This week in Destiny 2, Bungie is doing something they’ve never really done before with a new offering in Eververse. Between the 8th of August and the 15th of August, Guardians can pick up the exclusive Ego Malign shader from Eveverse for 300 Bright Dust.
While the Shader is very nice, the reason why it’s so important is because of how you could previously obtain it. Last season, Ego Malign was only available in a bundle alongside an Exotic weapon ornament for Bad Juju. This meant that, if you wanted the shader, you had to shell out 1000 Silver to obtain it. Now, at least for a week, anyone can pick it up for free.
Ego Malign in Eververse
This raises a lot of questions. One of the biggest controversies surrounding Season of the Deep was how this season was the first ever where players wouldn’t be able to purchase any of the new shaders for Bright Dust. Instead, locked behind Exotic weapon ornament bundles for Sunshot, MIDA Multi-Tool and Quicksliver Storm are three brand new shaders for this season. All of these bundles cost 1000 Silver each, or around $10.
With the reintroduction of Ego Malign into the free section of the store, it begs the question of whether we’ll also see Deep’s exclusive shaders make their way to Eververse next season. If this was the plan all along, it would follow several other cosmetics types in Destiny 2 and how they rotate in and out of Eververse. For example, certain Exotic Ornaments are sometimes Silver only for the season they are introduced. They then become available for Bright Dust in the following seasons. Whether this is how new shaders will work going forward is unclear.
Destiny 2’s shader troubles were only a small part of the criticism the game’s monetisation has received as of late. Spearheaded by a particularly impactful video by Destiny 2 content creator Aztecross titled “Destiny 2 Has Become a Microtransaction Hell”, Deep’s Silver-only shaders were lambasted alongside several other aspects of the game’s pricing and current seasonal model such as the amount of new cosmetics in Eververse compared to the rest of the game, the rising price of seasons and more.
Deep’s Silver-Only Shaders
Whatever the case, Ego Malign is available in Eververse for the next week. Pick it up as soon as you can, because there’s no telling whether it will ever come back.
SOURCE: Destiny 2
