With Bungie’s reveal of the dinosaur armor ornament sets coming for the returning Festival of the Lost event in Destiny 2 this fall, it has also shown its dedication to include the game’s player base in the decision-making process. With the original decision split between a Movie Monster and Dinosaur design, Bungie had announced through a TWAB post that it wanted Guardians to vote on which of the armor ornament concepts will become available to buy in Destiny 2's in-game Eververse store.
With the voting Guardians made their voices heard, and Dinosaurs were able to achieve a landslide victory against the Movie Monsters. With over 200,000 votes cast on the event specific armor ornaments, it is good to know that both the community and the studio are hyped for the Halloween style event this fall.
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This level of community participation and Bungie’s early dedication to the event comes as a reassurance to many players after the canceled Crimson Days event earlier this year. Festival of the Lost is still months away, but this type of interaction is already shaping it into a special event. For those hopeful monster voter that may not be feeling as excited though, Bungie has announced it is a possibility that the Movie Monster armor ornaments may still be available for Guardians in the future.
The Destiny 2 dinosaur armor ornament sets that have been chosen do not look like they will have too drastic of colorways, as all three of the armor ornaments rely on neutral colors rather than some of the more vibrant colorways available. This is made up for in a couple of ways as all three sets also sport some incredible detail and will likely be customizable through cosmetic shaders like most pieces of equipment that Guardians can obtain in Destiny 2 are.
Each Destiny 2 class has gotten their own dinosaur making the sets feel unique for players. Titans are going to be outfitted with what appears to be t-rex armor, Warlocks will look similar to the triceratops, and Hunters get what appears to be a velociraptor inspired design.
The Titan’s t-rex armor ornaments stand out with its grey color being accented by shots of red on the shoulders, wrists, and the helmet’s face plate. The Titan’s chest armor ornament also appears to sport what may be t-rex teeth or claws. The detail in the image released so far leaves that aspect of the ornament open to some interpretation, but either way the design feature helps to create an intimidating look for the armor. For the time being, there is not a clear image of the Titan mark released with the concept photo, but what is visible shows it hangs at the side with a somewhat roughened pattern on it.
The Warlock’s most striking features are going to be the helmet and arm band. The triceratops style motif is a lighter shade than both the Hunter and Titan helmet making it easy to pick out. The sharply protruding nose horn and two side horns give the helmet more dimension than its counterparts from the other two classes as well. While the cloak does not come off quite as strong as the Titan’s chest armor ornament, it appears to pull its inspiration from elsewhere while still staying relevant to the dinosaur theme.
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The leather design and cargo pockets feel heavily inspired by the way paleontologists are often depicted in media. This style choice is balanced out by the need for the cloak to still be a type of armor with plated pieces filling in between the pockets and straps of the cloak. The Warlock's armband is able to remain simple and attention grabbing in unison. Three more sharp horns protrude from the band and angle up with a design that is a little more subtle than some of the vibrant bands that Destiny 2's Warlocks can get while still being able to look very organic and capitalize on the theme.
The Hunter class armor ornament excels in the dinosaur style with some of the most eye-catching details. An intimidating and menacing raptor design makes it clear that the idea of Hunters as forward operating Guardians was worked into this concept. The helmet ornament emulates the raptor’s head with a dozen sharp teeth in the jaws while the iconic hooked talon that many people will be familiar with from movies and tv shows is worked into the boots. The colors for this armor are the lightest with exceptionally light sandy browns used across the set while accents are contrasted in dark brown leather padding. The Hunter's cloak feels a little basic, but most of the upper body's attention will immediately fall on the raptor anyway.
Destiny 2 players will have some questions as Bungie moves forward with its Festival of the Lost plans. For some, the future of the Movie Monster designs that lost the vote will be the first thought, while others will be excited to buy the armor ornaments as soon as they can. Unfortunately, they will still have to wait until the event arrives this fall. A plus side for all Guardians regardless of which armor had been chosen is that the winning design, the dinosaur armor ornament, will be available in the Eververse Store for both Bright Dust and Silver. This will allow players to choose whether they will grind for some Bright Dust or spend money on the in-game Silver currency and buy the armor right away.
The Festival of the Lost event continues to shape up nicely and there’s still months ahead of its arrival, allowing for special features and event specific activities and items to be announced. This means there’s also still time for Bungie to work out a way to make the Movie Monster ornaments available. However, it remains to be seen whether they will be in the Eververse Store for purchase, possibly as a Silver currency exclusive, or even something more enticing like a special play list reward.
The results of the vote may still be disappointing to some players as both armor sets did bring great designs forward for Guardians to choose from. Regardless of what aesthetic players voted for, it is likely that as Festival of the Lost gets closer players will be satisfied with what Bungie will bring to the table and still be able to enjoy some of the options that are provided.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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