Destiny 2 is Already Catching Up With Borderlands 4 in One Key Area

As modern, ongoing looter-shooter franchises, it’s inevitable for Destiny 2 and the latest Borderlands game to be part of a friendly competition, not least for players’ playtime, but mainly for the sake of establishing trend-setting, groundbreaking features. Since the original Borderlands game is often credited for pioneering this subgenre when it was released over 15 years ago, the Borderlands games generally serve as the benchmarks of standards among looter shooters. However, the Destiny franchise has grown and evolved considerably in its own right since the original Destiny was released over 10 years ago, and it seems like it will finally catch up to one key area of the Borderlands games when The Edge of Fate expansion for Destiny 2 releases on July 15.

Along with all of the exciting new content and changes to the game coming in The Edge of Fate expansion for Destiny 2, the new Griffin vehicle was recently revealed. Unlike Sparrows and Skimmers, the Griffin will have mounted guns. While vehicle combat has been a core part of the Borderlands franchise’s gameplay since the original game was released, this is one area that has had a rather minimal presence throughout the Destiny franchise, though the new Griffin vehicle could finally change that for the better.

Destiny 2’s New Griffin Vehicle Could Rival Borderlands 4’s Digirunners

The Borderlands Franchise Arguably Does Vehicles Best Among Looter Shooters (So Far)

Though they often can’t keep up with endgame-difficulty gameplay on Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode playthroughs, the vehicles throughout the Borderlands games have a variety of weapons and utilities that are useful throughout exploration and combat. So, despite their underwhelming performance in endgame combat, the Borderlands franchise still arguably does vehicles best, whereas vehicles or mounts from other looter shooter games often only serve the purpose of being a convenient, yet fragile means of travel.

This is especially true when comparing Borderlands 4’s new Digirunners to Destiny 2’s Sparrows and Skimmers. Unlike the Borderlands games’ vehicles, Destiny 2’s Sparrows and Skimmers have much more limited use cases. More specifically, aside from using these personal vehicles in presumably unintended ways to cheese and skip puzzle encounters, the lack of weapons on Sparrows and Skimmers makes them ineffective in combat. With Borderlands 4’s Digirunner vehicles having guns and a variety of ways to customize their performance, this gives Borderlands 4’s vehicle combat a clear edge over Destiny 2’s.

Destiny 2’s New Kepler Planet and Griffins Could be a Game-Changer for Vehicle Combat

Throughout the Destiny franchise, vehicle combat has generally been limited to key moments that are few and far between, with vehicles overall being more of a gimmick than a reliable vessel for combat. However, with Destiny 2’s new Kepler planet bringing the franchise back to its roots with a focus on exploration as a core activity, and the new Griffin vehicles having mounted guns, vehicle combat will likely become much more of a common occurrence in Destiny 2.

Destiny 2’s New Griffin Vehicle Could Shake up PvP and Sparrow Racing League

Beyond PvE, the new Griffin vehicles also have some interesting implications for PvP game modes in Destiny 2, which is something that the Borderlands franchise is a stranger to. Most notably, if Destiny’s fan-favorite Sparrow Racing League game mode ever comes back, the new Griffin vehicle could lead to a completely new experience, compared to when this game mode was last available and Sparrows were the only vehicle available at the time. So, while the Griffin could be the key to Destiny 2 finally catching up to Borderlands 4’s vehicle combat, the Destiny franchise’s core PvP game modes could also give it a unique advantage.