Some nodes unlock special crewmates you can call into battle who give you special buffs for fighting alongside them. Others unlock new types of Treasure Maps, higher reward drop rates, and other bonuses. I opted to start by hiring Halsiks the Sniper because, in addition to increasing precision damage during Ketchcrash, he also increases the rate at which Treasure Coordinates drop. The obvious node to prioritize down the road is Hidden Compartment, since it guarantees a Deep Sight Resonance drop at the start of each week.

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All-in-all, I really like the flavor around hiring crewmates to make pirate raids more efficient and lucrative, but I still wish there were some actual mechanics around how crewmates and their corresponding buffs are deployed in battle. As it stands, it still just feels like you’re optimizing an excel spreadsheet.

Not all of this is working right now

As with every new update, Season 18 launched with a fair number of bugs, ranging from small annoyances to bigger bummers. First the Icefall Mantle Exotic Titan gauntlets were disabled because of an infinite super glitch. Then almost all heavy grenade launchers were disabled because of a double damage glitch. Arc Titans and Warlocks are also dying much faster then they’re supposed to.

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Progress and rewards for several activities aren’t always processing correctly either. Ketchcrash might not record your completion or give you Map Fragments if you leave to early after beating the boss. You also need to have room in your inventory (surplus Map Fragments won’t go to the Postmaster). Progress on the Delicate Tomb Catalyst quest isn’t tracking accurately either at the moment. There are a bunch of other bugs Bungie is currently keeping an eye on too:

Arc 3.0 has been worth the wait

Destiny 2’s lightning magic is the last set of older abilities to get overhauled and brought up to speed within the more nuanced and customizable framework of Aspects and Fragments. So far the general consensus seems to be that Bungie did a very, very good job. I’m certainly having more fun with it than last season’s Solar 3.0 reboot.

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Arc is all about speed and chain lightning, and the new abilities reflect that. Amplified increases weapon handling and sprint speed, and Jolt lets Arc damage leap from one enemy to the next. At its core, the philosophy seems to be “move fast and break things,” and it’s working perfectly so far. It’s always a good sign when I’m having so much fun with the synergy between my regular abilities that I don’t even realize my Super’s charged.

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Grab a free Thunderlord Exotic at the H.E.L.M.

To make sure old and new players alike can get the most out of experiencing Arc 3.0, Bungie stocked the H.E.L.M. with a Gift of the Thunder Gods chest at the start of the season. Open it and you’ll get a free copy of the Exotic Machine Gun Thunderlord, and a full set of 1540 gear, including an Arc-themed Exotic armor piece. Each armor piece also comes with a pre-equipped mod that compliments the set. It’s basically a free beginner loadout. It’s a great idea and Bungie should do more of them.

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What about Season of Plunder’s weapons?

I’m really liking these so far. In addition to the pirate-y aesthetic, they’re also a lot of fun and encourage a pretty aggressive playstyle. Here are the new Spoils of Plunder weapons that have been added and a few decent perk rolls they can drop with:

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A Guardian points a blunderbuss at her AFK teammate.
Image: Bungie

The new Origin Trait this season is Right Hook which increases target acquisition and range after you melee an enemy. As a result, a lot of these weapons pair well with Pugilist, a new perk this season that gives you melee energy on weapon kills and bonus handling on melee kills. I don’t normally run Swashbuckler a ton, but if you’re already going to be meleeing a ton, why not grab the extra weapon damage buff? Voltshot is also new and will send electric sparks flying between enemies when you reload after a kill. As a result, it pairs very well with all of the Arc guns and is also just a ton of fun.

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Of all the new Spoils of Plunder weapons so far, Brigand’s Law is my favorite, both because I love sidearms and also because of the diversity of great perk loadouts. Pitchglass is a decent DPS option with Vorpal, and will clear adds fast with Voltshot. I hate that No Reprieve is a Pinpoint Slug Frame, despite looking like a Blunderbuss, but it’s still a solid primary slot shottie. Blood Feud looks cool but is kind of trash.

Crafting is still bad

All of the Spoils of Plunder weapons are craftable, as are the Bungie 30th Anniversary weapons from last fall that have now been updated. They each have a new origin trait called Hot Swap that increases handling after switching weapons when damaged. Unfortunately, you still need to attune five Deep Sight Resonance copies of both sets of weapons before you can unlock their pattern and start crafting them.

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Spider dangles loot boxes before the player.
Image: Bungie

This system remains the single messiest part of The Witch Queen. Destiny 2 is in a constant state of war with RNG mechanics, and right now the latter is winning. But because eight years with this game has left me a broken and disturbed individual, I will pull the slot machine lever until I get my craftable Brigand’s Law.

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Here’s every new Exotic in Season 18

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Bungie art shows Season of Plunder's new season pass Exotic.
Image: Bungie

Delicate Tomb is the season pass Exotic and it pairs very well with all of the new Arc 3.0 abilities. Touch of Malice is seemingly coming as part of the returning Destiny 1 King’s Fall raid (players adored it back in the day). And while I haven’t actually obtained any of the Exotic armor pieces yet, Fallen Sunstar is going to look amazing on my Warlock. It, Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk, and Point-Contact Cannon Brace each drop from the daily Legendary and Master difficulty Lost Sector. I ran half a dozen last night and got nada. Lost Sector drop rates remain dismal, especially as the loot pool keeps increasing. At this point at least one new Exotic per account should be guaranteed through a quest.

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Pre-order Lightfall to get the Quicksilver Storm Exotic auto rifle

But wait, there’s one more! In a big departure from the past, Bungie has made Lightfall’s bonus Exotic available six months in advance, at least for those willing to pay $100 upfront for a Deluxe Edition of the next expansion that includes content more than a year away. Quicksilver Storm is an auto rifle that fires additional mini-homing missiles and can morph into a grenade launcher. Tempting! Or maybe Bungie could just charge a subscription for Destiny 2 like a normal MMO.

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King’s Fall goes live on August 26 at 3:00 p.m. ET

The returning raid is a fan favorite and probably the best one Bungie has ever put out, despite being seven years old at this point. For the first 24 hours after release it will be in Contest Mode, limiting every player’s Power level to 1560 as they race to see which six-person team can be the first to complete it. Like Vault of Glass before it, there are some really spectacular moments, and I’m sure Bungie has thrown a few new tricks into the mix.

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What’s the Power cap in Season 18?

For returning players, this means the Master difficulty recommended Power level is 1600. The Nightfall Grandmaster recommended Power level (beginning October 4) is 1620. For everyone else, this means activities with Powerful drops will give you gear that goes up to 1570, while Pinnacle activities will give you gear that goes up to 1580. As always, leveling up the seasonal Artifact will give you another 20 points.

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Destiny 2 players look at Spider's Ketch off in the distance on Europa.
Image: Bungie

Eight years into Destiny, I’m not sure who this whole system is for anymore and I hope Bungie gets rid of it by the time Lightfall launches in February. All of the activities are already calibrated to remain in a certain band of difficulty, no matter what your actual Power level is. Gating hard difficulty modes behind a couple dozen hours of toil each season just end up burning a bunch of players out (yes, I am one of them).

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The rest of Season of Plunder’s Roadmap

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