Bungie Relents, Unlocks Destiny 2's Bergusia Forge
It's been nearly 29 hours since Bungie opened up Destiny 2's Niobe Labs location to the world, and it seems the puzzles contained within have proven to be too much.
Bungie announced this afternoon that the Bergusia Forge will now unlock at 5 p.m. ET for all players — a shift in the company's original plans. Bergusia was originally meant to unlock once someone, anyone, completed the "Niobe's Torment" mission inside Niobe Labs. But players have been beating their heads against the wall trying to complete some of the more complex and abstract puzzles for well over a day now, leading some to grow increasingly frustrated with the experience.
For some perspective: Destiny 2's "Last Wish" raid was completed in around 19 hours. The first team to complete "Last Wish" did so fairly under-leveled, with no knowledge of boss mechanics or puzzle solutions heading in. That fact "Niobe's Torment" has taken longer than that? That likely says less about the player base and more about the puzzle designs found within the encounter.
A few require some leaps in logic. Others require research that takes place outside of the game itself. Mix that with a high difficulty that punishes players for failing (thanks to a lack of checkpoints) and you have an activity that hasn't quite landed the way Bungie might have anticipated.
To make matters worse: completing "Niobe's Torment" would have netted players a Ghost shell and an emblem for their efforts. Not exactly the kind of loot you'd expect from something that is so soul-crushingly difficult that Destiny 2's best players can't even tackle it.
To Bungie's credit, the company recognized today that this approach might not have been the best one.
"While coming together as a community to solve puzzles can be fun, setting this puzzle up as a gate between you and new content that you want to play has not been an ideal experience," the company said on its website, adding, "We love trying new things with Destiny, but we're also flexible enough to pivot when you point out room for improvement."