Destiny 2’s Season of the Deep is fast approaching its conclusion, with the seasonal storyline being complete, the Solstice event coming soon, and the Fishing-related Exotic being out and about already. Wicked Implement’s introduction was not without controversy, given that the entire process of acquiring Exotic fish can be quite tedious and RNG-dependent, but the new secret scout rifle quest also came with its own set of issues that are making it hard for players to enjoy the season. Season of the Deep came with new activities, andDestiny 2’s Deep Divesadded a fun element of roguelike gameplay, but they are becoming ever harder to enjoy due to Wicked Implement.
The new Exotic requires players to not only fish three different species of unique fish to actually start the quest, but then the mission can only be completed while in a Deep Dive run, which poses all sorts of problems. This is becauseDestiny 2’s gameplay is still trapped in old systems that desperately need new life, with lingering and long-lamented issues including the way matchmaking works. While matchmaking inDestiny 2’s PvP is a different beast entirely, the game is still lacking more flexibility in the PvE department.
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How Destiny 2’s Wicked Implement Exotic Quest Became a Problem
Destiny 2’s Wicked Implementhas a quest of its own that needs completion before players can get their hands on the Exotic Stasis scout rifle, and because this can only be done in Deep Dives, it means there’s often conflict of interest. Players who have already completed the quest or have not met its requirements yet could be running Deep Dives just for the activity’s loot, whereas those who need the quest done have to pursue different steps and go their separate ways. This is the first issue with the activity’s design, as players can’t control with whom they are matchmade in terms of each player’s goals.
On top of that, Deep Dives also have increased challenge and rewards if players successfully find and interact with Toland at every depth of the activity, which can be quite frustrating because every member of the fireteam needs to do this for it to work. As such, it can be a hot mess when everyone on the team is after something different or doesn’t know or care about the rest, meaning that many runs after Wicked Implement’s introduction can end with everyone back to Orbit.Destiny 2’s Season of the Deepputs a lot of emphasis on Deep Dives, but it fails to make them shine.
A good fix would be to add differentmatchmaking options forDestiny 2’s activity, so that those who want or need to run the Exotic quest for Wicked Implement can do so by matching with like-minded individuals, whereas regular Deep Dive runs remain as such. Bungie could even go one step further and add a matchmaking option for Toland-powered runs versus regular runs. Either way, with an activity that already had so much going on, adding another layer of trouble via the Exotic quest’s unique requirements.
On top of all this, Deep Dives can be all the more frustrating to run because there is no way to join an in-progress run, which means that if a player leaves after the team fails to find Toland, or they leave because they want to run the new Exotic quest, remaining Guardians are stuck. They can try and complete the run on their own or just opt to go back to Orbit, but neither option is great. As such,Destiny 2’s The Final Shapeand seasons before it should try and avoid cramming too many things together, especially for activities that are integral to the seasonal experience.
Destiny 2is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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