Zavala's Cookie Frenzy: A Destiny 2 Dawning Update

Destiny 2 Dawning event and Bake-Off Challenge unite Guardians for epic cookie baking, unlocking exclusive emblems and community rewards.

As a dedicated Guardian who's spent more time in the Tower's ovens than in the Crucible lately, I have to say, the Dawning this year has been… enlightening. We all knew Commander Zavala liked his Gjallardoodles, but three million? My brother in the Light, are you okay? I imagine the Tower's medical bay has a dedicated IV drip of milk and a team of Ghosts on standby just to manage the resulting sugar coma. Bungie, in its infinite wisdom, decided that our usual holiday baking spree needed an extra layer of community-driven, flour-dusted chaos with the Bake-Off Challenge. While we're all waiting for the next act of Episode Revenant to drop (and hopefully squish a few of those pesky bugs), they've given us a new way to earn some sweet, sweet emblems by turning us into the Solar System's premier caterers.

Seriously, look at him. The stoic leader of the Vanguard, the man who has faced down gods and hive armies, now has a permanent glaze in his eyes that has nothing to do with the Traveler. We did that. The community banded together and baked a mountain of cookies so vast, it probably has its own gravitational pull. The first week's target was to shower Zavala with Gjallardoodles, and we didn't just meet the goal—we vaporized it like a Dreg in a Well of Radiance. Three million cookies later, the 'Confectionary Commander' emblem is unlocked, featuring our favorite Titan looking particularly dapper in new colors. I like to think the pattern on the emblem is just a map of the cookie crumbs currently embedded in his armor.

Now, the pressure's on for Week 2! The spotlight has shifted from the Titan Vanguard to a more… eclectic trio. Our new baking orders are for:

• Ikora Rey (Probably wants something philosophical and explosive, like a Void-flavored soufflé.)

• Eva Levante (The event's matron, she deserves only the finest, most festive treats.)

• The Drifter (I'm just going to assume his requested ingredient is 'something from the far side of a Derelict').

The goal? Unlock the 'Epicurean Extraordinaire' emblem. I'm personally terrified of what Ikora's internal cookie review process entails. Does she dissect it with Nova Bomb-level scrutiny? Does the Drifter just toss them into his bank machine to see what 'primeval' confection emerges? The community is hard at work, but let's be real—the player population isn't what it used to be.

The state of the game right now is a bit of a bittersweet chocolate chip, if you catch my drift. 🍪➡️😬 Steam charts have been looking leaner, and it's a combo platter of reasons:

Reason for Player Drop-off	My Vanguard-Approved Analysis
Content Lull	Downtime between acts has people playing other games. (I've been told 'touch grass' is an activity.)
Episode Revenant Bugs	Let's just say the new activities have had more glitches than a Vex network.
General Fatigue	After years of fighting the same shapes, even a new cookie recipe is a welcome change of pace.

This Dawning challenge feels like Bungie's way of saying, "Hey, we see you. Here, have a fun, silly goal to work towards together while we get our act together." And you know what? It's working for me. There's a simple joy in running around Nessus collecting flashy ingredients, then hurling cookies at NPCs like a delicious, edible grenade.

So, what's next? We bake. We wait for the Week 2 results with bated breath (and flour-covered robes). Will we hit the goals for Ikora, Eva, and the Drifter? I have faith in this community's ability to over-deliver on baked goods. After that, it's on to the final week and the 'Handcrafter Hunter' emblem, which I assume will be for baking treats for Cayde-6's memory, the Stranger, and maybe Shaw Han (someone has to).

In the grand scheme of things, as 2025 looms, Destiny 2 is at a crossroads. But for now, in this moment, we are bakers. We are confectioners. We are the reason Zavala will need a whole new set of armor, sized up. So grab your oven mitts, Guardians. Let's get baking and prove that even when the player count dips, our collective sweet tooth remains indefatigable. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go explain to my Ghost why all my Glimmer is suddenly gone and has been replaced by a warehouse full of Chitin Powder and Personal Touch.

TL;DR for my fellow burnt-out Guardians:

• ✅ Week 1: Zavala ate 3M+ cookies. Emblem unlocked. He's in a food coma.

• 🔄 Week 2: Bake for Ikora, Eva, & Drifter. Target unknown. Pray for their digestion.

• ⏳ Week 3: Final push for the Hunter emblem.

• 🎮 The game has issues, but cookies are a universal language of fun.

Let's keep those ovens hot!