Destination 2, which was part of the Bungie 30th anniversary pack, introduced a new activity called Dares of Eternity in December. It features six Guardians taking on obstacles and enemies in an activity that is humorously modeled on classic games shows such as the Price Is OK Y Wheel of Fortune. It’s absurd as it sounds and is meant to be lighthearted comedy with some quality loot at its end.
Dares of Eternity has a problem. It starts automatically when you start destiny2 during the 30th anniversary event. This is fine for players with high-end gear. However, new players or players returning after long breaks are at a disadvantage when it comes to leveling relative to their enemies and are effectively trapped in an endless cycle where they are constantly handed their space.
Enter “Operation Save New Lights” Intentionally wearing low-level gear can help you lower your in-game light level so that it mimics someone else playing Destiny. This was a long-standing practice. fate2 is the first time. This allowed them to team up with trapped players. It is easy to return to the top-level team and bring the team to its final game once they have been loaded.
Although it sounds easy in theory, what does it look like in reality? Who are the guardians that invest their time to support New Lights? What is it like to be thrown into a seemingly impossible challenge and rely on complete strangers for help? To find out, I went to Challenges of Eternity and played the role of rescuer and savior.
Hero Mode
Dares of Eternity has been completed many times. Exotic weapons dealer Xur serves as a misguided stand-in to Bob Barker in this mode. He encourages participants to make progress to the amusement and delight of Starhorse, an ethereal being. To prepare for the rescue mission, I had to replace some of my gear with pieces of armor that I hadn’t worn in years. The trick was to wear one of the seasonal Halloween skins. This cosmetic item is used for in-game Trick or Treating. It has zero power. The old chest and boot combination worked and I was able to launch the activity.
Destiny has a roster tab that allows you to see information about other members of your team. While we were loading, I looked at my fellow teammates’ makeup. Three of my teammates had already been promoted to the top-tier team. Two of them were new, though. We loaded up, and Xur welcomed our arrival at Challenges of Eternity. “Where reality is made up” and “Where repeated kills don’t matter.”
“So, this is how it feels to be a masked hero …”
The same format is used in all Dares of Eternity games. Clear the large opening, defeat as many enemies as possible, then go through an incredibly challenging obstacle course. Finally, you must defeat the boss. You will be awarded gear and sparkles last. There may also be an occasional “blitz round”.
Our rookie friends were accompanied by us through the first battle. We quickly defeated the enemies and headed to the first obstacle course. The area is easy to navigate once you’re comfortable with it. However, the rotating bumper columns and slippery, undulating floor presented a challenge for New Lights.
Despite the fact that this section was longer than normal, the rest of the team showed no signs of impatience. The majority of the group waited patiently to reach our destination while one member guided the stragglers along. We could have easily started the next combat encounter right away. However, there was an unspoken encouragement to new players.
The tour ends in the same manner. The group’s high-ranking guardians cleared the combat sections quickly and easily. The New Lights were accompanied, but not rushed. The final boss was defeated and we received our rewards. destiny 2 truly. They quickly left, likely to search for more New Lights.
Undercover Guardian in Distress
It was rewarding to save Guardians, but I wanted to see the world from the point of view of players involved in an almost impossible task. My season rank and other signs that I am a high-ranking player are not hidden by lowering the level of my characters. To allow other players to interact as if I was a genuine New Light, I had to appear like one. Logging into the account of a family member and creating a new generic Titan was necessary.
I was greeted upon my entry to the game by the distinctive voice of Xur welcoming me to Dares of Eternity. While we were loading, I looked at the list page. All five of my companions had power similar to mine and quickly rose to levels that were far higher than mine. It appeared that I was the only legally ill-prepared participant in the activity.
“Everyone who helped New Lights restored my faith and belief in this community.”
Everyone seemed happy to have a New Light. Everyone gathered around me shortly after landing in Icy tundra, which is the opening section of Dares of Eternity. Everyone gathered around me and jumped, crouched, and became excited. Although the shots and pelvic thrusts might seem strange to some, I knew that they were very friendly and good-natured and gave me a warm welcome that was difficult to miss.
The Starhorse’s metaphysical neigh indicated it was time for us to start. Vex, time-traveling robots determined to end our lives, appeared in our faces. My Titan of low level wasn’t nearly as overwhelmed as I thought. When you’re very low-level, enemies display the skull icon above your health bar. However, these killer bots displayed the sword icon to indicate that I was not overdoing things. Although enemies were fairly easy to shoot, it was difficult to hit a kill blow.
At first, it seemed that a similar but lower-ranking ward team could help push the activity forward. But then we began to see champions. Champions are special enemies that have increased health and unique abilities. If you don’t have the right equipment, they can be mini-bosses that are a nightmare to defeat. As a novice player, I didn’t have the necessary weapon mods to defeat them. I did what a Guardian would do: I fled and hid, while my team did all of the work.
My squad of escorts ripped through the Vex like aluminum foil robots. My lower rank meant that I was quickly killed, but my team was quick to revive me. After the first segment of Dares of Eternity was completed, many members of the group rallied around me and fired their weapons at the next destination. As we approached the boss room, I struggled to navigate the various obstacles and encounters. My usual controller layout is very customized, so my grope was equal parts trying not to look like a Guardian and me trying to figure out the default (not inverted!) controls. controls.
The team won the final match easily, defeating Crota, a recreation of a destination raid boss. My victory was celebrated by everyone, who gathered around me and gave me emojis. I was left to mine treasure, while the players went off to rescue another Starhorse.
Unique Community
Fate2 paired activities are often played in quick races to get as many attempts and rewards as possible. My observation of a more deliberate and slower pace, but still accommodating, was not typical of Destiny players. Guardians are masters at making progress efficiently, but have proven time and again that they won’t stop following their routines if they see something they like.
Many examples have shown that the Destiny community has come together for the sake of having fun or supporting a cause. The loot cave was a place where players gathered to kill a large number of low-level enemies in exchange for drops. The laser tag incident was where an exotic weapon called Prometheus Lens accidentally became too powerful. Everyone had a great time melting into each other in the crucible.
This is a very special group of players that will spend their time jumping off ledges as lemmings for loot. In return, they’ll donate millions of dollars to charity each year in exchange for silly emotes that can be used on their next adventure.
It is no surprise that Operation Save the New Lights was so easy to find threads on Reddit in just minutes. Stories, insights, best practices, and other information were shared by many. One post reads, “Everyone who helped new lights have restored our faith in this community.” Another post states, “So this what it feels like being a masked hero.” Destiny is the way that the zeitgeist became so involved with these rescue missions. One player said, “Showing them how they can recover by shooting the banner…and all gestures…from everybody at the end once our’re done…It is just heartwarming, which I really love.”
The destination of all good things.
Operation New Light Rescue’s greatest strength is its ability to work. One guardian is what brought the rescue teams together. There was always change as word spread and more people joined the operation. Soon, stories began to include veteran teams that saved a rookie.
The conversation eventually turned to the difficulty of finding legit New Lights and how his matchmaking level was being lowered. This was how he could be matched up with the best players in the game.
It’s a huge victory for fate2. The developer made a mistake. Your ingenuity, willingness to help and enthusiasm helped to make up the difference. Operation New Light has been saved and is now on its way to the many adventures that the community had created within fate2.
Bungie will undoubtedly release a patch to fix the problem. Players will resume their normal lives while they wait for the next call of action. You might be able to pay attention while you wait to Xur’s words, “Have your Ghost spayed/neutered.”
