How Does Destiny 2 Sunsetting Work

Sunsetting is one of the methods that Bungie hopes to use in order to extend Destiny 2’s life as a competitive looter-shooter game. It works by capping the maximum power level of Legendary weapons and armor. Previously, Legendary gear could be upgraded endlessly by infusing it with other equipment, with the result that many of the same old weapons remained at the top of the Destiny 2 meta over the years, while new additions went overlooked.

Sunsetting

As of Beyond Light’s release, the infusion system is still there, but gear from the first two years of the game will not be able to level up past 1,060, while the power level of the content and new weapons will continue to climb. The intent is for all Legendary weapons and armor from this point onwards to have roughly one year of peak potential before hitting their power limit. Notably, Exotic gear is not subject to sunsetting. Although there is nothing stopping players from using under-leveled weapons throughout the game, they will no longer be competitive in higher-level content such as raids, Trials of Osiris, Nightfall: the Ordeal strikes, and new campaign missions.

Player reaction

The response to this move among the players has been understandably mixed. While some praise the developers for taking steps to keep the meta from getting stale, others regret the fact that the majority of existing Legendary weapons are now obsolete. As many of those weapons were earned through difficult quests or bought at a high in-game price, some owners inevitably feel cheated. More pointed concerns revolve around Bungie’s ability to replace the sunset weapons. While the new system is successful in encouraging players to leave their comfort zone and try out new weapons and playstyles, this point will be undermined if there are not enough sufficiently interesting new weapons for them to pick up.

Reissue of old weapons​​​​​​​

Additionally, Bungie promised to reissue old weapons as part of the game’s new content rotation strategy. Like all other new gear, those reissued versions will have roughly a year before they hit their power caps. They will also need to be earned again. While some players are pleased that fan-favorite weapons may eventually return to high-end content, others worry that this defeats the purpose of the sunsetting system. Some weapons have already been reissued during the Season of Arrivals, drawing criticism due to the gear being identical to earlier versions in everything but power, effectively forcing players to grind again for items they already possess. Despite initial concerns, the Adored Sniper Rifle in Beyond Light had somewhat different stats and perks from the outdated and clearly similar Beloved, showing that Bungie has listened to those complaints.

It will be interesting to see how Destiny 2’s equipment meta will evolve in the coming seasons. While Bungie continues to search for the right balance between retaining popular old weapons and innovation, the players will have to discover a new balance of their own on the frontlines.