Destiny 2: The Final Shape’s Prismatic subclass feels like another grand experiment

Despite being an expansion, Destiny 2: The Final Shape is the year's highest-rated release so far. 

A Destiny 2 clan has heroically cleared The Final Shape expansion's raid, unlocking the game's true final mission for all players to undertake. The 12-player Excision mission is now live, which can be accessed by opening the Pale Heart destination from the director screen and scrolling over to the right.

Destiny 2’s latest expansion, The Final Shape, is finally closing the chapter on its Light vs. Dark saga that has been stewing for nearly 10 years. Destiny’s story of The Traveler and the Guardians’ fight against the Darkness first began in September of 2014, and although the seemingly eternal war has gone through several iterations (and much sidetracking) we are – at last – getting the opportunity to finish it once and for all.

The Pacific Northwest is creepy.

Let’s not beat around the bush, The Final Shape is exactly the finale that Destiny 2 deserves. Almost a decade on from the original game’s release, and with many players having sunk thousands of hours into the science fantasy shooter over the years, The Final Shape had a lot of expectations and pressure heaped upon it to deliver the satisfying ending for all the characters we’ve come to know and love. They took a little while longer to make sure they got it right – especially after Lightfall’s disappointment – but Bungie has absolutely nailed it.

Regularly playing Destiny for the past decade, through all its unforgettable highs and painful lows, has been a tremendous leap of faith for me and my fellow Guardians. This uneven saga hasn’t always felt like it was leading somewhere worth following, but with Destiny 2: The Final Shape, it seems our faith has been rewarded at last. After some extremely rocky launch day server troubles, followed by two days of nonstop playing, what I’ve seen so far has been overwhelmingly awesome. The campaign (absent a proper finale right now) is one of the best in series history, the new Prismatic subclasses are exactly the badass shock to the system its sandbox needed, the fresh set of weapons have been a literal blast to mess around with, and the fearsome Dread enemy faction add welcome variety and difficulty to the battlefield. There’s still a lot left for me to play, including the endgame raid I’ll be battling against this weekend and the story conclusion that’s locked behind it – but as the ending to this 10-year saga takes its final shape, Destiny is more fun than it’s ever been, and I’m eager to see if it can stick the landing.

What a week it’s been! I’ve put myself through the wringer by racing in an open-water triathlon in the midst of a hailstorm, so I’m pretty weary right now. What that does mean is I’ve had a good dose of time to sit and relax, and Fabledom has been at the top of the relaxation charts. Alongside that, I’m checking out Star Wars Hunters, and I’ve been ambling my way through various bits on PC as well as making a start on the new Elder Scrolls Online chapter.

Bungie’s latest expansion for Destiny 2, The Final Shape, is finally available and off to a strong start. Its peak concurrent players on Steam in the past 24 hours totalled 314,634, nearly beating its lifetime record of 316,750 (the launch of Lightfall).

I've set aside some time this evening for Destiny 2's latest expansion The Final Shape, which launched last night. My pal Liam suggested we play this evening because Bungie's servers would inevitably go up in flames the moment it launched. And what do you know? The right decision was made. Are we smug about it? Yes. Anyway, the good news is that Bungie have put out a few of those fires, though there are still a few bugs to fix.

Destiny 2 developer Bungie has issued an apology to disgruntled fans who struggled to play The Final Shape expansion at launch.

The new Exotics in Destiny 2: The Final Shape and its connected episode, Echoes, are looking very unique. There’s a sniper rifle that lets any class shoot Golden Gun, a chest piece that lets you vomit rockets at enemies, the return of multiple beloved Exotics from the original Destiny, and more.

After a decade of Guardians adventuring through Sol, Destiny 2: The Final Shape is finally here. This expansion promises the end of Destiny’s first saga — Light and Darkness — and the birth of the next era of the franchise. It also adds a variety of pretty cool new features, like Prismatic and Fireteam Power.