So the Destiny 2: Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack is out and I must say it’s really a change of pace from having to buy a season pass for new content. The Pack itself is just a few cosmetic items, a brand new dungeon, and the Exotic Rocket Launcher Gjallarhorn with a catalyst!
Destiny 2: Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack is primarily meant for hardcore Destiny players, those who started with Destiny on the Xbox and the PlayStation 4. I’m not saying that new players can’t take advantage of being able to use a weapon that at its core was a weapon of legends in the Destiny community to such an extent that if you did not have one, you couldn’t go on RAIDS with other players.
Gjallarhorn however has been significantly balanced since Destiny and with its return in Destiny 2 its ability to hold two rockets has been reduced down to one until you masterwork it with its catalyst, and they did give it a degree of improvement with all the Wolf Pack rounds in your Gjallarhorn if they get kills, it will spawn more Wolf Pack rounds indefinitely.
Now being able to use Gjallarhorn again is a big selling point for a lot of players regardless of whether they’re new players, returning players, or even players who are actively involved in the community.
What I love about the Destiny 2: Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack is the new Dungeon they’ve added, the grasp of Avarice. They’ve built an entire Dungeon themed around a Destiny game bug that existed all the way at the beginning of Destiny on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Where enemies would never stop spawning so players would camp in the area to grind out new gear.
They went and took the entire premise of that one bug and turned it into a complete Dungeon, but not just any Dungeon. They gave the Grasp of Avarice a strong Indiana Jones feel with booby traps, spiked walls, and an air of comedic silliness that my Fireteam and I have had a lot of fun running.
The best part is that Gjallarhorn and the Grasp of Avarice are inherently tied together. When you want to get the most fabled Rocket Launcher in all of Destiny you have to run through the Grasp of Avarice Dungeon to acquire it along the way. Bungie can’t help but play audio that calls back to when Destiny first launched to give older players a strong sense of nostalgia.
My only criticism of the Destiny 2 30th Anniversary Pack is that Bungie did not make Randal the Vandal the boss of the Grasp of Avarice Dungeon and I feel that they missed a prime opportunity to make a great joke, but that’s my hot take.
The final thing included with the Destiny 2 30th Anniversary Pack is the cosmetics for all Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans giving each of them a streetwear look. I am wearing these cosmetic items on my Hunter. But I do feel that these don’t really reflect the 30th Anniversary of Bungie as a company very well and truthfully, I feel that if there was a 30th Anniversary cosmetic item that reflects Bungie as a company it should have been themed after Halo.
Now with the launch of the Destiny 2: Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack, Bungie launched a special event in Destiny 2 called Dares of Eternity and it’s available to all players, not just those who purchased the 30th Anniversary Pack.
Dares of Eternity is an interesting, and unique event to say the least, and to say more it’s comedy gold. The story reason for this is that our favorite and beloved vendor of Destiny 2, Xur has lost control of his mind, and body, taken over by a Universal traversing magical space pony called Star Horse and it’s the desire of Star Horse that no one leaves empty-handed.
That being said, Xur acts as an early 70’s game show host who challenges us, Guardians, to fight waves of enemies for the television audience. Guardians are then instructed to spin the wheel to see who they’re fighting and as Dares of Eternity, traverse obstacle courses for heavy ammo regeneration, and even near the end, we’re even told to pick a door to discover where our final opponent is for the grand finale.
The best part of Dares of Eternity does come at the end as it is the will of the Universal traversing magical space pony that no Guardian leaves empty-handed and we’re given unique 30th Anniversary drops which include a treasure chest key, weapons, and armor. Some of which could be exclusive to Bungie’s 30th Anniversary such as weapons themed from the Halo franchise, and other past games.
The treasure chest keys are used in a special treasure room that is run by Xur, and Star Horse where Guardians can unlock special cosmetic items, a ghost shell, a sparrow, or even Xur’s ship. This treasure room even gives all Guardians an exotic quest to unlock Master Chief’s sidearm the “Forerunner” from the Halo franchise, and if the players can unlock it and reach Rank 16 in Dares of Eternity, Guardians can even unlock a catalyst that will allow the sidearm to throw Halo Frag Grenades.
Now my hot take, the Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack in Destiny 2 gives us two major things the greatest exotic rocket launcher in all of Destiny and a brand new Dungeon. The new Dungeon does include a big variety of weapons and equipment from Destiny’s early days, and in that sense, it’s worth the $30 cost. But, the biggest grievance I have towards the 30th Anniversary Pack is just I feel that character cosmetics make the DLC feel cheap, but that is just my hot take.
As a whole, the Destiny 2: Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack has a lot of new weapons that have been included in the Dungeon, and I mean a lot! Not just Gjallarhorn, but “Pardon our Dust”, “Eyasluna”, “Wastelander M5”, “Hero of Ages”, “Matador 64”, and “1000 Yard Stare” and I’m not even mentioning all the new armor you can get that can come with a secondary seasonal mod slot.
All of these items reflect in some way Bungie’s history as a company and where they’ve been as a game company over the last 30 years. Even though the cosmetics make me feel like this DLC is a cash grab. I can respect and admire all the work that went into this DLC and the lengths Bungie went to by bringing all of these weapons not only from Destiny but from Halo and the other past franchises as well. It’s this that makes the Bungie 30th Anniversary Destiny 2 DLC worth it for me.
Now, remember to have your Ghost spayed and neutered, goodnight everybody!
An autistic gamer with opinions on games who also enjoys making dumb videos on the internet!