Bungie has shared some more details on the release date of the highly anticipated raid in the upcoming Destiny 2 expansion, The Final Shape, addressing concerns raised by players.
The controversy stemmed from Bungie’s announcement that the raid would launch just three days after the expansion’s release on June 7, 2024. Some fans expressed frustration about the tight timeline, claiming they will not have enough time to properly prepare for the contest mode raid.
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Some of the major concerns among fans revolved around the insufficient three-day window to unlock the new Prismatic subclass, obtain its associated exotic class items, and strategize new builds for raid day, all while rushing through the new campaign.
Bungie Shares New Details About Destiny 2 The Final Shape Raid Launch
In response to these concerns, Catarina Macedo, Destiny 2 expansions Project Lead at Bungie offered some insight into the decision-making process behind the raid’s launch schedule. Macedo emphasized that The Final Shape expansion is designed to deliver a “cohesive and satisfying story experience,” with the raid serving as a pivotal component of the narrative arc.
Read Bungie’s full response below:
“We wanted to talk about why The Final Shape raid is going live shortly after release on June 7,” Macedo wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “We know this is a tight turnaround and wanted to share some context on why we made this decision. Back in August, we said that finishing the campaign would not be the grand finale of the Light and Darkness saga. You will be facing off against the Witness in the raid, and for non-raiders there will be an opportunity for everyone to experience the conclusion sometime after the raid.”
“The Final Shape expansion is different: the additional content in the Pale Heart post-campaign and unlocking the raid for everyone is important for getting a cohesive and satisfying story experience. We’re looking at you raiders to be the tip of the spear.
“When raid day arrives, no matter if you choose to go in for Contest mode in the first 48 hours or wait for Normal mode to unlock, in order to experience the story linearly and as intended, you need to have the campaign completed and finish the quest ‘Wild Card’. Prioritize those! Episode Echoes story, the beginning of the next journey starts in week two.”
Update, April 19, 3:50 pm PT: Bungie has confirmed that the eighth story mission will be released after the new raid completion in The Final Shape. The expansion will launch with seven campaign missions on day one, as previously confirmed.
Additionally, Bungie has officially confirmed that both the season pass and the new Artifact will be available for players on the launch day of The Final Shape, which is June 4, 2024.
Based on the response above, it seems like players who won’t be able to participate in the day one raid will still have a chance to experience the Light vs. Darkness finale after the first team completes the raid.
Last year, Bungie confirmed that The Final Shape will launch with a total of seven campaign missions on the game’s release day. It is possible that there could be an eighth mission related to the expansion’s story dropping after the raid.
Additionally, it’s been officially confirmed that Destiny 2’s first episode called “Echoes” will launch on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, four days after the new raid launch.
Destiny 2 The Final Shape is set to release on June 4, 2024, on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
