I’ve made no secret of utterly disliking Destiny 2: Shadowkeep‘s pinnacle rewards system. I considered it one of the major issues in a retrospective looking back on the expansion’s first month. The good thing is that Bungie has listened to feedback from many players looking to focus on the endgame. The pinnacle rewards system and even the Izanagi’s Burden exotic quest will get fixes this weekly reset. It’s also the week when raid challenges finally come out. Take a look at one of Bungie’s tweets regarding the matter:
Issues preventing players from completing the Mysterious Box quest for Izanagi’s Burden are expected to be resolved in Destiny 2 Hotfix 2.6.1.1 next Thursday.
We will broadcast deployment timelines for this hotfix when they become finalized.https://t.co/7qWLf7u0Qy
— Bungie Help (@BungieHelp) November 1, 2019
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep – Fixing pinnacle rewards
The problems with the pinnacle rewards system became apparent just a couple of weeks after Destiny 2: Shadowkeep launched. It significantly slowed down endgame progression for those solely focusing on Shadowkeep‘s toughest content. The lack of duplicate protection or a smart loot mechanic meant that you were getting items you didn’t need, with +1 power level (PL) drops that hardly boosted you to the next threshold.
According to the latest This Week at Bungie post, the developers will increase the power level of pinnacle drops from +1 to +2. Additionally, the team noted:
Once this change goes live, only four slots will be needed to increase your character’s average Power, at which point your powerful rewards will allow those slots that you might have missed to catch up. Our goal is that the pinnacle band remains a reward for tackling the more prestigious challenges, but takes some of the sting away from receiving multiple drops in the same slot.
My characters are currently at 952 base power level, and I have a +18 power bonus from the artifact. The incoming fix should help out immensely in being able to reach the 960 base power cap instead of relying on exp farming and bounties.
Mysterious Box fix for the Izanagi’s Burden
As for Izanagi’s Burden, the exotic sniper rifle was the reward players got upon completion of the Mysterious Box quest. Unfortunately, that quest has been bugged since Destiny 2: Shadowkeep released. But, as seen in the tweet up top, players need only wait a few more days to finally complete the entire quest chain.
With the raid challenges coming out this Tuesday, November 5, this fix should be incredibly beneficial. The Izanagi’s Burden is one of the strongest exotic weapons in the game and is perfect for boss fights in the Garden of Salvation raid.
We don’t know yet what these raid challenges or requirements would be. It’s worth remembering that past iterations of this feature — such as in King’s Fall in Destiny: The Taken King and The Leviathan in vanilla Destiny 2 — had secret mechanics that teams needed to discover. Completing them spawned an extra chest with loot. With the fixes to the pinnacle rewards system and the Izanagi’s Burden, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep‘s endgame grind should be very manageable indeed.
There’s one very important caveat to take note of, and that’s the incoming hotfix is expected to arrive this Thursday, November 7. If you want to experience the benefits of +2 PL pinnacle drops or the use of your brand new Izanagi’s Burden in the raid, then you should wait until the hotfix goes live on Thursday as opposed to rushing after Tuesday’s weekly reset.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available on Steam. For more information about the game and its expansion, check out our guides and features hub.
