Destiny 2 Expansion II: Warmind (PlayStation 4) Review

Warmind comes at a weird point in Destiny 2's lifecycle. Like its predecessor, Destiny 2 had a rocky start. Yes, both games were moderately well received, but the original didn't really take off until The Taken King launched almost a year later, bringing with it a huge amount of balance changes, new content, and new missions. If the sequel follows the same route, it's just half a year short of what could be the first major expansion for a title that's definitely had its ups and downs since launch.

Luckily, for returning players, though, this expansion comes hot off the heels of one of the best balance patches in recent memory for the struggling FPS. March's "Go Fast" update brought back faster ability cooldowns, and greatly increased the viability of most weapon types, meaning that players could finally feel viable using weapons other than an auto-rifle. Warmind also brings a major rebalance to almost every Exotic weapon in the game, giving players a lot more leg-room to experiment with their loadouts.

Warmind is pretty light on new story missions, but after Curse of Osiris's needlessly long story quests, it's refreshing how it gets players into the new endgame content at a quick pace, while still leaving room for some light exposition. The new story missions are short but sweet, taking a few hours at most, but offering a diverse amount of new challenges along the way. Sadly, it culminates in a rather anti-climactic way, but it's nowhere near as bad as the final stretch of the last expansion.

In addition to the customary new strikes and raid areas, there's also a new type of mission on the newest planet, Mars, called Escalation Protocol. Think of it as a sort of souped-up public event, pitting all players in the current instance against three subsequent waves of extremely powerful Hive enemies. It can be summoned largely on-demand, and boy is it ever a challenge to complete all three waves within the time-limit. It may feel a little DPS-check heavy at times, but it's a fun experience worth pursuing with your favourite fireteam.

Eververse, the resident loot-box specialists inside Destiny 2, has also had some feel-good changes rolled out, including a system that helps players focus more on the items they want each week. It may not fully relieve the community's frustrations with what the system has become, but between that and the more accessible Exotic rewards from quests and PvP, there's a lot more interesting content that doesn't break the bank.

Warmind feels like it's making way for something big, but it's not quite there yet. Regardless of how players feel about Destiny 2 now, this a is much better game than the one that shipped out nine months ago. Gameplay feels faster, and there's more to do than ever. It's definitely not quite there yet, but there's enough new and exciting content that it might be worth getting the fireteam back together for a few more runs each week.