops, Adept weapons and mods, and title gilding.
• Seasonal Challenges and +10 Power Seasons means it has never been easier to get to the Pinnacle and Artifact Power needed early in the Season.
• The addition of a catch-up node, which currently appears during the final three weeks of a given season, helped many players conquer this aspirational content, even if they couldn't play every week of a given Season.

Thanks to these changes, we're seeing a lot more players attempting Grandmasters and gilding their Conqueror titles than ever before. While we still believe that starting in week-seven gives GMs a nice Seasonal cadence, waiting until the final three weeks of the Season to gild no longer feels correct. We would like players to play the week's Grandmaster Nightfall for rewards, not Lake of Shadows the easiest perceived strike.

Later in Season 15, we're planning to make the following changes to the Grandmaster catch-up node to let players gild their title earlier in the Season, while also addressing our concerns over a single strike being a boon for high-tier rewards over the last three weeks of a Season. :

• The Grandmaster catch-up node will become available at the same time that Grandmaster difficulty is available, so long as you have the Conqueror title but have not yet gilded it this Season.
• Each Grandmaster Nightfall will be available if the fireteam leader has not completed the gilding Triumph for that strike during the Season.
  • In other words, you may play each featured strike for a Season to earn your gilded title.
  • Once you've gilded your title, the catch-up node will no longer be available.

We're excited to release these changes in Season 15 and are looking forward to your feedback. Once you've had some time to dig in and earn your rewards, sound off with your thoughts!

Bungie Foundation: Charity Update

Well, Guardians... you've done it again. Just last week, we announced the Bungie Foundation Giving Campaign, and you've already smashed expectations. We have a quick update for you on how much has been raised so far. We also have an exciting lore reading, since you smashed the $500k challenge!

Bungie Foundation: One week down, one week to go! Thank you to all of you who have shown your support so far. We've raised an incredible $625k to date! With a goal of $777k, we know you're going to knock it out of the park and support us in our efforts around:

• Improving children's health and wellbeing.
• Uplifting the voices and rights of all individuals and communities.
• Providing humanitarian aid in times of crisis.

As a thank you for your generosity, we have a special treat for you today. Check out our Community Team's very own Nicole Olson in her amazing and dramatic rendition of "To The Witch Queen" lore reading.



As a reminder, we have some sweet in-game items to thank you for your donation. Unique redemption codes will be emailed to you on Thursday, July 29:

• $10+: 2020 "The Bungie Foundation" emblem
• $25+: Above, plus the NEW "Circadian Guard" emblem
• $50+: Above, plus NEW Exotic "Buoyant Shell" ghost
• $75+: Above, plus NEW Exotic "Tiny Tank" emote

Please note: To be eligible for the in-game items listed above, donations must be made to this campaign between July 7 and July 20 at 11:59 PM PT. Unique redemption code(s) will be emailed to you on Thursday, July 29 following the completion of the fundraiser. One redemption code per item, per email for qualifying donations.

Rewards of the Prime Variety

It's time for a refresh of Prime Rewards! This month, we've got something to love for the Fusion Rifle mains out there. Merciless takes the spotlight, packing destructive Solar damage and faster charge time with each non-lethal burst; this Exotic will be a welcome addition to inventories throughout the community.

Here's the full list of items in this month's drop:

• Merciless Exotic Fusion Rifle
• Break the Dawn Exotic Ornament
• Symmetry Flight Exotic Ship
• Soul Velocity Legendary Sparrow

Make sure to link your Bungie.net account to get these slick rewards. Not signed up? Head to the Prime Rewards portal and check out our Help Article to get the ball rolling, and stay tuned for future announcements and updated drops!

Let it Glow, Let it Glow!

Over the last week, our Player Support team has been on the hunt for missing Solstice of Heroes packages. These little boxes are important for those looking to earn white glows on their fresh new armor sets, not to mention the Guardians looking for a sweet new Shotgun. If you've fallen victim to the case of the missing Solstice Packages, we've got some important information for you.

This is their report.

MISSING SOLSTICE CONSUMABLES

Upon investigation of reports of missing Solstice Packages and Solstice Key Fragments, it was discovered that creating new characters will result in all Packages and Key Fragments being removed from players' Consumables inventory.

