In what's likely to be a controversial move for hardcore Destiny players, in a blog post titled "the road ahead," Bungie announced characters will reset for the unrevealed-but-definitely-coming sequel."Sequels represent the start of a new adventure for every player, with new worlds to explore, new stories to tell, new powers to acquire, new loot to earn, and much more," the company said. "This led us to a decision that would enable us to serve both the game and the player's best interests."Power, possessions, Eververse items, and currency will be locked to original Destiny.That said, characters aren't being entirely trashed; class, race, gender, face, hair, and marking selections for anyone level 20 and having beaten the Black Garden story mission are sticking around. Bungie said it will grant some kind of award to "veteran accounts with honors that reflect your Destiny 1 accomplishments.""We believe this is the best path forward," Bungie continued. "It allows us to introduce the major advancements and improvements that all of us expect from a sequel, ensuring it will be the best game we can create, unencumbered by the past. We're looking forward to sharing more details with you later this year for how we will honor your legacy in the future."After the release of the game's last major expansion, Rise of Iron, I wrote about how difficult the game was to get back into, after a year away. I'd once been obsessed with Destiny, thanks to the massive improvements from The Taken King, but when I returned, the confusion left me spending more time looking up walkthrough and explanation videos than seeking out new loot. Based on what I heard from folks close to the game's development after my story published, similar feedback has pushed Bungie into seeking a reset button with the sequel.Here's what I wrote back in September:As a casual fan of Destiny, I haven't meaningfully invested time into the game since the last major expansion, The Taken King, was released more than a year ago. So when I loaded up Rise of Iron, what struck me was how little I remembered of the more than 40 hours I had put into it.
Which random drop did I need for that exotic quest? What faction was I grinding to unlock that set of loot? Does the currency I was collecting a year ago even matter anymore? Why is the game still popping up hard versions of missions from a two-year-old expansion? A huge part of Destiny's appeal, besides the best-in-class shooting, is the loot grind, and that grind purposely pulls you in a million directions at once. Even while knee-deep in it, it's easy to lose the thread. (I'm usually playing with YouTube guide videos nearby on my phone.)
Bungie isn't finished with Destiny yet, though. The studio has promised one last event, dubbed Age of Triumph, for the end of March. It'll be revealed next week.Follow Patrick on Twitter. If you have a tip or a story idea, drop him an email here. 
