After listening to community feedback and weighing its options, Bungie has decided to retire Destiny 2's controversial sunsetting system. This change in course will ensure players can continue using the weapons and gear they love without fearing it'll become unusable after a few seasons pass.
With the Beyond Light expansion release, Destiny 2 introduced an Infusion capping system (also known as Sunsetting) that would see gear from previous seasons eventually become obsolete. While not entirely removed from the game, the items would reach a point where they could no longer be infused to match the new loot's power level and become near-useless for any meaningful content.
In Bungie's "2021 Update: The Road To The Witch Queen" the dev team went into some detail about what players could expect through 2021 and beyond. Chief among these was the announcement that Sunsetting was coming to an end. While Bungie had originally implemented Sunsetting as a method to ensure the meta was continually shifting, it irked many players that they'd have to stop using some of their favored gear.
Among an already diminished pool of obtainable weapons and armor with the vaulting of entire planets in addition to their questlines, activities, Strikes and Raids, Sunsetting was a genuine concern. Even if players had already acquired the gear, it was either already throttled or soon to be. It raised some legitimate questions for players. What's the point of spending so much time and effort to get a specific piece of gear if it's just going to be devalued after a few seasons?
Thankfully, the Destiny 2 community is as vocal as Bungie is responsive to their feedback. Though weapons and armor that have already been Sunset aren't due to make a triumphant return, no additional gear will undergo the process. This is a relief considering the adoration players have for weapons like the Falling Guillotine and the Gnawing Hunger, which wouldn't have made it to next year's expansion, The Witch Queen, before being Sunset.
The end of Sunsetting will also ensure players have a sizable assortment of different types of weapons they can rely on when attempting content with imposed negative mission modifiers like Nightfall Strikes and Solo Lost Sectors. Variety is the spice of life, and often in Destiny 2, it's the key to survival, as mission modifiers and weapon mods often change weekly.
While Sunsetting was never something the community was thrilled about, it is good to see Bungie be receptive to and making adjustments based on criticism. It would have been easy for it to stick to its guns and ensure players spent time in- game replacing the gear they'd lost, but that wouldn't have painted the devs in a good light. Though Bungie has said it's still looking into ways to ensure the meta doesn't grow stagnant, it will seeking alternate roads to reach that destination and promised there won't be changes to address this issue until after The Witch Queen launches.