Over it's long lifespan, Destiny 2 has collected many systems that - left in their original form - no longer suited the current play patterns and needs of its modern self. Armor is an easy example of this: it has been heavily reworked twice, and I was lucky enough to be an essential part of one of those reworks.

 

Armor 3.0 introduced foundational changes to a long-standing systems with a goal of improving buildcrafting systems, re-introducing value to expensive to make (but low value to players) rewards, and being exciting back-of-the-box features. Most notably, while previous armor systems did not strongly differentiate armor sets from each other. Armor 3.0 introduced set bonuses - making each armor set unique, and therefore independently valuable as something to chase.

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My work on Armor 3.0 started as the primary driver for it's initial pitch. Ever since I joined the Armor team in April 2023, I was working with leadership and other teams to align on a pitch for addressing our issues with the previous system. As mentioned above, we wanted to make sure each armor set had unique value as a reward. We also wanted to change how stats on armor were determined, so that they were easier to understand and manipulate.

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I resolved this with an approach we called "Armor Archetypes" - communicating the primary stats an armor provided with a thematic name, giving players an easy way to communicate what armor they were looking for or using. It also meant that a player less invested in specific numbers could simply grab the armor that "sounded right", and usually end up with something that worked for them.

 

Combine Archetypes with many, many hours of Excel math to determine the appropriate stat ranges for each piece of armor, and I managed to land at a place that was both healthy for our game and a success with our players. Armor 3.0 didn't immediately overshadow Armor 2.0 armor, which made players feel like their time was respected; but Armor 3.0 armor had multiple exciting reasons to build up to it as a player progressed through the game. Set bonuses gave each set it's own identity, reinforcing its theme and giving it a way to stand out. All while keeping the added complexity from being overwhelming or excessive for our players.