Commendations are a rough conversation point in the community forDestiny 2at the moment. SomeDestiny 2players are indifferent and unbothered by Commendations, others are publicly frustrated, and a few find themselves somewhere in between. The outliers in the community right now are those who unironically enjoy the Commendation feature, although part of this group has adopted a new meaning for the feature. Despite Commendations being highly controversial, the community has found a way to save the feature that just might shape its future in the live service game.
Commendations had decent potential, but the way they were imposed upon the community left a harsh impression that will be hard for Bungie to soothe. Locking the newGuardian Ranks progression systembehind Commendation-score requirements is what made the feature not sit well with the community. Since Guardian Ranks are one of the only things that Commendations relate to, it is the main source of arguments against the efficacy of Commendations, as otherwise, they are entirely optional. After enough open complaints caught Bungie’s attention, the Commendation feature’s ties to Guardian Ranks have been adjusted. Commendation scores remain a requirement for increasing between certain Guardian Ranks, but the thresholds have been lowered massively across the board.
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The History of the Commendations feature in Destiny 2
The way Commendations rely on other players’ voluntary participation is strikingly similar to the infamousRat King’s Exotic Catalyst requirement. To fully unlock this weapon’s catalyst after finding it, other members of a player’s fireteam must get kills with the weapon to unlock it for those at the quest step. This catalyst still exists as-is in the game and has always been a sour talking point in the community ever since it was introduced. Instead of learning from the community’s grievances with the Rat King catalyst, the Commendations feature doubles down on having Guardians rely on the participation of their teammates. However, unlike the Exotic weapon catalyst, the Commendations feature is sure to evolve, as it has already seen some tuning.
Fashion enthusiasts have taken to reviving the neglected feature, and essentially claimed it as their own. Instead of recognizing the value that other players provide to fireteam activities, someDestiny 2players find that Commendations have better use as signifying thebest-dressed Guardians. The window for Commendations to be awarded gives players the opportunity to view statistics and performances on the scoreboard on a second tab, but this isn’t what’s important for fashion enthusiasts. It’s much faster to instead judge teammates by their apparel on the Commendations first tab than it is to analyze team performances.
The fashion trend for Commendations started, or rather became popularized, on Reddit’s r/DestinyTheGame, and has gained a following there as an overall consensus. This subreddit is a major location for discourse in the game’s community, especially since it is inclusive to players from all the gaming platforms thatDestinyandDestiny 2are available on.TheDestinysubredditcurrently has over 2.7 million members and is a hot spot for discussions and suggestions for the community.
While Commendations may still hold their intended meaning in smaller, intimate fireteam settings, like dungeons and strikes, the activities with larger player counts are where fashion shows thrive. Some players may not know this since the Commendations feature is still fairly new, but players can give Commendations to the enemy team just as easily as their own teammates. Even in Gambit, where the team sizes are still relatively small, players can opt to award Commendations to their teammates or give them to their opponents instead.Iron Banner’s first appearance in Lightfallproved to some extent that the fashion enthusiasts in the community are very much reviving the Commendations feature from the troubled history it’s had so far.
Destiny 2is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
