In the stream following the reveal of Forsaken, Bungie’s representatives took some time to do fans a "favor" and better explain what exactly will be included in the Annual Pass. Put simply, it will consist of new challenges, new gear, new lore, new challenges and new events. It all sounds good doesn’t it; as if they’ve finally found a way to keep new content coming outside the major expansions? Except that just about all of this is content that, even as recently as this past April, was all offered free of charge. To some this change might not seem like a big deal, their likely reasoning being that Bungie shouldn’t have to work for free. That’s true. They shouldn’t and they never have been. They’ve always been paid for it through the microtransactions offered through the Eververse cash shop. What’s more, acquiring funding for these "free" updates was and is the entire justification for having the Eververse in the first place .

At the time of writing, Cirrus Plaza has been in the game for roughly a week, which means that it's too early to make a hyper-informative judgment on it. What is clear is that this bright, colorful, arcade and mall-themed Neomuna map looks incredible. It's also a nice respite from bigger maps like Disjunction that favor extremely long-range gameplay and might not be everyone's cup of

Everything you do in Destiny 2 earns progress towards the next tier, though the rewards don’t seem worth it. Asides from the occasional armor piece or weapon, the 100 tiers of rewards are mostly lackluster. Both Battle Passes contain too many modifiers, currencies, and other useless content meant to keep the grind going. Though earning tiers isn’t based off of time-played, progress in the Battle Passes still feels like a grind. As of publication, it’s not possible to buy tiers.

With Monster Hunter World in particular, every update, event and addition has been given to players 100 percent free of charge and they’ve been implemented at a pace that Bungie can only dream of matching. What’s more, the game is a massive success. It’s lead Capcom, a developer/publisher that’s been around since the days of the NES, into its single most profitable period in the company’s entire history. With a contemporary example like that on the market, it’s hard to see how anyone can defend the business choices Bungie continues to make with Destiny.

The big addition that comes with the Season Passes is the Battle Pass. Yes, Destiny 2 is jumping on the Fortnite bandwagon by offering tiered rewards. There are actually two Battle Passes; a free one and a paid one. Season Pass owners earn rewards from both Battle Passes, and free players only from the free one.

Unfortunately, there’s almost no way to earn these items through gameplay. Random tiers on the Battle Pass (we’ll get to that) drop Engrams that contain some of this gear. Other than that, players need to rely on two currencies:

Even before launch, Destiny 2 was in a rocky place. With the original Destiny 2 news still arguably in its prime, many players were reluctant to watch all of their hard-earned gear and progress get burned up in the fires of the sequel’s launch. Fans had been with Destiny for three years at that point. They’d learned the game inside and out, conquered its greatest challenges, made memories and gathered a hoard of magical space loot. Destiny had become a virtual home for many guardians, and the time to say goodbye was soon approaching. All knew it was inevitable of course, but welcoming the sequel still wasn’t going to be easy. Even so, all would be well if Destiny 2 at least built on all the progress Bungie had made over the past three years. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.

Another map that seems just right in terms of size is Dead Cliffs. There are good corners and lines of sight here for some cheeky snipes that long-range players can set up. The middle pillar where heavy ammo spawns traditionally is a nice pressure point where teams will usually trade fire, as well as the actual cliffside ar

If any gun in this list is going to compete with The Summoner with regard to perks, it's Rufus's Fury. This weapon has some of the best elemental synergy with Strand, and one look at its perk pool is enough to see why. Its first column alone can run Rewind Rounds for more shots before reloading, Demolitionist for more grenade energy, and Reconstruction for auto-loading up to twice the magazine s

What's nice is that in the middle there's a little cavernous spot that works best for players who prefer a more up-close-and-personal playstyle. It's also nice cover from any of the taller high grounds where snipers and other long-range weapons can demolish players from afar. Overall, it's definitely a map that mid to long-range players will enjoy m

After nearly nine months of haranguing from disappointed fans and harsh criticism from the gaming media in general, Bungie has finally presented us with something that is wholly exciting. Destiny 2’s "Forsaken" expansion looks great, better than great even. One could even say that it looks like it contains everything Destiny fans were expecting Destiny 2 to offer from the very beginning. Perhaps even more. Truly, it looks as if Bungie has finally heard the community’s feedback and acted upon it. That, however, only seems to be the case in regard to the content of Forsaken. Unfortunately, everything surrounding it is still classic Destiny-era Bungie. Destiny may be changing soon, but Bungie most certainly isn’t.