The Legendary version of The Witch Queen’s campaign is far from being the hardest content in the game, that title goes to some of Destiny 2’s Raids, Dungeons, and Grandmaster Nightfalls, but it doesn’t mean it’s a cakewalk. The Witch Queen managed to bridge the gap between Destiny 2’s various activities by providing a valid alternative in the difficulty spectrum, while also breaking a trend of unsatisfactory campaigns. In a recent roundtable interview session, Game Rant spoke to Bungie about what it meant to craft The Witch Queen’s campaign this way, and what it may lead to in the future.

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How The Witch Queen’s Campaign Differs From Regular Destiny 2 Content

To understand why The Witch Queen expansion was so successful in the way it handled its campaign, it’s worth going back to past releases. Vanilla Destiny 2 was a fine experience that didn’t justify being a sequel on its own, but it was clear early on that the Red War saga was not going to be the end of the story. However, the game’s first two expansions didn’t quite capture the essence of Destiny releases after players came to expect content on par with The Taken King, or other expansion passes from similar looter-shooters.

Destiny 2 really started to shine once Bungie adopted the seasonal model, and particularly soon after the release of the Shadowkeep expansion. Shadowkeep itself was not well-received because of its rather short and anti-climatic campaign mainly composed of side missions and farming, but the way Bungie handled subsequent seasonal releases showed fans that the game was on the right track. This became even more apparent with the Beyond Light era and its four Seasons, three of which are considered among the best Destiny 2 has ever produced.

As such, having a fantastic campaign in The Witch Queen cemented the idea that Destiny 2 releases can be as good as seasonal content, maybe even on-par with the experience of playing through Dungeons and Raids. Yet the success of the campaign also posed some questions regarding how Bungie is going to deal with future releases and the current activities that are much lighter in content and payoff. Destiny 2 Project Lead Blake Battle tried to respond without giving away too much about what is coming in the game’s future.

The Witch Queen’s campaign and playlist activities are not on the same level from all perspectives, be it design-wise or in terms of gameplay. This may be apparent to any Destiny 2 fan who has played the game for some time, but it does provide an insight on what it means to build a story-driven experience for a yearly campaign compared to more basic regular releases. Still, there is plenty to learn from what made The Witch Queen so popular among players, and that’s what Bungie will likely use as a springboard, according to Battle.

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Why Destiny 2’s Core Playlist Can’t Be More Like The Witch Queen’s Campaign

In terms of gameplay, The Witch Queen’s campaign is similarly powerful in terms of delivery because players are thrown against high-leveled foes without adding lots of Champions into the mix. One of the Master Vault of Glass’ main issues is a degree of artificial difficulty spikes via multiple powerful enemies while the activity itself remains pretty much identical with no new mechanics. This was never the case for The Witch Queen, which is still quite hard to complete on Legendary mode, but not as much as a Raid or Dungeon where players need coordination and communication.

It also goes above and beyond what the experience of playing through the story missions from Curse of Osiris or Warmind was, because knowing what to do or how to deal with specific enemies doesn’t mean players will prevail. There is a certain degree of danger and excitement in playing through The Witch Queen’s missions, as campaigns were often used as a tool to forward the story and introduce new themes, rather than for difficuly gameplay itself. Destiny 2 Narrative Director Adam Grantham explained what The Witch Queen is for Bungie, and why it’s an important milestone for the franchise as a whole.

What this means is that while The Witch Queen’s campaign poses interesting questions about what Bungie can do with Destiny 2’s future, the fact that it is more challenging than basic content is not the best way to measure change. Regular Strikes may be a chore for veteran players who only need their weekly Pinnacle Gear to drop, but they also serve the purpose of introducing newcomers to a complex game’s story and mechanics. However dull playlist activities may be for some players, they are a cornerstone of what Destiny 2 is and was, and they are not going anywhere.

Destiny 2 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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