Destiny 2 is Moving into Season 15, Will You Survive the Hype?

Ding-dong, the Witch is coming. Hot on the heels of season 14, Season of the Splicer, we’re finally moving towards season 15, the season of [REDACTED]. Still, no name of course, unless that turns out to actually be the official name, in which case we have all been thoroughly played. August 24th doesn’t just have season 15 locked and loaded though since on top of new content we also get a healthy dose of The Witch Queen’s reveal. That’s right, after all this time, we might be just days away from seeing what Savathun has been up to behind the scenes. Splicer hasn’t held back any punches with their story, or their reveals, so the build-up for this next mass DLC drop is bringing a lot of high hopes.

Like a lot of people I fell off the Destiny 2 train for a while, when I came back for Splicer it felt like a much-needed breath of fresh air. Overrides were fun, getting to run around an arena with five other guardians is the kind of mindless destruction that gives me a will to live. Bungie also, thankfully, knows how to work in a mini-story of political division and betrayal without being groan-worthy in the long run. I sat proudly around level three hundred with the FWC in Destiny 1 and yet I was more than happy to see Lakshmi unceremoniously dead when I spawned into the Last City override for the first time. To be perfectly honest the story involved in Splicer seemed to hold my attention much more strongly than any of the other Beyond Light stories combined.

All of that in a single season is setting the bar slightly higher than usual and Bungie has already stacked their plate pretty high. With crossplay set to release with season 15 and a number of Crucible and Gambit changes set to arrive shortly after the Witch Queen release in season 17, I worry that we may see a drift further away from this kind of story-telling. I’m nothing if not optimistic, but we have a lot of major players on the field with the current story track, with a number of much-needed fixes that seem to be overshadowing what we have laid out ahead. The factions have abandoned the city, Osiris is probably not the Osiris we know, and sorta love, Saint and Mithrax have become the Destiny versions of Arbiter and Master Chief. All while we have the Zavala, Caiatl, and Crow situation happening somewhere, Savathun planning a complete takeover and there is still no Hunter Vanguard insight.

That’s a lot, like way more than we usually have out on the playing field when it comes to Destiny story arcs. Since Witch Queen has already been pushed back to an early 2022 release we’re all left crossing our fingers that Bungie is keeping track of everything out on the board, while also keeping a healthy balance with the fixes the community has been looking forward to. For everything to succeed without a general outcry of disappointment, season 15 needs to stay strong with the background story and Witch Queen has to have a drop at least relative to the size of Forsaken, if not even slightly bigger. For it to release in a Beyond Light style would be a massive mistake, as ironic as that seems, it has to come rolling in without pulling any punches. People are ready and waiting for a huge story drop and even more to do, or at least fun, refreshing things to do.

I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst with everything on the horizon, banking on the trust that Bungie has learned from their past when it comes to hyping up their future installments. One mass drop of content for players and a giant leap of faith for the story is going to keep everyone glued to the game, I know I certainly was for each Splicer reset. So here’s to hoping that Destiny 2 keeps climbing for better for their entire player base. Whether you’re a full-time streamer, a veteran with a flair for the more challenging, or just a casual off-and-on player, we can all agree that the hype for season 15 and Witch Queen is infectious as ever. On the eve of another DLC, let’s see if we can survive the build-up, then we’ll know if we can survive the truth that follows.