Destiny 2’s hot new exotic is another pay-to-win headache

digitaltrends.com:

Few things get the Guardians of Destiny 2 excited like hunting for the latest and greatest exotic weapons. Osteo Striga is one such weapon. This unique SMG debuted with Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, but with a problematic caveat: Only players who are willing to pay extra are eligible to acquire the gun at launch.

It’s the latest in a troubling trend of Bungie turning the pay-to-win screws into one of the best fanbases in gaming, and is one of the few black marks in how the developer engages with its community.

Osteo Striga is a crafted weapon, part of a new system that has debuted with The Witch Queen. “Eligible” players can retrieve a Pattern (aka blueprint) for the gun at any time after completing the new campaign from their triumphs tab, and use it at the Artifact, a device at the center of the crafting mechanic.

So, what makes a player eligible? Spending money. At launch, only players who have purchased the $80 Deluxe Edition of Destiny 2: The Witch Queen can get their hands on Osteo Striga. All other players will need to wait until the weapon joins the general loot pool, at an indeterminate future date.

That means players need to make a choice whether or not to spend additional real-world money in order to unlock a powerful item that can directly impact their success in PVP and PVE activities. A weapon is being held hostage behind a paywall, and gamers can either pay the ransom or risk being on the receiving end of a weapon they themselves cannot wield.

This isn’t an isolated example of dangling desirable weapons in front of players to coax more real money investment from them. No Time to Explain is an Exotic pulse rifle from Destiny 2: Beyond Light that began as an item reserved for higher-paying customers before