“Destiny 2” just got a big new expansion, called “Forsaken.” It’s fantastic.
The update changes many fundamental aspects of the game, but Bungie also changed how future “Destiny 2” content is priced from here on out.
Here’s a rundown of all the changes in “Destiny 2: Forsaken”:
“Forsaken” introduces a decidedly darker and grittier tone to “Destiny 2.”
“We embraced that western, revenge vibe,” Bungie said in a video revealing Forsaken.
Without spoiling much about Forsaken’s story, Bungie says it starts with a prison break that results in the death of a friend and ally. It will be your job to bring the escaped inmates to justice.
The first new area you’ll explore in Forsaken is the Tangled Shore. It’s part of an area called The Reef, which “Destiny 1” players will remember.
The Reef is essentially a collection of latched-together rocks and asteroids. It’s barren — there’s even tumbleweeds.
The Tangled Shore is home to pirates and assassins and thieves, like this guy, called The Spider.
The worst bad guys are a new alien race to “Destiny 2” called the Scorn, which are highly aggressive.
Some of them carry fire swords.
Others will swing flaming maces at you.
“Destiny” players have been craving a new enemy type for some time, so the Scorn provides new adversaries to strategize against.
There are also bigger bads in the Forsaken expansion, called “barons.”
Barons are basically the top of the food chain among the Scorn.
In Forsaken, you’ll go on Baron Hunts to take down these criminals.
Each Baron Hunt is entirely different. One fight is a long-range sniper-versus-sniper battle. Another forces you to get up close and personal. And so on.
With all these new bad guys, you’re going to need some more firepower. Thankfully, there’s plenty of that in Forsaken, too.
The Forsaken expansion introduces an all-new weapon type to “Destiny 2”: Compound bows.
You can choose between short, medium, or long-range bows — or switch between all of them!
One of the best updates to “Destiny 2” is how weapon slots work now.
Before, you could only choose one primary weapon, one energy weapon, and one power weapon.
Now, all players (whether they buy the expansion or not) will be granted the freedom to use any weapon combination they want. This opens up exciting gameplay possibilities: Want to roll with three shotguns? Sure! Two snipers and a pistol? Why not! Only bows? Go for it!
Super abilities also got a big upgrade in Forsaken.
Each of the nine different subclasses in “Destiny 2” got a brand-new super ability. So no matter which class you prefer (titan, warlock, or hunter) or which subclass you like best (void, arc, or solar), you now have an all-new optional super ability to choose from.
Solar titans (or “Sunbreakers”), for instance, can now wield a massive flaming hammer that, when you swing it at an enemy, creates a massive fire tornado. (It sounds like I’m making this up, but I’m not.)
The new super ability for arc warlocks (or “Stormcallers”) is a giant energy blast you shoot out of your hand a la “Dragonball Z.”
And, of course, there’s plenty of all-new armour and armour sets …
… and all-new legendary and exotic weapons to collect.
But what’s the point of all of this new material? What’s the end game?
Glad you asked. This is the end game for the Forsaken expansion: It’s an all-new area called the Dreaming City, and it’s an in-game destination Bungie has never done before.
The Dreaming City is actually a destination for all players, but it’s also the home for the new six-man raid activity.
The Dreaming City is littered with unique areas and puzzles you need to solve.
One of the biggest complaints about “Destiny 2” when it first launched was that it lacked the sense of mystery that made the first “Destiny” game so special.
The Dreaming City addresses that complaint: The area is massive, with tons of hidden passageways that might not seem to exist the first time you approach them.
The Dreaming City is also home to the new six-man raids, which are the end-game activities players look forward to most.
<a href=”http://www.businessinsider.com.au/destiny-raids-ranked-2016-10″target=”_blank”>Raids in “Destiny”</a> have historically been the most demanding activities that also offer the very best rewards.
And what’s really cool about The Dreaming City is that “raiders affect the destination, and change it for everyone,” according to Bungie.
That means the Dreaming City you see during the first week of the Forsaken expansion won’t be the same Dreaming City two or three weeks later.
Many of the secrets and activities within The Dreaming City will be unveiled over time.
It will be interesting to see how The Dreaming City evolves as more players complete the raid.
If you don’t like raiding, no problem! The Forsaken expansion also introduces an all-new game mode to “Destiny 2,” called Gambit.
Gambit is actually a mix of player-versus-everyone (PvE) and player-versus-player (PvP) activities.
Gambit is essentially two teams of four people, fighting in two separate arenas next to each other. Bad guys spawn in each room, and it’s your job to defeat your bad guys before the other team defeats theirs.
You collect small tokens, or “motes,” from bad guys when you kill them. Banking your motes summons a massive enemy to fight, called a “primeval.” Defeat that, and you win the round.
What’s cool about Gambit is that it also allows one player from each team to physically invade the other team at different points throughout the match — and since player deaths heal their primeval, a comeback is always possible.
Gambit is a pure adrenaline rush, whether you prefer PvE or PvP.
Aside from The Dreaming City and Gambit, there’s plenty of other newness coming to “Destiny 2” in the Forsaken expansion, including an all-new storyline.
Bungie also made some important quality-of-life changes to reinforce the game as a hobby: “Destiny 2” now tracks your various “triumphs” and collectibles, so you can easily figure out which activity to do next to fill out your collection.
The update also added in-game lore, so you can always read more about the world of “Destiny,” or any of the weapons or items you’ve collected, in a digestible way.
This is just scratching the surface. Bungie is keeping pretty tight-lipped about other secrets hidden within the Forsaken expansion.
But Bungie did answer one important question very early: Pricing.
There are three editions of the Forsaken expansion you can buy. The $US40 standard edition, the $US70 Annual pass bundle, and the $US80 Forsaken Digital Deluxe Edition.
The Annual Pass is new to “Destiny 2”: Buying it will give you access to new activities and end-game content, as well as new rewards and achievements, throughout the second year of “Destiny 2” (from fall 2018 to summer 2019). The Annual Pass replaces Bungie’s old system of releasing paid expansions every several months.
The $US80 Forsaken Digital Deluxe Edition contains the Forsaken expansion and the Annual Pass, plus some extra goodies for dedicated “Destiny” fans, which are basically an assortment of cosmetic items.
Forsaken is the biggest update to “Destiny” in years.
You can learn more about Forsaken in Bungie’s 9-minute video documentary about the expansion, which is embedded below.
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