Destiny 2 Annual Pass: Is it worth it?

By Emi D.

Destiny 2 has one more expansion left in it’s annual pass for Forsaken, and I’ve been seeing an increasing amount of other authors taking to the internet to share their opinions on if it was worth the price tag of $35 USD. I figured I’d jump on this bandwagon, and share my thoughts on this.

Bungie has forsaken the idea of huge DLC ships in favor of a more engaging release style with it’s annual pass. Starting with Black Armory, they roll out new content over the course of a month during their weekly resets and then let gamers do as they please to grind out for high tier weapons, resources, or triumph scores. Joker’s Wild launched roughly three weeks ago as of this writing, and introduced new modes of Gambit, Gambit Prime and Reckoning, as a circuitous means of farming for new gear and killing even bigger and badder enemies. The next expansion, which will begin the first weekly reset in May, holds new rewards which Bungie devs will disclose as we get closer to launch.

Whereas Warmind and Curse of Osiris were full blown DLCs, complete with new strikes and story missions, Black Armory and Joker’s Wild have been more focused on the grind, jumping between areas and raids to farm gear and resources for exotic weapon quests. Undoubtedly, the new season will be the same, grinding for a new exotic weapon and gear. The annual pass has been giving us bits and pieces of more of the Destiny lore through unlockable books and hints in dialogue with the different characters, both old and new alike, rather than a big lump of story based cutscenes and missions.

I see many people having mixed thoughts over the new style of content releasing. I feel I may fall into that crowd of mixed, but at the same time, I feel as if I don’t. I had zero issues with how content was released before Forsaken and it’s annual pass. Bungie would release two major expansions, followed by a full length offshoot and two more expansions, smattered with some cute events throughout the year. Now that they have completely broken ties from Activision, Bungie can choose to release Destiny content when and how they please. I feel like the new annual pass will come to be a direct reflection that, since they had planned this pass out while still in the employ of Activision. I enjoy the new annual pass because just when I’m about to get bored of the grind, a new season starts and I become a Destiny-dopamine junkie looking for my next fix.

Being a hardcore Bungie nerd does have some downsides though. I CRAVE lore. World building is the most essential part of a story (ask any author, myself included), and Bungie always makes huge worlds, with a diverse cast of characters. Helping us understand the immense depth of the lore often gets lost. I get it- it’s hard to pack that much into a small game while still trying to maintain the interest of more casual fans. I understand that not everyone is like me in this regard. However, the tiniest bits of teasing lore they throw at me are akin to throwing your dog a small scrap of food while leaving the food bowl, next to the big bag of unopened chow, empty. I’m practically begging for more story than what I get in the lore books and story missions. I love the annual pass, but a part of me misses those big expansions that developed more of the world around me. I’m hoping that Bungie, now that it’s free to do as they please, will keep in mind the traditional way (D1 and pre-Forsaken) while keeping the new style, impossible as it may sound. Even just one small season with story missions and full cutscenes would be amazing, and they wouldn’t necessarily have to build a new play area; many of the locations in use have untapped potential in which for players to explore.

All in all, the annual pass is well worth the money. It keeps things fresh and interesting for even the most casual of players and is a refreshing way to revamp the series amidst the changing of company affiliations. My one hope is to get more than a small helping of lore with each new season, and ultimately, for Destiny to flourish they way Bungie has always wanted it to be.

What are your thoughts on the Destiny 2 annual pass? Tell us below!