Bungie To Honor Destiny 2 Players Who Are Rescuing Stranded Newbies

When Bungie launched Destiny 2’s new Dares of Eternity activity as part of its 30th Anniversary celebration content, it made your first foray into the mode unavoidable. While that was a good way to toss existing players into the new mode to give them a chance to check it out, it had the unforeseen side effect of trapping “New Lights”–those new to Destiny 2–in Dares of Eternity, where they lacked the equipment to fight their way out.

Bungie acknowledged the problem on Twitter, once the news that New Lights were trapped in a space game show hell began circulating. However, while a fix for the Dares problem is in the works, it won’t be released immediately. The developer encouraged seasoned Destiny vets to do what some had already started to: equip crappy gear, jump into Dares of Eternity, and rescue the Guardians stuck there.

While a fix to keep New Lights from getting dropped into Dares of Eternity won’t hit the game until at least next week, the situation isn’t a total loss. Bungie said it also is working on a special emblem for players who take on Dares to save New Lights, as well as for the New Lights who need rescuing.

In the context of story, the first time you log into Destiny 2 after the release of Dares of Eternity, you’re essentially abducted by Xur, the weekend Exotics vendor and Agent of the Nine who hosts the activity. He sends you straight into your first Dares match, which is, more or less, a cosmic game show. You face three rounds of battles against enemies in the activity, each determined by a spin of the “Wheel of Adversity.” The activity requires a Power level of 1150 and includes Champions, enemies who generally have to be defeated by players using specific weapons and mods. Both of those things are prohibitive for new players, who start the game at 1100 Power and without the mods to deal with Champions.

As Bungie notes, veterans can drop their Power levels down to around the same level as New Light players while matchmaking in Dares of Eternity–you can pull gear from the Collections tab or buy it from vendors such as Zavala or Lord Shaxx to get yourself knocked down. That’ll put you in a match with players of a similar level, and once you’re actually in, you can switch back to your normal gear and smash up any enemies as normal.

Altruism is its own reward, but a special emblem for volunteering to rescue New Lights is pretty cool, too. Bungie occasionally releases special emblems that help the community mark “you had to be there” moments, when weird issues and situations inadvertently create a memorable event within the game. In 2019, the developer released an emblem for players who took part in Crucible matches when the Lord of Wolves Exotic shotgun accidentally became rampantly powerful after an update, and another to commemorate a similar situation when everyone melted each other in PvP using the Prometheus Lens Exotic trace rifle for a weekend.

So if you want to be able to say you answered the call when the New Lights needed you, it’s a good idea to drop your Power and give Xur’s Wheel of Adversity a spin. Some blueberries might thank you, and you’ll eventually have a very specific badge of honor to show for it.