First Impressions of Destiny 2: Season of The Seraph

Destiny 2’s newest season, Season of The Seraph, is finally here and has delivered a great deal of content to be enjoyed by its community.

*Note* This will only include what is currently available in game and not what has been leaked to the community. As well as content from the introductory quest of the season based on my understanding. So spoilers ahead if you haven’t played it yet…

Seasonal Story Quest

The story picks up where it last left off Ana Bray during the events of Beyond Light. She and the, now awake, warlock of legend, Osiris, go back and forth desperately trying their best to bring back the Golden Age Tyrant Warmind, Rasputin.

As a final resort, they head to Europa and meet up with the dishonorable, mad man and Anastasia Bray’s very own grandfather, Clovis bray. There they find Xivu Arath’s forces trying to get a hold of Clovis’ mind.

After a short, no diff, fight against the hive and possessed fallen forces WITHOUT the help of Osiris and Ana, Clovis agrees to their request to help them reboot Rasputin without any form of resistance or bribery. Anyone who is aware of who Clovis is and what he’s done will immediately think that he has some kind of ulterior motive. As the kids would say… Clovis mega sus (kill me).

We eventually learn from Clov-sus (I hate my life) and momm- Mara Sov that Xivu Arath is trying to get a hold of the warminds through the old bunkers from back in Season of The Worthy.

As the first week of the season goes, that’s all from the story for now…

Bungie’s storytelling and world building of the Destiny Universe is one that will never cease to amaze. From bringing back beloved characters into thier seasonal content to how the planets and social spaces adapt to how the season’s story progresses.

HOWEVER, as big as a threat Xivu Arath is, I can’t help but feel like that her inclusion in the story is like the bungie developers just remembering last minute that there is a third hive sister still alive.

From the events of Beyond Light to now (to my knowledge), Xivu Arath was only ever mentioned twice during that time span. The first being in Season of the Hunt and the second being this season. It took more than a year of events and expansions for her to become relevant in the story again.

The same could be said about Rasputin. But at the very least when it came down to his story telling, there were bits and pieces of lore sprinkled around to help explain on Rasputin’s current state without the need of having to show his character to the player.

One example is the Nefele Stronghold, despite this being the first time anyone has ever heard of this place or Rasputin’s association with it, even the characters in the game itself were unaware of this. It helped the players understand that we weren’t the only ones lost when it came to this new piece of lore. So, then we start digging and searching and theorizing on what the hell this one thing could possibly be. We gain interest, invest our time and possibly kill braincells in the process.

Xivu Arath’s story, on the other hand, has so much potential for it to be an actual “looming threat” for the guardians to fear, but I can’t help but feel like it’s been downplayed and reduced to nothing more than a mere side mission.

The Seraph’s Arsenal

With the return of our “Big Red” boy, this season also brings back the beloved Ikelos series of weapons with brand new perks to match the current sandbox and the player’s ideal meta loadout. Fan favorites such as the Ikelos Shotgun and SMG make their glorious return into the game’s loot pool and into players inventories.

With perks such as Volt Shot and Incandescent being added into their respective updated perk pools, as well as the capability of players finally being able to craft these amazing weapons; one can only begin to imagine what chaotic combinations players could make to clear a room or ruin someone’s fun in the crucible.

And of course, with the drop of a new season comes new and fresh seasonal weapons that would continue to plague our vaults and fill them up moments before Destiny’s newest expansion.

As a successor from the last Rasputin related event, these weapons significantly surpass Season of The Worthy’s weapons just based on looks alone. If you were tasked to define what “Golden Age Weaponry” would look like, this would be beyond perfection. And not only do they look intimidatingly amazing, these things are practically beasts on the battlefield.

The Stasis aggressive frame pulse rifle, Disparity, can roll with the perk despirado and can be paired with other perks like heating up, outlaw and rapid hit. If you manage to get your hands on a roll with these perks or even craft the weapon itself in the enclave, anyone in your sights better say a prayer.

Season’s Exotics

Now a Destiny season wouldn’t be complete without its own unique exotic to come with it. And unique doesn’t even begin to describe this gun. Season of The Seraph has dropped, nay, it has flown past us with the utmost form of beauty and grace that has ever rained purplish void hellfire on our enemies.

Ladies and gentilemen, exos and awoken of all ages, the perfect manifistation of the phrase “Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee”… introducing the Manticore exotic SMG.

Obtained from level 35 or level 1 of the battle pass, its exotic perk, Soaring Fang, allows the player to charge up the weapons antigrav repulsors by hitting and killing enemies on the ground. And once that bar is filled up, simply jump, fire and glide your way to victory over enemy heads as you drop lead and put Pharah from overwatch to shame.

Although this is the first Destiny season to not have any new exotic armor for any of the classes, there is still much room for secrets to be uncovered and revealed…

Final Thoughts

There is no doubt on my mind that Bungie is riding the nostalgia train hard this season. With the return of the bunkers and an old “friend” as well as a couple of familiar faces and voices over the radio. But, using nostalgia as a main source to generate hype or as a base for its story and to incentivize players to return or purchase the season is basically the equivalent of building an oil rig out of driftwood, paper and glue.

It’s an unstable way of gaining the attention of players, new lights and veterans alike. Nostalgia can only fuel a person for so long before they are reminded of why they quit or stopped the habit in the first place.

Not to mention that this is the follow up to one of the dullest seasons of Destiny to date, Season of Plunder. A fiasco of a community event and a desperate hail mary telesto mini event to try to gain some of their players attention.

This season also serves as a precursor for Destiny’s next expansion, Lightfall. The upcoming expansion has already set it’s hype from the trailer and QoL promises alone.

So even if expectations of this season would be low, its final task is to generate enough traction to incentivize players to keep on playing and supporting the game. Not out of obligation because they spent time and money or because of FOMO, but for the intrigue.

Bungie has made a truly amazing game and with a beautiful story and soundtrack to match. I’d hate to see all that effort, from developer to player, go to waste because they couldn’t live up to the hype.