Destiny 2 - dmg04
This week at Bungie, we gave a chilling new look at Stasis.

It feels like just yesterday you were getting your first look at Stasis. Today during a virtual gamescom, we took a deeper look, introducing you to the Hunter Revenant, Titan Behemoth, and Warlock Shadebinder subclasses. There’s quite a bit to chew on. How do the new grenades work? What about melee attacks? What are those things that the Hunter just threw? This is just the start.

video


Over the next two weeks, we’ll be releasing additional details through Dev Diaries, and updates to the http://bungie.net/7/en/Destiny/BeyondLight/Stasis page. First update is planned for September 1. Set your calendar reminders accordingly.

This week, we also have a patch note preview, and a summary of resolved issues from the last week. Hit the jump for the full writeup!
Destiny 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alice O'Connor)

Bungie today revealed more of the new elemental powers we will get to wield in Destiny 2: Beyond Light, Stasis (it’s ice). Thanks to us getting chummy with the forces of Darkness, every class will get a new Stasis subclass in the expansion, with brand new abilities. Yup, some chill. Sure, some freeze. And oh heck yes, some shatter.

(more…)

Destiny 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alice O'Connor)

During Destiny 2‘s next content year, Bungie plan to add a transmogrification system, finally letting us apply the looks of stylish armour to the stats of practical armour. As an avowed Destiny fashionista, I am excited. But because Bungie haven’t revealed how this will work in the MMOFPS, I’ve started stockpiling fashion just in case we need to feed the system original garments. I am already out of room. My vault is full of hats. My pockets are full of trousers. My postbox is overflowing with gloves. Bungie, please, either give the slightest hint of how transmog will work or give us more vault space.

(more…)

Destiny 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alice O'Connor)

Armageddon is coming to Destiny 2. While the MMOFPS’s story is playing up potential doom with giant alien pyramids hanging over planets, a whole lot of the game will very definitely be removed when the next expansion launches in November. Bungie will launch the Destiny Content Vault, a scheme to swap old locations, raids, maps, and modes in and out so the game doesn’t get too large – either technically or physically. Last night, Bungie listed everything that will be put into the Vault and… it really is a lot, especially for free-to-players.

(more…)

Destiny 2 - Cozmo 
This week at Bungie, we are sharing more details on the DCV.  

Back in June, we introduced the concept of the Destiny Content Vault (DCV), an approach to evolving the game that will allow us to add new content, bring back some of Destiny’s greatest hits from the past, and support Destiny 2 for years to come.  

As a quick refresher, when Year 4 kicks off on November 10th, Io, Titan, Mars, Mercury, and Leviathan will all enter the Destiny Content Vault to make room for Cosmodrome’s return and Europa’s debut. 
Since announcing the DCV, we know there have been a lot of questions about what’s going away and how game systems will evolve to reflect the more dynamic nature of Destiny 2’s future.  
Most questions are answered by this rule of thumb, “When a destination goes into the DCV, so too do its PvE activities and associated rewards.” But there are some edge cases and we want to be crystal clear with players about the details of what’s staying and what’s going so there is no confusion, and everyone can prepare. 

Today we’re going to explore what Destiny 2 will look like on November 10. Then, we’re going to spend some time helping you plan your gameplay to finish up your quests, earn your Triumphs, and complete your collections before November 10.  

Core Activities
Up first are the core repeatable activities of Destiny 2: strikes, Crucible, Gambit, raids, and dungeons.  
Strikes

This one is covered entirely by the standard Vaulting rule of thumb. As a destination is Vaulted, its strikes enter the DCV.  

Available Strikes on November 10
Moving into the DCV
EDZ
  • The Arms Dealer
  • Lake of Shadows
Io
  • The Pyramidion
  • The Festering Core
Nessus
  • Inverted Spire
  • Exodus Crash
  • Insight Terminus
Titan
  • Savathûn’s Song 
Tangled Shore
  • Warden of Nothing
  • The Hallowed Lair
  • Broodhold
Mars
  • Strange Terrain
  • Will of the Thousands
Dreaming City
  • The Corrupted
Mercury
  • Tree of Probabilities
  • A Garden World
Moon
  • The Scarlet Keep
Cosmodrome*
  • Will of Crota]
Europa
  • [Redacted]
*Destiny’s Devil’s Lair and Fallen S.A.B.E.R. are coming out of the Vault in Year 4. 

