Commendations were set to be a potentially exciting new element of Destiny 2's Lightfall era, as they were meant to be a way to acknowledge other players who may have been helpful or otherwise contributed to a positive experience. The reality of how the system works, however, has been a system where players mindlessly spam commendations without regard, in part due to the way they are tied into progression systems. Bungie has already made some tweaks to how commendations factor into Guardian Ranks, but more changes are also on the way.

As part of a lengthy blog post detailing future plans for Destiny 2 and its response to feedback since Lightfall's launch, Bungie first outlined the purpose of commendations. "Commendations are meant to create cycles of gratitude so that players are thankful for one another," it explained. "They should reinforce that the most celebrated Guardians are those who have earned the respect of their peers by helping them out."

The number of commendations you receive will reset each season, whereas only a percentage of your commendation score will be lost from season to season. Your commendation breakdown (meaning the split between the different categories of commendations you receive) is tracked from season to season along with your score.