Destiny 2's Content Vault basically makes free-to-play pointless
Destiny 2 free-to-play players look to be getting a raw deal when Beyond Light releases this November.
Earlier this year, Bungie revealed its intention to rotate old, irrelevant content out of Destiny 2 to make room for new and more interesting content. Bungie called this the Destiny Content Vault, and the idea has been controversial since its introduction.
In a blog post, Bungie detailed exactly what's going away on November 10 with the release of the Beyond Light expansion. Although the developer didn't specifically address how the free-to-play New Light version of Destiny 2 will look come November, the studio confirmed a long list of planets and their associated activities, all on their way out. As you might have already guessed, they also happen to make up most of the content in New Light.
As detailed in our New Light free-to-play breakdown, much of the content Bungie was willing to offer for free was released in the game's first year. All of that is going away in November, and several other modes free-to-play players had access to are also getting removed.
For starters, Red War, Curse of Osiris, and Warmind campaigns are all on the chopping block. The three combined served as an introduction to Destiny 2's mechanics, as well as conflicts and factions, not to mention were the most accessible, highly-produced parts of the game. Bungie is working on an "expanded Guardian origin story" that will take place in the Cosmodrome - which returns from Destiny 1 this year, but that is meant as a sort-of-tutorial for new players.
It also doesn't look like any content from subsequent campaigns will take the place of those three getting removed, as Bungie explicitly stated that Forsaken and Shadowkeep story campaigns will remain available only to players who own/will buy them.
Because Io, Titan, Mars, Mercury, and Leviathan are all getting vaulted, all of the strikes and raids that take place there are also gone with them. As you might imagine, many of those strikes and raids were part of the free-to-play roster, which cuts down on New Light content even further. Even co-op activities from Year 2, like The Menagerie, Reckoning and the three Black Armory Forges are, likewise, all being vaulted.
This leaves out the new Gambit, a mix of regular Gambit and Gambit Prime, and the Crucible. Both of those activities will be curated, meaning everyone playing Destiny 2 will have access to the same selection of maps.
At this point, save for the new tutorial Bungie is working on, I am not sure what PvE activities New Light players will have access to after November 10. Sure, they may still get to roam the Solar System, but they seemingly won't be able to take part in the vast majority of the available story missions, strikes, raids and other co-op activities.
Beyond Light releases November 10, which is when all of that will take effect.