Summary
- The addition of The Taken Path Exotic mission in Heresy marks a departure from the usual pattern of Exotic mission releases in Destiny 2.
- Releasing The Taken Path early can be beneficial for players but also raises questions about the content in Act 3 and Heresy's future.
- Bungie may have strategic plans for releasing content in Destiny 2 amidst the changing structure with the upcoming release of Frontiers.
There are some small rituals that Destiny 2 has been introducing to the game over time, like the release of a new season or Episode bringing an accompanying Raid or Dungeon, a new Exotic weapon tied to the season pass, and so forth. These have become deeply rooted traditions at this point, and while the game is changing with each release, some familiar elements are always there. Among them is the fact that both Episode 1 and Episode 2 have added a new Exotic mission in Destiny 2 for players to unlock alongside their weapons, but Heresy is breaking away from this pattern in a big way.
With today's weekly refresh in Destiny 2, Bungie added some new secrets to the Dreadnaught, which has become a patrol zone with Heresy. The Nether is the main activity in this location, and it tasks players with completing objectives and possibly uncovering some secrets along the way. Today, some Taken Blights appeared across the Dreadnaught, which when interacted with take players to a different area where an Exotic mission can be started - or rather, obtained through a few steps. This mission is called The Taken Path, and even if it's a great thing to be shadow-dropped, it poses a big question regarding Heresy's future.
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Destiny 2's New Barrow-Dyad Exotic Quest is Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Heresy had an unpleasant job from the get-go, as it had to fix the lingering issues from Episode 2 while simultaneously delivering a great experience, and barring minor issues, it has arguably succeeded so far. On top of that, Heresy is the third and final Episode of the game, as Destiny 2's Frontiers will change the current model and release schedule. The Taken Path Exotic mission is a great addition to the looter-shooter, but since Episode 1 and 2's Exotic missions came out in Act 3, this sudden release begs the question of what is going to be the content for Heresy in the coming months.
The Episodic structure being divided into three Acts was not without controversy, as it meant more FOMO overall despite having more time per Episode to complete everything. This is also why Exotic missions came out in Act 3 so far, meaning that Bungie may have pivoted The Taken Path's release to week two of Act 1 in order to make it more accessible before the big shift to Frontiers. Since Heresy will fundamentally be a transitional Episode, no Exotic mission in Act 3 (which is not yet confirmed, but just likely) could mean that Bungie has other plans.
Destiny 2: The Pros and Cons of The Taken Path's Act 1 Release
Releasing the Exotic mission for Heresy so early can be a good move, giving players a lot of time to acquire the accompanying Exotic Strand SMG called Barrow-Dyad. At the same time, if this mission was originally planned for Act 3, the last leg of Episode Heresy may have a huge void to fill ahead of Frontiers. Likewise, if this was the plan all along, it means that Bungie likely has some ace in its sleeve to add content to Destiny 2 in what could otherwise be a less active time.
On one hand, the early release of The Taken Path can be a good thing for the health of the game and its longstanding issues with FOMO, but on the other hand, it may put Bungie in a tough spot with Act 3. Considering how successful Destiny 2's Into The Light update was, which acted as a bridge between the game's last season and The Final Shape, it could be wise to have Act 3 dedicate its timeslot to something like this. This could mark the return of shiny weapons, for example, which would reignite players' desire to play the game ahead of Frontiers' release. However, if no such update is planned, Act 3 may end up being a dry time for Destiny 2 when it most needs content.
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