As another year passed by and a new one began so did another Dawning event in Destiny. This was the first Dawning event that I didn’t skip unlike I’ve done the previous two years. However, towards the end of the event, I really lost interest but in all honestly the Dawning barely grabbed my interest.
Let’s be real, the gathering of materials and “baking” goodies to deliver to specific NPCs in the game isn’t all that exciting or interesting. I fully took advantage of the double xp with the bounties that pushed my season pass level beyond 100. However, once I broke through the top level, I lost that compulsive urge to accept bounties, bake, deliver and repeat. Throw in the occasional dismantling of gear that was awarded after making deliveries and that summed up the Dawning experience.
The rewards for sinking time into Destiny during the event were more underwhelming than satisfying. Yes, the aforementioned double xp was fantastic up to a certain point. However, the bright dust gains were miniscule especially considering the massive amount of bright dust required to purchase the Dawning armor ornaments and emotes. You could use real life currency to purchase in-game currency to buy the ornaments and emotes which is fine. I’m not against microtransactions especially for games like Destiny but the in-game rewards for your time are not even remotely in the same universe. When items cost thousands of bright dust but you only earn 10 bright dust for a bounty, it feels like there is an insurmountable mountain to climb to earn enough bright dust to purchase the seasonal event items without digging into your pockets and using real world currency.
The Dawning event itself is relatively stale. The Tower decor looks fantastic and I still get joy from throwing snowballs at my fellow guardians. Yet, the Dawning has merely become a baking and delivery service event. I would love to see Bungie shake things up with this event next year. Short, weekly quests that lead to the construction of amor and/or a weapon would give more purpose to the event. As much as I loved the brevity and simplicity of the Devil’s Ruin exotic quest, I’m not averse to an event long grind that leads to armor and weapons. Continue to keep the exotic sparrow quest lines that involve the baking but make the event more than just a baking delivery service simulation. I realize it’s not much of a change but I’m also trying to keep in mind the resources that would be required to make additions to once a year event.
During one of the weeks, I think a snowball only Crucible event would be some lighthearted fun as well. No weapons or supers, just snowballs or fists. Turn a crucible map into a giant snow fort or perhaps a new map just for the event. For me, I’d love this type of change of pace.
Let us know your thoughts on the Dawning event or changes you’d like to see moving forward. Did you get any good rolls on the Cold Front SMG? I saved two Cold Fronts. One with feeding frenzy and osmosis. I’m intrigued with the idea of my kinetic weapon having energy weapon damage types based on the subclass I’m using. The other has feeding frenzy and kill clip. I cannot wait to try them out.
Game on!
-LocutusOfTeddy