The discovery of Black Spindle has some big ramifications for the future of Destiny and its recently released expansion, The Taken King.
When players discovered the Exotic Sniper Rifle called the Black Spindle in a Daily Heroic Story mission as part of a reward for a secret, optional objective, they were ecstatic to learn that the discovery of the weapon added a new spot in the Exotic Blueprint kiosk. This means that whatever other hidden Exotic items the developers are hiding in the game are just that–hidden.
Players, myself included, were initially dismayed to see that the Exotic Blueprint kiosk offered just as many (or even fewer) spots for weapons and armor, most of which were relegated to upgrades of Year One items to Year Two. When Black Spindle dropped, it also appeared in a new spot in the kiosk, meaning that there is potential for many more items to be added to the game.
The undiscovered engrams in the Exotic kiosks may simply refer to weapons and armor that can only be obtained through Xur’s shop, as random drops, and through known quests. If Black Spindle’s discovery is any indication, other Exotics may require players to find them through hidden missions.
In previous expansions, hardcore players discovered everything the game had to offer within a week, but it looks like Bungie is attempting a different strategy to keep players coming back for more, by rolling out new content over the next few months. It’s how Blizzard does it with their games, and Destiny could certainly stand to offer parcels of new content to keep players active.
They’ve even confirmed it with Kotaku some days back. A representative told the publication the following:
In direct response to feedback from the first year of Destiny from players who wanted more direct paths to acquiring exotic items, we chose to move many Year Two exotics out of the engram pool to allow players to identify and earn their preferred gear via quests and world drops. That means there is a select lineup of exotic gear available through engrams, and through Xur, which can repeat if players are gathering dozens of exotic engrams using Three of Coins. Throughout the year, we’ll be adding more exotic gear for players to collect, as well, and we’ll be monitoring feedback to determine the right balance between random rolls and direct paths to Year Two gear.
Basically, players will acquire new Year Two exotics through special quests and world drops like the one Black Spindle came from, rather than forcing them out as engram drops.
This way, players who face difficulty in acquiring certain weapons (as random drops) can always get alternatives through difficult quests and other activities.
Players who spend more time in the game and take on its hardest challenges will be appropriately rewarded for their actions. It’s not much fun for hardcore players to have the exact same gear as players who only get their stuff from Three of Coins farming.
And yes, it’s a good thing that Legendary and Exotic Swords can only be acquired through the completion of a challenging quest chain. Equipping these weapons gives players something they can be proud of. I can’t say I’m too proud of getting a SUROS Regime as a Crucible reward despite my 0.89 K/D ratio last year, but a player with a Black Spindle can say “Hey, I managed to win a really tough fight in under 10 minutes.”
The inclusion of all these challenges will certainly breathe new life into Destiny and give players—especially the most hardcore among them, a lot to look forward to in the coming months.