Players are encouraged to not create new characters during the Solstice 2021 event while they have these items in their inventories to ensure that they are not lost. If you're eager to create a new character, please be sure to spend all Packages and Key Fragments prior to doing so.

SECOND CHANCES EMBLEM

We have identified an issue preventing players who completed the New Light introductory mission from receiving the Second Chances emblem from Bungie Rewards. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming update, and the emblem will become available to all players who complete or have completed the New Light introductory mission.

BUNGIE STORE BETA NEW LAUNCH DATE

The new Bungie Store beta launch will now be rolling out on July 20 as we prepare to transition to a new e-commerce platform. Players with existing Bungie Store accounts will be prompted to change their passwords once the beta is live. With the new store, players will be able to sign in using their Bungie.net accounts, which will make viewing, browsing, and purchasing Bungie Rewards an improved and more streamlined experience.

Please note that any generated Bungie Rewards codes for the Vault of Glass Art Print, Descendant Seal, Splintered Seal, Splicer Seal, Expunge Hoodie, and Solstice of Heroes T-shirt will no longer be valid after July 20, 2021. Players who do not purchase these Bungie Rewards before July 20 will need to sign in with a Bungie Store account linked to a Bungie.net account that has completed the appropriate Triumph(s) to purchase the associated Bungie Rewards item.

For more information, please visit our Bungie Rewards help article.

KNOWN ISSUES

While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help Forum:

• The Solstice 2021 armor glows for Warlocks always display the Stasis glow effect when wearing Felwinter's Helm.
• Reissued Dreaming City weapons are not dropping as intended.
• Upgrading Solstice armor to the Magnificent set may drop the armor's Power level to 1100.
• PlayStation 4 controllers may no longer be recognized by Destiny 2 when playing on Steam.

For a full list of emergent issues in Destiny 2, players can review our Known Issues article. Players who observe other issues should report them to our #Help forum.

"Teleports Behind You"

Even though it's summer here in the States, I can feel a chill running down my spine from time to time. Is it a cool wind from the Pacific reaching my window, or is it the whisper from the Darkness? I keep hearing the words Mask of Bakris echoing through my skull. It must be a sign.

If you see me in the Crucible this weekend, just know... it's nothing personal, kid.

Movie of the Week: Bakris Approved.

Movie of the Week: Clantage - Ronin

If you'd like to take a shot at the Movie of the Week, please make sure to put #MOTW in your title and submit your content to the Community Creations page on Bungie.net.

We've Got Family

Something I love to see in this community is when parents introduce their children to the world of Destiny. Sure, the Hive can be a bit scary, but a family of Guardians can take on any challenge with ease.

Art of the Week: The Family is All Here

Just a family that plays together.#MeegaNalaQwishta #Ohana #Chibi #ChibiArt #Destiny #Destiny2 #Destiny2Art #Cute #Kawaii pic.twitter.com/rpMmPfOrYd

— Darani Suarez (@RaNiiTH) July 14, 2021

Art of the Week: Cuties

Have some chibis

{✨ #Destiny2Art ✨} pic.twitter.com/20tAsCQhXp

— ✨JaxBeefle ✨Commissions Open (@jaxbeetle) July 13, 2021

Cheers to all who have been sharing their wonderful work. If you'd like the community to see your stuff, tag it with #Destiny2Art or #DestinyArt when posting!

Thanks for stopping by for another installment of your weekly TWAB goodness. I'm just finishing up on the white Solstice glows for all three of my characters. Excited for the lovely Ghost reward at the end of the road. Don't worry, I won't bore you for too long with more text about my Arc Logic journey or the Master Atheon Challenge. Tell me, what are you currently hunting in Destiny 2? Anything special? Or are you just killing time while dunking on Hive in Old Russia?

August 24 is coming soon. We have some sandbox details and Cross Play to cover between now and then. Sometimes I still wish I could be locked in a cryo-sleep until announce days. The excitement and anticipation for August is thick enough to cut with a knife.

We'll get there soon enough, cryo-sleep or not.

Cheers,
dmg04