If you’re a Warlock player in Destiny 2, then you’ve almost certainly used the Starfire Protocol Exotic at some point in the past year. It’s a totally cracked piece of gear, giving you essentially infinite Fusion Grenades that are useful in every PVE activity in the game, from taking out Champions to melting bosses. There’s just one problem with Starfire Protocol: it’s ugly as sin.
There are a lot of ugly Exotics in Destiny 2, but many of them have purchasable ornaments that let you change their appearance. Starfire Protocol has no such ornament. Warlocks who don it are stuck with a heavy robe covered in shiny triangles that don’t play well with most of the game’s shaders. Putting on Starfire Protocol means going into fashion damage control mode — you’re just trying to look as least stupid as possible.
Of course, there’s a broader problem here related to Warlock aesthetics in Destiny 2. Whereas Titans and Hunters have full arm pieces that end at the shoulders, Warlocks have robes which cover most of their bodies with only gloves in their arm slots. That means Warlocks really have to build around their chest pieces. If that chest piece looks gnarly, the entire outfit is going to look gnarly.
Then again, maybe this is Bungie’s plan. Maybe they’re intentionally not giving Starfire Protocol an ornament because they know its appearance is the only thing stopping it from taking over completely. It’s already one of the best armor Exotics in the entire game. If it looked good too, then it would be a no-brainer.
Think about it. Starfire Protocol has been dominant for months now, yet Bungie refuses to nerf it or give it an ornament. This is the compromise to prevent total Warlock devastation. Dawnblades everywhere would be throwing double-exploding Fusion Grenades forever. It would be anarchy! And, given the state of Destiny 2 this week, it’s an open question whether the game’s architecture would be able to handle that many explosions.
Still, though. Starfire Protocol ornament please. We’ll pay Silver. We don’t care.
