Destiny 2's Controversial Starter Pack Has Been Removed After It Failed To "Bring Joy" To Its Players

Destiny 2's Season of the Wish launched this week, bringing with it new activities, rewards, and changes to the game. As players on PC noticed, a new premium-priced starter pack was also made available for newcomers, and this quickly courted controversy before it was removed.

Destiny 2 has long been criticized for having a bad onboarding process for new players, and as notable voices in the Destiny 2 community like Datto and Aztecross pointed out, a $15 bundle of sub-par Exotics and a handful of resources is not a good look in the wake of substantial layoffs at the studio.

This bundle contained older Exotic weapons like Sleeper Simulant, Ruinous Effigy, and Traveler's Chosen, Exotic vehicles with tacky cosmetics, and a poor selection of resources, with the original listing describing this collection as a way to "supercharge" player arsenals. Bungie has since Marie Kondo-ed the bundle, saying that it is something "which is not something bringing joy" to its players.

"We've heard your concerns and agreed that there are other parts of Destiny 2 that new players should want to dive into first before chasing these Exotic weapons, cosmetics, and upgrade materials," Bungie tweeted.

Curiously, Bungie has in the past offered an excellent collection of armor and weapons that did a much better job at equipping new and returning players for the challenges that were in store for them. Introduced in Season of Plunder, Gift of the Thunder Gods gave players a full set of high-stat armor, weapons with powerful predetermined perks, a unique Exotic armor piece, and the Exotic weapon Thunderlord. This was a particularly good selection of armor and weapons that synergized well with the themes of the season and was free for all players.

In comparison, the new Starter Pack's Exotic weapons are largely outdated in the current meta of the game, the resources are barely enough to completely masterwork a piece of armor, and the entire collection costs more than the premium content for a new season of Destiny 2. Elsewhere in Destiny 2, Season of the Wish is in full swing with its new Coil activity, collectible star-cats, and a Witcher 3 bathtub emoji. This is the final--and longest season--of Destiny 2, as The Final Shape expansion has been delayed to June 2024.