Since its release in 2017, Destiny 2 has transformed from an FPS title into a full-blown MMO. With each major expansion and update, Bungie introduced features that increase players’ options for building and customizing their Guardians, while slowly balancing previously introduced mechanics. With Destiny 2: Lightfall set to overhaul the game’s buildcrafting, Bungie has announced that Warmind Cells and Warmind Cell mods are approaching a sad, but unsurprising end.
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Destiny 2’s History With Warmind Cell Mods and Their Power
Bungie introduced Warmind Cells in Destiny 2’s Season of the Worthy, allowing Guardians to drop explosive orbs by defeating enemies with Seraph or IKELOS weapons. Guardians could then destroy these orbs for massive area-of-effect damage. By equipping Warmind Cell mods, Guardians could create a build that uses Warmind Cells to devastating effect, with some builds capable of clearing entire dungeons alone. One such mod, Wrath of Rasputin, allowed Guardians to drop Warmind Cells by killing enemies with Solar Splash damage. Combined with a variety of other mods, it could turn an amateur Guardian into a Nightfall-clearing powerhouse.
Bungie soon found itself needing to re-balance the mechanic, as further additions to the game made Warmind Cell mods easier to exploit. With the launch of Season of the Lost in August 2021, Bungie nerfed Destiny 2’s Warmind Cells by decreasing their area-of-effect and damage output. Bungie was candid with the community about the mechanic being too powerful for the game’s current build, and further alterations arrived with the release of Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, which effectively banished Warmind Cell mods to obscurity.
Why Destiny 2’s Lightfall Removing Warmind Cells is Both Sad and Understandable
On January 18, 2023, Bungie released an article titled “Buildcrafting Evolved” to address changes arriving with February’s Destiny 2: Lightfall expansion. Addressing balance, Bungie stated that Warmind Cells would not be making the transition, citing the mechanic as a relic of the past. This very direct statement came as a disappointment to parts of the Destiny 2 community, as some were frustrated when Season of the Seraph introduced Warmind-based weapons that didn’t generate Warmind Cells. With such an obvious application of the mechanic completely omitted, the writing was on the wall for its rapidly approaching removal.
The removal of Warmind Cells from Destiny 2 comes as no surprise, as Bungie has been directing Guardians away from Warmind Cell builds for quite some time. However, it is a sad end for a mechanic that was once so beloved. Introduced to the title in its buildcrafting infancy, Warmind Cell mods were among Destiny 2’s best, providing huge benefits for little investment. This made them an approachable option for Guardians of all skill levels, especially those struggling to complete weekly objectives or Nightfalls. That quality, however, is exactly why there is no room for them in Destiny 2’s future.
With Destiny 2: Lightfall, Bungie leads Guardians toward the end of an era. The expansion looks to set the final events of the Light and Darkness Saga in motion, while possibly revealing details of Destiny’s dreaded Dark Future. As the road to the final conflict forms, Bungie continues to expand Destiny 2’s buildcrafting system. Warmind Cells and Warmind Cell mods have no place in that system, as they were created for an incarnation of the title that has since been left behind. Lightfall promises an exhilarating narrative and a long list of improvements for Destiny 2, leading fans to look ever forward to the future.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The Lightfall expansion is set to launch on all platforms on February 28.
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