To prepare for the console launch of Destiny 2 next week, we have updated the Destiny Companion. What is the Destiny Companion? Between Bungie.net and our mobile application, it’s an experience that spans your desktop and your smart phone. We put the tools at your fingertips to manage your Guardian adventures wherever real life finds you. Rand Myles, the product lead for the Destiny Companion, wanted to share some details on the latest updates. Here is what you can expect from the Companion when Destiny 2 launches on September 6.
Tell us about the latest updates to the Companion.
Rand: The app and website have gotten a pretty major overhaul. When we started thinking about a Destiny 2 Companion, we wanted to focus on a few key experiences. We also want to try to provide everyone with the information they need to get the most out of the game. This means we want to make it accessible to our entire player base – from the most hardcore veterans to players that are just getting started.
Why the overhaul?
Rand: Over the past few years, as we worked on the Destiny 1 Companion, our site and app evolved over time. While we provided a variety of features, they didn’t feel as cohesive as we wanted them to be. As we looked at the ways people used our app and our platform, and what we knew about Destiny 2, we wanted to try to simplify things and build deeper experiences that answered some of the most common questions players would be asking.
What can you tell us about these new experiences?
Rand: We’ve broken them up five main categories.
- Explore, which is the first place you’ll land when you launch the apps or the website, is all about helping you discover what is going on in the world of Destiny – both inside and outside the game. This contains news articles, patch notes, and community highlights as well as a view on what events and activities are live in the game. We’ll give you a taste of some of the gear and weapons you’ll find. You’ll be able to browse the awesome community creations, a collection of mixed media submitted from amazingly talented individuals in our community. And it will be the launching point for your access to our community forums and groups.
- Clans are your way to stay connected with your team and make the most of your collective efforts. Of course, if you’re not already in a clan, you’ll be able to quickly search for one or create a new one and invite folks in. You’ll have access to your clan progress, the ability to chat with Clanmates across different clan-created channels, and create and customize your clan banner.
- Progress is where you’ll go to determine where you’ve been so far and what you should do next. When we launch, this will consist of your milestone information – but we expect this space to evolve and provide you various tidbits of information to help you plan your next time in game.
- Gear will be most familiar to those who have used our Destiny 1 companion – this will help you see how your characters are currently setup and how you can streamline your build by moving/equipping your gear and weapons
- Find a Fireteam, which is also returning from our Destiny 1 companion, is a way for you to find and communicate with other players to form Fireteams for different activities.
Can we expect both mobile and web to have the exact same experiences?
Rand: Not exactly. When we shifted our focus to Destiny 2, we decided to double down on the mobile app experiences. They will lead our efforts instead of being implemented on the web first. The apps and site will continue to evolve over time, of course, based on not only the direction that the game take, but also based on your feedback and usage.
But what about Destiny 1?
Rand: As was mentioned in a previous blog post, the Bungie created apps will be focused on Destiny 2. But we will continue to support the existing Destiny 1 platform, so all the awesome community created applications will continue to work.
Our community has created some amazing things utilizing our API. Will you still support them in building other apps?
Rand: Absolutely. The community has an amazing group of application developers that build cool, rich experiences. We want to find ways to make their lives easier, which in turn provides you all with a growing set of options to leverage in order to make the most of your time in Destiny 2.
We are only one week away from Destiny 2 going live, and many of the new Companion features lighting up with it. Our Bungie.net team is a passionate group of engineers, designers, and testers who would love to hear from you. Our Feedback and Help forums are the best way to reach out to them with any feedback, suggestions, or any issues you might find.