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Destiny 2 Cross-Save Is Terrific, Once You Get It Working
The much-anticipated ability to move your Destiny 2 progress between multiple platforms has finally arrived. Destiny 2 cross-save launched a couple of hours later than originally scheduled, but it is here--and it really does work as promised, provided you can get through the setup process in the first place.
Cross-save's launch coincided with maintenance to Bungie.net. Bungie was forced to delay the launch several hours due to maintenance, which has now concluded. As detailed in Bungie's cross-save guide, you'll have to connect each of your accounts and then authenticate them as truly being yours. This appears to be the stage at which most people are being tripped up. Several of us here at GameSpot found that authenticating one platform caused another to become undone. Repeatedly authenticating ultimately worked for me and allowed me to proceed--all platforms have to be authenticated before continuing--but others are still stuck on this step and are sometimes presented with "500" errors when authenticating. The situation seems to be improving, and presumably this is a temporary hitch that will soon be forgotten.
And that's good news, because cross-save is genuinely great thus far. While it would have been nice to get cross-play (meaning you could play with those on other platforms regardless of you being on PS4, Xbox One, or PC), this is the next best thing. And this is arguably a superior option, setting aside the issue of needing to own content on each platform, because it enables console players to enjoy the benefits of playing on PC. As a longtime console player, moving to the PC version almost feels like playing a completely new game. As gorgeous as the game looks on an Xbox One X, the 60+ FPS framerate on PC is a sight to behold, and the speed with which Pursuits and other menu screens load is a massive quality-of-life improvement. And luckily, from what I've been able to experience so far, progress does seem to transfer seamlessly. I earned some gear and completed a bounty on PC and was then able to boot up my Xbox One and cash in that bounty and dismantle the gear with no apparent delay.
To its credit, Bungie tries to make it clear what you own on each platformThe one key downside to cross-save is that it requires you to own the game on every platform you want to be able to play on--and it makes things rather complicated. Things will change a bit later this year, as Bungie will be releasing Destiny 2: New Light, a free-to-play version that includes the base game and its early DLC expansion. Additionally, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep will launch as a standalone expansion, so you could in theory just buy that on your secondary platforms and play that new content. But going with New Light or Shadowkeep would preclude you from accessing, say, Forsaken's Raid or Black Armory's Forges--though gear you earned from those activities on your main platform(s) is still usable. Further complicating matters is that the PC version of Destiny is moving from Blizzard's Battle.net to Steam later this year. If you want to dive into Destiny 2 cross-save without any restrictions right now, your only option is to buy a bundle of all currently available content on Battle.net, and then transition to Steam later. Furthermore, you can only spend Silver--the game's premium currency--on the system you purchased it on.
Confusion over what you can access aside, there are sure to be some quirks that pop up. For instance, a friend of mine found that he was able to claim certain bounties on Xbox One before jumping over to PC, where he doesn't own Forsaken, and also claim replacement bounties. That's hardly going to upend the balance of the game, though it remains to be seen if players discover any more impactful loopholes.
But the bottom line is that cross-save has opened up new possibilities for all Destiny 2 players, allowing those on console to enjoy PC's extra features and for everyone to finally have a more viable path to playing together with all of their friends. For a game so heavily focused on progression (which is to say, showing off your cool items) and group activities, that's a great thing.
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Cross-save's launch coincided with maintenance to Bungie.net. Bungie was forced to delay the launch several hours due to maintenance, which has now concluded. As detailed in Bungie's cross-save guide, you'll have to connect each of your accounts and then authenticate them as truly being yours. This appears to be the stage at which most people are being tripped up. Several of us here at GameSpot found that authenticating one platform caused another to become undone. Repeatedly authenticating ultimately worked for me and allowed me to proceed--all platforms have to be authenticated before continuing--but others are still stuck on this step and are sometimes presented with "500" errors when authenticating. The situation seems to be improving, and presumably this is a temporary hitch that will soon be forgotten.
And that's good news, because cross-save is genuinely great thus far. While it would have been nice to get cross-play (meaning you could play with those on other platforms regardless of you being on PS4, Xbox One, or PC), this is the next best thing. And this is arguably a superior option, setting aside the issue of needing to own content on each platform, because it enables console players to enjoy the benefits of playing on PC. As a longtime console player, moving to the PC version almost feels like playing a completely new game. As gorgeous as the game looks on an Xbox One X, the 60+ FPS framerate on PC is a sight to behold, and the speed with which Pursuits and other menu screens load is a massive quality-of-life improvement. And luckily, from what I've been able to experience so far, progress does seem to transfer seamlessly. I earned some gear and completed a bounty on PC and was then able to boot up my Xbox One and cash in that bounty and dismantle the gear with no apparent delay.
To its credit, Bungie tries to make it clear what you own on each platformThe one key downside to cross-save is that it requires you to own the game on every platform you want to be able to play on--and it makes things rather complicated. Things will change a bit later this year, as Bungie will be releasing Destiny 2: New Light, a free-to-play version that includes the base game and its early DLC expansion. Additionally, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep will launch as a standalone expansion, so you could in theory just buy that on your secondary platforms and play that new content. But going with New Light or Shadowkeep would preclude you from accessing, say, Forsaken's Raid or Black Armory's Forges--though gear you earned from those activities on your main platform(s) is still usable. Further complicating matters is that the PC version of Destiny is moving from Blizzard's Battle.net to Steam later this year. If you want to dive into Destiny 2 cross-save without any restrictions right now, your only option is to buy a bundle of all currently available content on Battle.net, and then transition to Steam later. Furthermore, you can only spend Silver--the game's premium currency--on the system you purchased it on.Confusion over what you can access aside, there are sure to be some quirks that pop up. For instance, a friend of mine found that he was able to claim certain bounties on Xbox One before jumping over to PC, where he doesn't own Forsaken, and also claim replacement bounties. That's hardly going to upend the balance of the game, though it remains to be seen if players discover any more impactful loopholes.
But the bottom line is that cross-save has opened up new possibilities for all Destiny 2 players, allowing those on console to enjoy PC's extra features and for everyone to finally have a more viable path to playing together with all of their friends. For a game so heavily focused on progression (which is to say, showing off your cool items) and group activities, that's a great thing.
More...