Solo players in Destiny 2 are doing everything possible, and then some. With challenges and triumphs normalizing the content solo players can complete, the gap between casual or specialized players compared to hardcore players continues to grow. Along with Solo Operative, the seasonal anti-Champion mods allowing players to possess all 3 of the damage types are only small steps compared to future possibilities of enabling solo players to be successful in late-game content.
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Destiny 2 Weapons and Gear Benefiting from Fireteams
Weapons with intrinsic anti-Champion perks and subclass abilities that are effective against Champions in Destiny 2 are a good start to enabling solo Guardians to counter every type of enemy across different activities. Since the seasonal mods for Champion damage types only offer a few options, any lone players that want to equip themselves with the 3 different damage types are severely restricted in their weapon and ability choice. One potential adjustment is allowing anti-Champion mods on Exotic weapons that already have forms of these mods to stack with others, though since that hasn’t happened by now that’s unlikely to occur. A change that big would help solo players as well as any size of fireteams, not to mention that fireteams already have plenty of situational perks.
At the very least, anything applying to situations of a “last living fireteam member” has no reason not to apply to solo players. For example, a perk from the Vigilance Wing Exotic Pulse Rifle merely increases weapon handling and player recovery, yet is only available as the last survivor of a team. A majority of the “last living fireteam member” perks come from Exotic gear, which warrants the mention of the Aeon Cult Exotic armor available for every class. The concept behind the Aeon Cult armor is that the interchangeable perks have increased outgoing effectiveness for fireteam members who also have the Exotic equipped. Without furthering the divide with new, unique gear, the Aeon Swift is the perfect opportunity to include perk options specific to solo players.
Content for Destiny 2 Solo Players
The Solo Operative artifact mod was likely introduced to help players perform in Destiny 2’s daily Lost Sectors since this activity rewards increased gear specifically for solo players. However, not making the mod specific to Lost Sectors is a major win for the community, and sets the bar higher for future Seasons and solo content - 15% higher to be exact. Hopefully, the metrics for this Season’s Lost Sector solo completions reflect positively on the Solo Operative mod, enough to motivate future support for more solo player gear. After all, a 15% unconditional damage boost is a significant bonus, given that players have been completing solo Lost Sectors and other content for a long time now without the mod, and will presumably continue to do so after access to the mod is revoked when Lightfall launches.
On another note, Bungie may as well legitimize Raids for solo fireteams, or offer scaled-down variations. Solo players across social media have been exploiting through or, in some cases, legitimately completing every encounter possible for Destiny 2 Raids solo for some time now. Even if they exist as tutorials with no loot rewards, single-player Raids could potentially welcome a variety of players across a wide range of skill levels.
While simplifying Raids for solo teams may be an exaggeration, the point still stands that the solo experience in Destiny 2 could still use some more support. New gear and perks dedicated to solo players, like Solo Operative, would alleviate the disparity, meanwhile giving the community much-needed options. Ultimately, regardless of how it is introduced, solo players deserve alternatives to the variety of team-based gear that is abundant in the game.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.