Gambit and Gambit Prime 
As a reminder, Gambit and Gambit Prime will be merging into a single experience when Year 4 kicks off on November 10.  The new version of Gambit will be similar to Gambit Prime as a single round face off with tweaked Blockers, heavier mote drain, and some changes to the Primeval fight. We will give more details on these updates before the revamped mode goes live next Season.  

Unlike strikes and other PvE content, the Year 4 Gambit playlist map selection is a “best of” list (and is one of those edge cases we mentioned above). We felt it was important to keep the select Gambit maps in rotation for the best competitive play (regardless of their destination’s fictional state). 
 
Available Gambit Maps on November 10
Moving into the DCV
  • Emerald Coast (EDZ)
  • Legions Folly (Nessus) 
  • Deep Six (Titan) 
  • New Arcadia (Mars) 
  • Cathedral of Scars (Dreaming City) 
  • Kell’s Grave (Tangled Shore) 

Note: As we perform maintenance on the activity, Gambit Prime armor perks will be deprecated. We are exploring ways to rebalance and reintroduce some of these perks as armor mods in the future. Alongside these changes, we’ll be rotating some maps into the DCV, while retaining popular arenas for the mode. 

Crucible 
Like Gambit, the new Crucible map playlist will be a curated “best of” mix and will be pulled from both Destiny 1 and 2’s legacy. Here is a look at the planned rotation in Year 4 as well as the maps being Vaulted.

Available PvP Maps on November 10
Moving into the DCV
  • Destiny 
      • Bannerfall  
      • Exodus Blue  
      • Rusted Lands  
      • Twilight Gap 
  • Destiny 2 
      • Altar of Flame 
      • The Anomaly 
      • The Burnout 
      • Cauldron 
      • Convergence 
      • The Dead Cliffs 
      • Distant Shore 
      • Endless Vale 
      • The Fortress 
      • Fragment 
      • Javelin-4 
      • Midtown 
      • Pacifica 
      • Radiant Cliffs 
      • Widow’s Court 
      • Wormhaven 
  • Meltdown  
  • Solitude  
  • Retribution  
  • The Citadel  
  • Emperor’s Respite 
  • Equinox  
  • Eternity 
  • Firebase Echo 
  • Gamber’s Ruin  
  • Legion’s Gulch 
  • Vostok  
As Year 4 starts, we’re also taking the opportunity to focus the Crucible experience by reducing the number of PvP playlists and modes to those that receive the most play. This will increase the matchmaking pools for the remaining playlists and make it easier to find matches with better connections.We’ll have a full preview of Crucible changes later this Season, but here’s a preview of modes that will be active, and modes that will be transitioning into the DCV: 

Available PvP Modes on November 10
Moving into the DCV
  • Rumble 
  • Clash 
  • Control 
      • Iron Banner Control 
  • Elimination 
      • Trials of Osiris 
  • Showdown 
  • Survival 
  • Mayhem Clash 
  • Supremacy  
  • Countdown  
  • Lockdown  
  • Breakthrough  
  • Doubles  
  • Momentum Control* 
  • Scorched* 

Trials of Osiris Note 
In case it’s not clear from the note above, the Trials of Osiris experience is not impacted by other content moving into the DCV this year. The Lighthouse will continue to be available to those who are able to complete a Flawless passage.  

Raids and Dungeons  
No dungeons will be rotating into the DCV this November, as all dungeon-hosting destinations will remain active in the game during Year 4. Note that the Prophecy dungeon will become temporarily unavailable for a brief period to allow our team to make a necessary technical update. Expect details on dates and timing soon. 

