Closed Beta Updates: Growing Together

Greetings Lightbearers!
The Closed Alpha was not just a test—it was a dialogue. A dialogue where thousands of you shared your hopes, frustrations, and visions for Destiny: Rising. For the past few months of silence, we've been hard at work, going over your feedback about what worked, what didn't, and what could be. 
Today, we want to walk you through the Closed Beta updates—not as a list of "fixes", but as a reflection of what we've learned from you. Based on your feedback, we've implemented several significant changes to the game. While there are numerous adjustments, this blog will focus on the most substantial modifications. Rest assured, we remain committed to continuously monitoring your feedback as you progress through the game, making necessary adjustments to ensure Destiny: Rising becomes better with each step.

I. Progression Optimizations

1. Character Progression Changes: Introducing Team Levels

We were thrilled to see your enthusiasm for our multi-character gameplay—a core mechanic that Destiny: Rising is built around. While the overall reception was positive, we identified a pain point: the repetitive character leveling process.The excitement and joy of a multi-character system should lie in experimenting with different characters, not trying to level a character from scratch every time you obtain a new character. 
So, in the upcoming Closed Beta Test, you will see:

1. A Brand New Team Level System(Replacing individual character leveling): Power progression is now unified under Team Level, driven by story and exploration. All characters instantly match this level, letting you experiment freely.
2. New Team Level Rewards: Earn exciting rewards as you progress—small tokens of appreciation for your journey.

2. Weapons: Rethinking Depth
During the Closed Alpha, we noticed our Weapon Attachment system didn't generate the excitement we had anticipated. With conservative buff values, few players fully utilized the system—which wasn't our intention. We aim for each system to have a strong purpose and contribute uniquely to your strategic gameplay.

Consequently, we've replaced the previous Weapon Attachment system with a brand new Weapon Mod system! This dynamic new system allows you to discover mod blueprints through diverse activities across the world, then craft them into powerful weapon enhancements that dramatically transform your combat experience. These mods deliver substantially more impactful effects than the previous system, opening up exciting new build possibilities and play styles. Best of all, you can freely transfer these mods between weapons of the same name! Next time when you acquire the same weapon but with a higher power, there is no need to grind another set of mods. You can transfer the crafted mods you have already acquired, giving you flexibility to experiment and optimize. 

(some of our favorites still in development)

3. Additional Progression Improvements
Beyond the character and weapon optimizations mentioned above, we have many more tweaks and changes, such as the streamlined seasonal artifact system to reduce complexity and create a smoother player experience. We're excited for you to discover these changes firsthand, and will keep our eyes peeled for any feedback.

II. System Optimizations

1. Elevating the Endgame: "Master" Level Difficulty 
We've witnessed your relentless pursuit of challenge—players pushing builds to their limits, optimizing strategies, and asking, "What's next?"
Introducing Master Difficulty:

• A new pinnacle tier for GP Strikes, designed to demand precision, teamwork, and adaptability.
• With the introduction of our Master Difficulty we have included brand new rewards and a dedicated vendor to create a complete experience. More of the new stuff will be highlighted in our Featured in CBT blog, Check it out if you're interested!

2. Battle Pass: Better Value to Reward Your Effort
To make our Battle Pass more rewarding we are adding more items for this upcoming Closed Beta Test.
Including Rare Item Rewards such as:

• A free Seasonal Exotic Weapon at Tier 50
• Rare items such as Ascension Cells, Legendary Weapon Mods, Relic upgrade materials, and many more!

3. Draw System Optimization
The character draw mechanism is our core monetization feature, and in this Closed Beta Test, we are introducing exciting new rules to our Draw Pool:

A) For the Standard Character Pool:

• First 50 draws will be discounted by 20% ( Every 10 draw will only cost 8 "Bon Voyage" Charms)
• Within the first 30 draws, players are guaranteed one Mythic Tier character
• After 180 cumulative draws, players can select one Mythic character for free from the standard pool

B) For Both Standard and Limited Pools:

• A guaranteed Mythic Tier character within 60 draws
• Every Character Draw Rewards Draw Fragments: These Draw Fragments can be exchanged for skill tree enhancements, that can be used to upgrade Mythic-tier characters.

III. Closing: A Shared Journey

These changes aren't checkboxes—they're reflections of a philosophy: that a great game isn't built by developers alone, but together with the players. 

The Closed Beta is another milestone, not a destination. Starting tomorrow, we will be sharing more information about the Closed Beta Test, starting from our Rebate & Reward program. For Lightbearers joining us during this stage, please read the rules carefully, as they directly affect the rewards delivered at launch. We will also be keeping an ear to the ground in our communities. Because at its core, Destiny: Rising isn't ours alone—it's also yours.
Thank you for your patience, your critiques, and your belief in what this world can become.

With humility,

The Destiny: Rising Team