Giant Space Ship Blows Up Very Slowly In Destiny 2’s First Major Live Event

Destiny 2 had it’s first big Fortnite-style live event today with players crowding around to watch as the Almighty space ship that had been hurtling toward Earth all season was finally shot down. The only problem was it took forever.

The live event kicked off at 3 a.m. AEST with an in-game alert telling players to head to the Tower to watch as Rasputin, the warmind AI players spent all season powering up, take care of the giant space ship that had been menacing Earth for the last couple months. Players weren’t sure what to expect. A giant explosion? A new cutscene? Something more apocalyptic?

That mystery slowly turned to confusion as players sat around the Tower staring up at the sky while nothing much seemed to change. It took half an hour before jets of red light started to appear to the upper right of where the Almighty was. A few minutes later it became clear they were moving toward the ship. A few minutes after that another set appeared from beneath the Almighty aiming upwards.

Then nothing until around 50 minutes into the event when some finally began to make contact and tiny explosions began bubbling up all around the ship. It wasn’t until after an hour and a half of sitting around that players finally got to see the real fireworks they were hoping for. There was a giant flash of white across the sky, followed by the wreckage of the Almighty flying across behind the Tower and eventually into the mountains on the other side of it.

The final moments were spectacular to watch, especially as someone who has probably spent dozens of hours running around the Tower collecting bounties, turning in quests, and changing out my gear. In the game’s social hub where nothing ever seems to happen, here was something very much happening.

But the climactic conclusion of what’s been a pretty bad season overall was undercut by just how long it took to build up to the finale. What might have been thrilling to watch unfold over five minutes or even 20 was instead stretched across 90 minutes, during most of which nothing that interesting was happening. It was like watching paint dry except that most paint dries faster.