Destiny 2: Eriana's Vow and Symmetry Catalyst Quests Compared
Bungie has always introduced new Exotic weapons and gear to Destiny 2’s loot pool with each new expansion and season of content, as exotics are a great source for new powers, unique abilities, and new loot that players are able to chase and grind for. Entering into Destiny 2’s third year of content, Bungie put a focus on making sure that players could obtain Exotics from multiple sources and in a myriad of ways from random world drops to weapon quests for last season's Leviathan’s Breath or the upcoming Devil’s Ruin Exotic Sidearm. Now, Exotics can be obtained exclusively through the Season Pass.
In Season of the Undying, players were able to get the Exotic Hand Cannon Eriana’s Vow, and this time around, the Exotic Scout Rifle Symmetry is up for grabs. Eriana’s Vow has been well received as a fun Exotic to use that packs a punch but received some heavy criticism from the community when it came to the very tedious quest to unlock the weapons Exotic Catalyst. Following the criticism, Bungie responded to the community confirming that the studio would address catalyst quests for future seasons, so it's time to take a look at what changes were made and how the Symmetry Exotic catalyst quest compares to Eriana’s Vow.
When a new season begins, all Season Pass owners have instant access to the new Exotic weapon, as well as a new quest from the Gunsmith that needs to be completed in order to unlock the weapons Exotic catalyst. For players that don’t own the Season Pass, all Destiny 2 players can unlock the new Season Pass exclusive weapons through gameplay by earning enough XP to reach Rank 35 on the Season Pass. At the end of Season of Dawn, the Exotic Scout Rifle Symmetry will be added to the loot pool as a random world drop.
So, what exactly was the issue with the Erian’s Vow catalyst quest? The quest required players to earn points from completing various activities with the Exotic Hand Cannon equipped which went towards a percentage meter. These activities could be Vanguard Strikes, Crucible matches, or Gambit Matches, and it didn’t matter whether or not the weapon was actually used, only that it was equipped when the activity finished. Initially, each completion would only grant a fraction of a percentage until players reached Rank 11 on the Season Pass which rewarded the Alpha Catalyst Quest Boost, doubling the earned progression. At Rank 22, a new reward could be obtained called the Omega Catalyst Quest Boost, quadrupling progression from activities.
For Symmetry, the initial quest requires players to complete 400 total activities which can include Strikes, Crucible or Gambit matches, or the new seasonal activity, The Sundial. However, Bungie has made a major change to the Symmetry catalyst quest that dramatically changes the player experience by removing the requirement for the weapon to be equipped in order to earn progression. The rest of the quest works the same way with each completion rewarding a single point and the Alpha and Omega Boosts being available at Ranks 11 and 22 on the Season Pass, bringing the total number of required activity completions down significantly.
The Exotic catalyst quest for Eriana’s Vow received backlash for multiple reasons. Players weren’t able to earn any progression from using the weapon or triggering the Exotic perk and the progression grind felt close to near-impossible without the Alpha and Omega boosts from the Season Pass. Season of Dawn only received one major change from last season and still requires roughly the same amount of activity completions to finish the quest. However, removing the limitations to how players interact with the game makes a huge difference to the overall experience, so it’s likely that more changes will come in future seasons to follow.
The Gunsmith quest only unlocks the drop for the Exotic catalyst which is the same equivalent to receiving a catalyst as a random world drop in Strikes or other activities. Players are still required to complete a handful of additional tasks in order to receive any of the bonus perks and stat boosts from the catalyst. With how long everything takes from start to finish, Bungie needs to consider rewarding some sort of progression for kills with the weapon, even if it’s only a fraction of a percentage. This would allow players to unlock the catalyst simply by completing activities while incentivizing and rewarding those that actually use it.
The Season Pass Exotic reward and catalyst quests are a great idea and have been fairly well-received by the entire community, meaning it's unlikely to go away and that’s a good thing. From here, Bungie only needs to make minor ‘quality of life’ adjustments to the Exotic catalyst quest to help improve the overall player experience. For those that are interested, we've compiled a complete guide to The Dawning recipes in Destiny 2.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
Reviewed by Unknown
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December 20, 2019
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