Bungie is gathering feedback on Destiny 2's battle pass system. Principal Community Manager DMG recently asked players how they "feel" about the seasonal pass structure, signaling that changes could be coming.
The battle pass has remained largely unchanged for years. While the game itself has shifted through various content models and into the current Portal era, the pass structure has stayed static. Bungie's direct outreach suggests the developer recognizes it might be time for updates.
What Actually Works
The pass isn't all bad. Armor ornament sets included in recent battle passes have been consistently popular, with most earning positive reactions from the community. Placing a final universal ornament at the end of the progression track also works well, giving dedicated grinders a worthwhile chase item.
These ornaments sit on the premium track, though, meaning players pay $10 for access. Value becomes the central question when so much content hides behind that paywall.
The Armor Problem
One armor ornament set per pass isn't cutting it for many players. Seasons have become saturated with paid cosmetics across multiple channels: the pass, holiday events, and Eververse all compete for wallet space.
Adding a second ornament set to the paid track wouldn't be "free" content since players already pay for pass access. The math changes when players compare what they're paying versus how many sets Bungie produces across all their monetization streams.
The Portal era has made this worse. Some new sets are just recolors of existing ones, stretching the perceived value even thinner.
Missing Exotic Ornaments
The current system gives players a seasonal exotic weapon and an ornament for that specific weapon at rank 150. Nothing else.
Across the entire pass, Bungie doesn't include a single ornament for any other exotic. Given how many exotic ornaments hit Eververse each year, one additional ornament in the pass doesn't seem like a big ask.
Tier 2 Gear Issues
The game's tier system creates an awkward disconnect with pass rewards. Players regularly pull Tier 5 gear from normal activities, but every weapon and armor piece in the season pass drops at Tier 2.
Tier 2 in today's sandbox is basically what blue drops used to be. Pass rewards feel obsolete the moment players claim them. Even bumping these to Tier 5 wouldn't break anything since Tier 5 drops are already everywhere. Right now, pass gear only serves as quick infusion fodder.
Pass Expiration Issues
Battle pass expiration remains a sore spot. When passes expire, players lose content they paid for simply because they couldn't grind enough. Fewer games in the industry still operate this way.
Bungie added Chronologs as a partial fix, letting players claim specific items from old passes. Chronologs work more like a menu than a progression system, though. Players can grab individual rewards, but they can't actually grind through old passes at their own pace while keeping unlocked bonuses active.
The community wants permanent passes where they choose which one to progress at any given time. Chronologs help, but they're a temporary fix rather than a real solution.
Synthweave Template Limits
The pass includes only two Synthweave Templates for transmog. Transmog has been monetized since launch, so two templates per pass feels stingy to many players.
Seasonal Challenges Removed
The Renegades update removed seasonal challenges. These were objectives players could complete at their leisure throughout the season for big XP chunks. In their place: Active Orders, daily challenges, and weekly challenges that vanish if not finished in time.
Grinding out the battle pass became more frustrating overnight. Players who preferred knocking out objectives on their own schedule lost that flexibility. Removing a feature players liked while asking for pass feedback creates a bad look for Bungie.
The Content Debate
Some players question whether the pass should even be a priority. A vocal segment of the community argues that Destiny 2's real problem is content volume, not battle pass structure.
Content attracts players. Without enough of it, no amount of pass tweaking will fix the game's health. Pass improvements feel like rearranging deck chairs if the core content pipeline remains thin.
Player Suggestions
Community feedback has gone beyond criticisms into concrete suggestions.
More Materials: Some players care more about Ascendant Shards and Prisms than cosmetics. Instead of single Ascendant Shards as rewards, bundles of ten would feel meaningful. Three Prisms could become fifteen or twenty.
Higher Storage Caps: Before pass rewards can improve, material storage needs work. Doubling or tripling capacity for Prisms and Ascendant Shards would let players actually benefit from better rewards.
Catalyst Placement: The exotic catalyst now sits at rank 90, up from around ranks 20 to 30 in previous passes. Players have to grind much longer before their seasonal exotic functions fully.
Reward Choice: When players hit the cap on materials like Strange Coins, additional drops provide nothing. A system letting players pick between equivalent options at each rank could solve this.
Silver on the Track: Some have floated adding premium currency to rewards, particularly at extended ranks past 100. Skepticism remains about whether Bungie would ever give away significant Silver through gameplay.
Active Orders Feedback
Not everything new has bombed. Active Orders have earned praise from parts of the community. Some players consider the system one of Bungie's better recent additions, with a few saying they'd be happy keeping only the orders while scrapping other elements.
What Comes Next
Bungie collecting feedback points toward potential changes. Community speculation suggests an update coming in March could be the window for pass improvements.
Which suggestions make it through is anyone's guess. Players have weighed in on everything from reward quantities to fundamental structure changes. Bungie now faces the challenge of balancing community desires against business realities in a free to play environment.
For now, the current system stays in place while players wait to see if their feedback leads anywhere.
