Destiny 2 needs to keep updating Onslaught to keep its momentum going

If Destiny 2 wants to keep its community in its good graces, it needs to make sure Onslaught continues to get attention and doesn’t go the way of Gambit.

When Gambit arrived alongside the Forsaken expansion in 2018, the future looked bright for the game’s loot grind, as a new mode presented a unique way to earn excellent gear.

However, it quickly became less than that. There has not been any new content for the mode since March of 2019, and even then, it was a handful of maps and introducing Gambit Prime.

But Gambit Prime was more or less just a new way to play the same matches. There was never anything worthwhile being introduced.

For a while now, the game has been sliding out of the good graces of its community, from lackluster expansions that don’t answer the questions it should to questionable content restrictions.

And when it was revealed that last year’s Lightfall, which was originally meant to be the final expansion, was actually going to be the penultimate one, it felt like Bungie was stretching it out further than it should be.

However, ahead of the Final Shape’s launch, Into the Light has become the savior the title needed. Headed by the new Onslaught mode, another fan-favorite mode that is helping build up the hype towards the release of The Final Shape, things are looking better than ever for Bungie’s conclusion to the decade-long saga.

The game mode has become an instant hit since it provides a new way to grind out gear, level up, and more, and even more: it’s helped Destiny 2 become worth playing again.

That said, with how popular the mode has become, the fate of Gambit has left a pain point that Onslaught cannot follow. Fans are understandably worried about Onslaught receiving the same treatment that Gambit did, i.e. drip-fed content updates and minimal changes that leave it feeling irrelevant.

If Destiny 2 and Bungie want to keep this momentum going and complete what can be seen as a “redemption arc” of sorts, they cannot let this happen.

If they want to keep the players on their side, they need to keep the content flowing and make it a staple of the game. Letting it fade away would be a sign to everyone that they haven’t learned their lesson and that is not going to keep the players playing.

To keep this rising optimism going, Destiny 2 needs to keep new maps coming to Onslaught, use seasons and events to offer special rewards for playing it, and keep experimenting with it. Providing fresh twists on the gameplay can go a long way in keeping it a popular option among the players.

-Of course, The Final Shape will arrive and inevitably ease the burden placed on the Onslaught mode. But, if Bungie can keep this mode fresh and exciting until then, and even past it, the future of Destiny could be brighter than ever and restore faith aplenty in the studio’s content pipeline.