Destiny 2 Renegades review: A fun little entry with a few hiccups and major improvements

1 hour ago 3

Before going into the heart of Destiny 2’s new expansion, it is important to talk a little bit about the journey from The Edge of Fate to Renegades. The Edge of Fate introduced a lot of things, not only in terms of storytelling but also in shaping the core mechanics of the shooter. However, many of these changes, especially with the narrative pushed aside, were received very poorly by players.

Destiny 2 eventually ended up with its lowest concurrent player count on Steam ever. For these reasons, there was a lot riding on Renegades' launch, its campaign, the gameplay loop, performance, weapons, and overall execution.

To summarize my experience playing Renegades for 20 days, I have positive feelings about it. One thing you should know about me is that I am not a Star Wars fan. Yes, I have watched some movies and series, and I enjoyed them, but I am not deeply invested in the franchise.

When I started playing Renegades, I approached it entirely as 100% a "Destiny 2 veteran." Although the expansion is very much inspired by the Star Wars universe, the developers understood that not everyone would be excited by that concept alone, and there had to be a lot of Destiny 2 in there as well.

So, how much Destiny 2 is in Renegades? Did it hit the mark? Will it bring in new players? Did it expand and improve over the unwhelming gear leveling loop introduced in The Edge of Fate? Let’s explore.

Destiny 2 Renegades: A new and improved gameplay loop strikes back

An unclear goal of the narrative future

Let's start with the primary drawback of Renegades. Bungie took a gamble by choosing to enter a different saga in the story while keeping the “Destiny 2” name intact for the long run. The narrative often feels hit-or-miss, and not many players like the “don’t show but tell” approach, which forces them to read multiple lore entries to understand the plot.

This has been an underlying issue with Destiny 2 for the last eight years, and the community has somewhat come to accept that its “storytelling” and "storywriting” are two vastly different monsters.

Destiny 2 Renegades final mission (Image via Bungie)

The writing in Renegades is a bit off the mark for me. While it’s not the weakest point, the entire arc could easily have fit within a single season. With an expansion, the last thing I want is to accurately predict how the entire mission path is going to go while I am playing it.

However, the storytelling is great. From the mission tilesets, high-quality CGI cutscenes, and NPC interactions to the climactic vehicular combat finale, everything is done rather well.

I always look forward to a new Destiny 2 story expansion. However, I also expect them to connect meaningfully to the future. Renegades does not have that connection, making it feel more like filler content with no real development from The Edge of Fate.

Additionally, a character like Premier Lume, who is supposed to be the big bad Cabal main antagonist, appears once in the beginning. We then meet the guy at the very end when there’s a fight against him. The whole interaction does not feel right.

Bael, who is far more relevant to the story and converses with us throughout, would have been a stronger choice for the final encounter. As a result, the ending almost feels… incomplete.

If there’s one positive I have to point out from the Renegades campaign, it has to be Drifter's Ghost and how fun her character is. I hope to see more of her in the future.

Lightsaber quest in Destiny 2 (Image via Bungie)

Lastly, I must say that the implementation of the Lightsaber is cool. While it might have just been part of the Exotic Fire and Ice mission within the campaign, the design team deserves praise for it. At the very least, I enjoyed the journey to acquiring the Praxic Blade for the first time.

Major improvements on power leveling and grind

Renegades’ core activities make it feel like a proper expansion. The Lawless Frontier has several good things going for it, beginning with the Syndicate system. The Factions in Renegades are well-separated from one another, allowing players to think before going in for the reputation grinding.

Lawless Frontiers map (Image via Bungie)

For example, the Fallen faction grants you a bike for combat, while the Cabal faction will get you a Behemoth and an ammo cart for invading. The Vex faction offers defensive upgrades for high-tier activities or for use against invading players.

There is a lot going on across several corners of the Renegades activity screen, and I am not going to go over all of it. However, I found each objective fresh and engaging. The terrains vary between three planets, with different activities requiring you to either collect supplies, assassinate bosses, or sabotage an opposing Syndicate’s plan.

Vex Syndicate leader in the social hub of Destiny 2 (Image via Bungie)

You can also choose to run these activities in an “invadable” mode, allowing other players to enter your world for some PvP action. The difficulty ranges from normal to Grandmaster, so choose your poison and level up to your heart’s content.

Invading players in Destiny 2 (Image via Bungie)

The expansion’s activity, Lawless Frontiers, is a great addition to the game, and it deserves all the love and praise from players. Personally, I would have preferred an explorable open-world area, but that is more of a personal preference than a flaw.

A short Dungeon, but dare I say... good enough?

Bungie is taking a break from its obligatory Raid release with an expansion. Instead, it has released a Dungeon called Equilibrium as a form of featured endgame content in Renegades.

Does Equilibrium hold up to the standards of a Destiny 2 Raid? No. Will it keep players invested in the long run, similar to Raids? Possibly. Is it great as a Dungeon? Yes. Here’s what I mean.

Dungeons and Raids, despite being on the same side of the Destiny 2 endgame coin, are very different from each other.

Equilibrium Dungeon final boss (Image via Bungie)

Raids are very challenging if you are trying to crack an encounter with fewer than six players. However, Dungeons are made in a way that you attempt all encounters as a solo player and complete them in flying colors.

Equilibrium, given the current power creep of players, is the easiest Dungeon in terms of DPS checks. However, it is still great from a replayability standpoint, as no one likes longer endgame activities when you are trying to farm for new Exotic weapons, armor pieces, or just a godroll weapon.

Opening encounter in Equilibrium (Image via Bungie)

The Equilibrium Dungeon is far from being the best Dungeon in Destiny 2, but it is also far from the worst. Its mechanics are easy to understand but hard to execute, making your journey through the three major encounters memorable without taking up even half of your evening.

To conclude, Destiny 2 Renegades is a solid expansion for anyone who enjoys the shooter’s current gameplay loop. While it’s nothing revolutionary like The Final Shape or Forsaken, it still offers a lot of fun and quality-of-life improvements that The Edge of Fate lacked.

With the future of Destiny 2 being uncertain, we can only hope there are good things in store for everyone.