Destiny 2 – Second Year Reveal

Bungie had a stream today, June 5^th, 2018, going over the plans for the second year of Destiny 2. This game has had a number of ups and downs over the last year. It launched to moderate acclaim, had a good DLC release in the form of Curse of Osiris. It had a second DLC, the Warmind, which had a bit better reception for what it had to offer.

The stream opened with the team talking about the new DLC release, the Forsaken. It is very clear that it is taken from the Western ascetic. It all starts with a prison break. It is a frontier location that has been taken over. Cayde-6 has been running a prison here. He has been putting the worst of the worst here, creating a massive problem for the whole system.

The weapon system has been revamped, allowing for a lot more customization. This will allow, for example, 3 shotguns to be equipped. There is a revision coming to the masterwork system, allowing you to get a return investment. This will allow for better customization of weapons. One of the new things being added in is a Bow and arrow. It is meant to be very powerful and very deadly since it has to compete with auto rifles.

Weapon slots are about giving you more control over your playstyle. This will give you more control over what you are using in your loadout. It will give you more choices and bring about a change for what you have available for you.

One more thing that will be getting something new is the Supers that the Guardians have available to them. Each of the classes is getting a new option with the Super. There are also, potentially, new classes coming as well. There was a very different Hunter shown during the Vidoc. Most of the classes have a variant on what we have seen thus far. The Hunter Gunslinger is shown with Solar knives that they can throw with deadly precision, while the Arcstrider was shown spinning their staff, reflecting bullets back at their opponents. The Titan Sunbreak was shown with a giant 2-handed hammer they were using to unleash waves of fire and strike multiple opponents at once. The Strike gained a new style of lunge at least as well. The Warlocks got a little screen time as well. The Stormcaller was shown channeling a beam of Arc energy at their target. The Voidwalker could be seen teleporting around before unleashing a massive burst of energy.

A new mode is coming into the game, Gambit. This allows for a hybrid between PvP and PvE. This is a new mode that Destiny has been just wanting to have in it. This has been a very carefully kept secret. The basics have now been revealed. It was important that Forsaken had a new experience in it from anything else in Destiny, taking advantage of the best things within the game. The team had the idea to allow the Guardians to invade the other team as well. It offers a lot of possibilities and a number of things that the Guardians will have to consider: Killing enemies, collecting motes, invading the other team. This will have limited loadouts and will be in development. After E3, it will be sent to Tampa Florida, to be playable at GuardianCon.

The Dreaming City is the Awoken homeland. It is to be a massive location, being described as the Vault of Glass and the Dreadnaught having a baby that was then raised by Peter Jackson. A massive place that will be changing over the course of the game. This will be the end-game content home. It is something very different

There are now collections and triumphs are added back into the game. The triumphs will have a lot that you can interact with. They will also offer a collection of in-game lore within the Triumph tab that is being added to the game. This will be populated by finding items and triggering events. They will not be presented in order. The collections will be available at any time. It will use different materials depending on the category that the items. The collection will at least let you know where to go to find things. This also has the flair section. This will allow you to look at all the treasured flair that you have collected. This will be available to all the players within Destiny 2. This will allow you to plan your time in the game and allow you to reap the rewards that way.

The story reveal will be during E3. Allowing us time to speculate and then revel in it when it is revealed. They will be at the Activision Booth for E3.

The Annual pass has 3 different releases. It will include 3 Premium content releases: Penumbra, Black Armory, Joker's Wild. There are different from Curse of Osiris and Warmind. These releases are to give the community the chance to upgrade your character, improve your gear. These will offer Endgame challenges, new weapons, armory, and vanity rewards. New and returning exotics, new pinnacle activities, new triumphs, new lore to discover and collect. There will be exclusive content within the game itself. It will be offering a story to be found in moments of action, not in cutscenes. These releases will be the launching points of the seasons within the game.

The Development Roadmap has been updated. Solstice of Heroes is the next new event getting added into the game. There will be the permanent Rumble 6v6 format. The Expansions 1 and 2 will be getting Prestige lairs. The PC Clans will be getting a text chat. There will be Year 1 Triumphs as well added with this season. In Year 2, Power will matter in the Iron Banner and Trials of the Nine. There will be randomization added back into the weapons, allowing for a more personal chase for weapons.

Final Thoughts:

This is something that Destiny does need to a degree. The shift to an annual pass is a good call, as opposed to releasing the DLC individually. The return of the Triumphs, and a better integration with the Collections that are available in the world of Destiny. The changes to the Guardian Subclasses are something very welcome as well. When you get to the story, it does look like something very nice as well. We have been getting a welcome shift in what Vanguard members are involved in the story as well. It is hard to say just where it will go ultimately