One of the new features Bungie added to Destiny 2 with Lightfall is Guardian Ranks. This system was billed as a way of demonstrating player mastery over content and mechanics. The idea was that as players carried out missions, earned gear and so on, they would increase in Guardian Ranks and be seen as more accomplished within Destiny 2. The reality, however, is far from that for a number of reasons.
To begin with, nearly everyone started Lightfall at Guardian Rank 6. This is because Bungie set veteran players there, but it means that the lower ranks are actually somehow rarer than 6 is. A couple of weeks into Lightfall we’ve started to see some rank 7 players here and there, but 6 is still by far the most common.
The second issue with Guardian Ranks is how they’re tied to the Commendation system. We have a whole other set of issues with that mechanic, but requiring that you receive a pretty high number of commendations from other players to advance up the ranks doesn’t demonstrate your accomplishments. It demonstrates that other players stuck around after an activity and happened to pick you to commend, if they’re doling them out randomly as many Destiny 2 players do.
But the biggest problem with Guardian Ranks in Destiny 2 is that they reset every season. What’s the point of a mastery rank if it goes back down to the default every few months? Who’s going to grind for a number above their head that disappears once the season is over? Guardian Ranks were meant to replace the season rank, which was simply a measure of how much someone had played in a given season. But having them reset at the beginning of every season means they effectively measure the same thing.
How should Bungie fix Guardian Ranks? Dropping the Commendation requirement would be a good start, as would be making them permanent. If they were supposed to be tied to seasonal play, then they could have simply been based on Seasonal Challenges. As it is, Guardian Ranks are a disappointment and a system that most players have no real reason to engage with.
