Destiny 2 players "in mourning" as The Edge of Fate sinks to 10% rating on Steam

I remember a time when Destiny 2 used to be the big thing. While I'm more of a fantasy enthusiast than an intergalactic traveler, I've always had Bungie's mammoth MMO in the back of my mind as something I should get around to trying. But, when I clocked in this morning, I spotted a slew of comments on the game's subreddit claiming that this has been "the worst week in the entire history of Destiny." It was enough to pique my interest, and it looks like the game's Ash and Iron update, as well as the consistent vaulting then recycling of content, are at the heart of the discourse.

While 79% of Destiny 2's lifetime Steam reviews are positive, from September 9 onwards there's a marked increase in negative feedback, with the game receiving more negative responses than positive ever since Ash and Iron's release.

A look at The Edge of Fate's Steam page is much more harrowing, however. Recent reviews sit at an abysmal 10% positive, with a lifetime score of 36%. There are several days where there are zero positive responses, with September 15 seeing 57 negative reviews. Players claim the game has "no soul," while others say that it's "the worst update they've ever seen in a videogame," specifically noting how buggy Ash and Iron is. So what happened?

One of the key pain points appears to be the consistent changes to the weapon meta. As expansions have dropped and seasons have progressed, players have found that their hard-earned Exotics can quickly become redundant as more augmentation systems are integrated into the gameplay. It's just as bad when it comes to armor, with older pieces often being vaulted then brought back to the in-game store. To make thing worse, gear wipes mean your score is dropped back to 200 whenever there's a new expansion, causing many to ask 'what's the point?'

This funnels into Edge of Fate and Ash and Iron's Portal system, which requires a hefty grind to yield any decent gear. If you buy the premium battle pass, however, you can receive a Portal Engram Boost, which ups your chance of getting Prime Engram rewards, as well as an Activity Score Boost II, which gives you a 3% boost to your score when completing Portal activates. The latter effect can stack up to 15% over the course of the season, with u/The_Mythrez claiming that "Bungie is encroaching into [pay to win] territory."

But, most of all, it seems like Bungie's lost its way with Destiny 2. "This has to be the worst week in the history of Destiny," writes u/ItzDrShadow. "It feels like the Destiny community is in mourning today. We have truly lost a loved one," another post reads.

While the upcoming Star Wars Renegades update looks great, it's going to have to work doubly as hard to get players back on side. With no sign of 'Destiny 3' and the Marathon release date being delayed indefinitely, we'll just have to wait and see what happens next.

If you're still playing Destiny, check out our list of all the currently active Destiny 2 codes to snag some freebies, or, if you're a little newer to the game, our guide to all the Destiny 2 classes.

Have you been playing Destiny 2 from the start? Let us know how you feel about the game, as well as Ash and Iron, over on our Discord server.