Summary

• Destiny 2's Episode Heresy boosts Arc subclasses and reworks Exotics.
• Lack of new Exotic armor disappoints fans, impacting the game's momentum.
• Changes to existing Exotics compensate for the absence of new armor in Heresy.

The imminent launch of Episode Heresy may be a shot in the arm for Destiny 2 after the poor reception of Revenant overall, and with a lot of good changes on the line, it seems like Bungie is listening to player feedback. This is not necessarily true for everything regarding the new release, though, as Heresy is still moving away from crafting in Destiny 2, making it harder to get all the seasonal weapons and their god rolls. With a major shift in meta that will favor Arc subclasses and builds, Episode Heresy is making many changes to existing Exotics, but it's missing the mark on new items.

Destiny 2's Arc subclasses will be meta in Heresy, both thanks to the buffs received all around and to the focus on Artifact perks that revolve around Arc keywords and the new Bolt Charge verb. There will be new Arc Aspects for Warlock and Titan, and multiple existing Exotic armor pieces with Arc-related effects will be reworked, which will help with build diversity. Yet, despite all the good changes and additions, Destiny 2's upcoming Episode will not contain new Exotic armor pieces for all three classes, which could be quite disappointing.

Destiny 2 May Be Shooting Itself in the Foot Without New Exotic Armor in Heresy

New Exotic armor pieces in Destiny 2 are often a good way to start the accompanying season or Episode with a bang, as players already have a clear goal for their grind. Unlocking new Exotic armor is possibly a bit too grindy at the moment, and that's because players need to reset their Reputation Rank with Master Rahool at the Tower, which requires a hefty amount of Exotic Engrams. Still, new Exotic armor pieces often revitalize the meta by reducing the fatigue of using the same items over and over again for certain builds, even if some of them end up being subpar.

As a looter-shooter, it can be disappointing for Destiny 2 to skip these additions, and the sentiment could end up being amplified for Heresy considering how badly the game needs a win right now. The news of no new Exotic armor pieces is usually received poorly by the community, and even if Heresy is making big changes to existing Exotics, new ones spark conversations about buildcrafting and spawn multiple videos from content creators discussing builds that include them. This is something that the game needs, but it did happen that some seasons in Destiny 2 ended up never adding new Exotic armor pieces.

Why It Makes Sense For Heresy to Skip New Exotic Armor in Destiny 2

On the other hand of the spectrum, one could argue that it's fine not to add new Exotic armor pieces every once in a while. This is because it can be tiring to get Master Rahool's Reputation Track reset with every season or Episode, especially with very limited sources of Exotic Engrams in Destiny 2. Also, the many substantial changes to Exotics coming with Heresy could make up for the loss of brand-new ones. For example, the changed Sealed Ahamkara's Grasp Hunter Exotic has fundamentally different functions than in the past, so it could seem like a whole new Exotic.

Similarly, Destiny 2's Arc Warlocks got a major buff to Geomag Stabilizers, which will prove to be extremely powerful in all activities and levels of play, making Stormcallers and Chaos Reach all the rage. Getting both the big reworks and never-before-seen Exotic armor pieces would have been the best possible outcome, but this way, at least players can enjoy some mechanically new items without the need to actually design them from scratch. Only time will tell if Bungie made the right call in this case, but as it stands, the next set of new Exotic armor pieces will come with Frontiers.