One of Destiny 2 players’ biggest complaints within that context is the low drop rates for Cipher Decoders, which are a crucial part of the Festival of the Lost event. But while the drop rates might be low now, they might get better, as Bungie says it is investigating.
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On the Destiny 2 subreddit, a thread discussed the Cipher Decoder drop rates and most commenters agreed that they seem low. Many shared their experience trying to get Cipher Decoders and how rarely they drop. One popular story said that the player had completed 9 Strikes, 6 Crucible Matches, more than 20 patrols, and 10 Heroic Story Missions and they only were able to earn 2 Cipher Decoders.
Shortly after the thread blew up on the Destiny 2 subreddit, Bungie Community Manager Cozmo responded to say that the development team is investigating the low drop rates. That doesn’t necessarily mean that a change will be made before Festival of the Lost ends, but at the very least Bungie is aware of players’ frustrations.
While the low drop rates are certainly a sticking point for Festival of the Lost, it is not the only criticism that has been raised towards the event this year. Many players feel that the attention is pulled away from the Haunted Forest because of the addition of the Cipher Decoders. In order to obtain a Cipher Decoder, players must complete activities outside of the Haunted Forest and hope that one drops. As mentioned, the odds of getting one are fairly low.
Then, once a player does have a Cipher Decoder they can hop into the Haunted Forest and use it to open one of the 5 locked chests at the end of the round. Players can always open one chest at the end of the Haunted Forest, but it’s smarter to wait until you have at least a few Cipher Decoders before making a run. But getting just one, let alone five, is easier said than done.
To Bungie’s credit, the devs tried something new with the Haunted Forest but the execution seems to be lacking a little. Hopefully, in the midst of preparing for Beyond Light the Destiny 2 team can find a way to buff the Cipher Decoder drop rate to make them more frequent or create a guaranteed source for them, and then the Festival of the Lost event might be more enjoyable for players.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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