The Contest Mode for the Equilibrium Dungeon in Destiny 2 has come to an end. Team Tommy achieved the World’s First in under two hours. Aesthetically, the dungeon nailed it. The first boss was spectacular, allowing us to fight someone wielding Praxic Blades. However, one aspect of Contest Mode stands out. The first is NotSwap; the modifier has run its course and needs to be removed.
Equilibrium Review
The Equilibrium Dungeon by itself hit multiple marks. The design of the bosses and the areas was perfect. The entrance for the Harrow Boss was superb. Seeing him for the first time created hype. The concept of the final boss was also fantastic. His fighting us with Stormtrance was a good addition. However, the numerous knockbacks during the final encounter made it frustrating to deal with. Adding exploding backpacks caused unavoidable deaths. Running the dungeon on standard difficulty felt significantly better.
NotSwap Removal
By far the most frustrating aspect of the Equilibrium Dungeon was NotSwap. It was our first experience of the modifier in a contest mode, having skipped out on Desert Perpetual. It makes the experience of the dungeon worse, without adding difficulty. We still ended up swapping loadouts right before and during damage phases. It lessens the ability to play with the Exotics you want to use. Yes, you should not be able to bring any build and succeed. But not being able to run an ad clear Exotic during damage encounters felt awful.
NotSwap does not achieve its intended purpose. It would be significantly better if Bungie locked loadouts after you began an encounter. That way, they can balance encounters better without having to worry about loadout swaps. Ideally, we return to how it was before without NotSwap. However, Bungie is set on this path.
Contest is For The Best
At the end of the day, Contest Mode is meant to be cleared by the best in the game. Bungie should not balance it accordingly for them. If that means only a handful of players get the emblem, that is fine. Allow the best players to thrive, and having the perfect loadout swaps is part of skill expression. Unfortunately, it will be some time before we get another dungeon. We will have to wait for another chance.
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