renegades

Bungie Cancels the Power Reset in Destiny 2 Renegades

Bungie just did a complete 180 on one of the most controversial changes planned for Destiny 2: Renegades. After weeks of concern and frustration from players, the studio has officially confirmed that the seasonal Power reset is gone. Your progress from Season 27 will carry over, your Unstable Cores are safe, and the Power Cap isn’t going anywhere — at least for now. It’s a surprising move that shows Bungie is actually listening to feedback, but it also raises a big question: what does this reversal mean for the future of Destiny’s grind?

In this week’s This Week in Destiny update — posted on October 9th, 2025 — Bungie officially walked back its plan to reset Power at the start of Destiny 2: Renegades. Instead, Seasonal Power will now carry over from Season 27 into the new expansion. That means players who have spent months grinding to climb past 200 Power won’t be thrown back to square one. It’s a major shift from Bungie’s original plan and one that directly responds to widespread community pushback over the idea of wiping progress right before a major launch.

Bungie also confirmed that Unstable Cores, the key upgrade material for infusing gear beyond the soft cap, will carry over too. This addresses another pain point that had players worried about wasted resources and redundant grinding. Alongside that, Bungie will be updating in-game tooltips to reflect the removal of the reset entirely — making this a clear, permanent reversal rather than a temporary adjustment.

To clarify what’s changing — and what isn’t — Bungie added a few more details in the same post. The Power Cap will remain at 550 through Renegades, with no planned increase. That means the current ceiling for gear and bonus power is staying the same across the expansion. However, Bungie did acknowledge that the Unstable Core economy still needs a rethink. The team said it plans to revisit how players earn and spend this currency in a future update, citing ongoing feedback around the pacing and cost of progression.

Taken together, these updates mark one of the clearest examples in recent memory of Bungie directly reacting to community sentiment. The developer could have pushed forward with the original reset plan, but instead chose to preserve player investment — a decision that immediately changed the tone of the conversation around Renegades. It’s a moment that not only restores some goodwill but also sets the stage for what could be a very different approach to Destiny’s long-term Power system.

Alongside the rollback of the Power reset, Bungie announced a new Power catch-up boost arriving with Update 9.1.5.1 on October 14th. This update will automatically raise new and returning players to 300 Power, giving them a much smoother entry point heading into Renegades. It’s a smart move — one that keeps Destiny approachable without undermining the effort of long-time players who’ve already climbed higher. Bungie described this as part of a broader effort to “adjust activity rewards and Power climb,” aiming to reduce the early grind and make it easier for everyone to jump into the new expansion’s content right away. In short, while veterans keep their progress, newcomers won’t be left behind — a balance that could help unify the player base going into Season 28.

Bungie’s reversal didn’t come out of nowhere — it was the culmination of weeks of mounting frustration from players who felt the original Power reset was both punishing and unnecessary. Ever since the Renegades reset plan surfaced, community discussions on Reddit, X, and Destiny forums made one thing clear: players were tired of climbing the same mountain every few months only to have it torn down again. The grind had begun to feel endless, and for many, the idea of losing all that progress right before a major expansion felt like a breaking point.

From Bungie’s perspective, the reset was initially meant to “refresh the playing field,” ensuring that everyone entered Renegades on even footing. But the backlash revealed a deeper truth — players no longer found that kind of forced equality fun or fair. The Power system had evolved into something that rewarded long-term commitment, and resetting it risked erasing that sense of accomplishment. As Forbes writer Paul Tassi noted, Bungie likely recognized that another steep grind so soon after The Final Shape would be “exhausting” and could drive players away at the exact moment they needed excitement to build.

In that light, this change wasn’t just about saving face — it was about course correction. Over the past year, Bungie has repeatedly said it wants to rebuild trust and re-engage its core community after several seasons of mixed reactions. Listening to feedback and adjusting plans this quickly sends a clear message: the studio is serious about responsiveness. By keeping Power progression intact and acknowledging issues with the Unstable Core economy, Bungie is signaling that it values player time as much as player engagement.

Still, the move also exposes how fragile Destiny’s Power ecosystem has become. Without resets, Bungie must now find new ways to make progression feel meaningful. This decision solves an immediate problem — player fatigue — but it raises bigger design questions about how Destiny 2 can evolve without relying on the constant treadmill of raising and resetting numbers. For now, though, players are taking the win, relieved that Bungie finally heard them loud and clear.

Bungie’s decision to walk back the Power reset could mark a turning point for Destiny 2’s future. In the short term, it’s a clear win for players — progress is preserved, Unstable Cores retain value, and the grind heading into Renegades feels far more manageable. But long term, it raises an important question about what replaces the old reset cycle. Without periodic wipes, Bungie will need new ways to keep progression engaging — whether that’s through more dynamic seasonal rewards, new difficulty systems, or alternative forms of player power that evolve instead of resetting. The move shows that Bungie is listening and adapting, but it also means the studio is stepping into new design territory. How they handle Power progression in the next few seasons could define Destiny’s post-Renegades era — and determine whether this reversal becomes a true evolution or just a temporary compromise.

Bungie’s reversal on the Power reset feels like a genuine moment of connection between the studio and its community — a rare example of a developer listening, responding, and changing course before frustration turns into fallout. It’s a win worth celebrating, but it also leaves Destiny 2 standing at a crossroads. Without resets, the grind can finally breathe, yet the challenge now is to make progression feel exciting without leaning on repetition. As Renegades approaches, one thing’s clear: Bungie has heard its players — now it needs to prove that this new direction isn’t just damage control, but the start of a more player-focused future.

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