Available Dungeons on November 10
Moving into the DCV
  • Shattered Throne (Dreaming City) 
  • Pit of Heresy (Moon) 
  • Prophecy* 
  • None

Like strikes, raids follow the simple Vaulting rule: as a destination enters the DCV, so too do its raids.

Available Raids on November 10
Moving into the DCV
  • [Redacted] 
  • Last Wish (Dreaming City) 
  • Garden of Salvation (Black Garden) 
  • Leviathan 
  • Eater of Worlds (Leviathan) 
  • Spire of Stars (Leviathan) 
  • Scourge of the Past (Last City) 
  • Crown of Sorrows (Leviathan) 

Anticipating players would want to grab the coveted raid rewards and Triumphs before they enter the Vault. This year’s Moments of Triumph currently features the five raids being added to the DCV with the reward lockouts removed to make grinding them extra... well, rewarding. If you’re looking to earn your Raid Ring, Moments of Triumph Seal, or just finish collecting the last few items for your collection, you have the rest of the Season to jump in with your friends and close out strong. 

We also plan to bring the Vault of Glass out of the DCV and into Destiny 2 for the first time at some point during Year 4.   

Completing Your Collection

Exotic Quests 
As content enters the DCV, there will be some Exotic quests that can obviously no longer be completed in their original forms. Those quests will be retired on November 10 and incomplete progress abandoned.  

If you want to acquire these Exotics via their original quests, do so prior to the end of the Season of Arrivals:   
  • Sturm  
  • MIDA Multi-tool  
  • Rat King  
  • Legend of Acrius  
  • Sleeper Simulant  
  • Polaris Lance  
  • Worldline Zero 
  • Ace of Spades  
  • The Last Word  
  • Le Monarque  
  • Jotunn  
  • Izanagi's Burden  
  • Thorn  
  • Lumina  
  • Truth  
  • Bad Juju  

None of these legacy Exotics are being retired from Destiny 2. Their original acquisition journeys are simply entering the DCV alongside their supporting destination and activity content.  

We still want new and existing players to be able to earn these legacy Exotics, so starting in Year 4, any Exotic tied to a quest that has been Vaulted (like those listed above) will now become available through a new Memorial kiosk situated among the Vault kiosks in the Tower. We’ll have more information later this Season on how the Exotic Archive works, and how to earn any Exotics that you don’t get your hands on before Year 4.  

Now, you may be asking “Hey, what about catalysts previously acquired through content that’s now in the DCV?” Here is a list of catalysts that are going into the DCV and will be unavailable to earn starting in Season 12.  

Available Catalysts on November 10
Moving into the DCV
  • Ace of Spades
  • Black Talon
  • Borealis
  • Cerberus+1
  • Coldheart
  • The Colony
  • Crimson
  • D.A.R.C.I.
  • Eriana's Vow
  • Fighting Lion
  • The Fourth Horseman
  • Gravitron Lance
  • Hard Light
  • Jade Rabbit
  • Lord of Wolves
  • Lumina
  • Merciless
  • MIDA Multi-Tool
  • Prometheus Lens
  • The Prospector
  • Rat King
  • Riskrunner
  • Sturm
  • Sunshot
  • SUROS Regime
  • Sweet Business
  • Symmetry
  • Tommy's Matchbook
  • Tractor Cannon
  • Trinity Ghoul
  • Vigilance Wing
  • Wardcliff Coil
  • Witherhoard 
  • Bad Juju 
  • The Huckleberry
  • Izanagi's Burden
  • Legend of Acrius
  • Polaris Lance
  • Skyburner's Oath
  • Sleeper Simulant*       
  • Telesto* 
  • Outbreak Perfected*
  • Whisper of the Worm*
  • Worldline Zero

If you have these catalysts already equipped and their objectives completed, you can continue using them at your leisure. If you already have any catalysts with an asterisk, make sure you finish completing the necessary objective to apply it as the objective will no longer be available at the end of Season of Arrivals.

All of these catalysts will come out of the Vault and be made available with new objectives(if needed) in a future Season.  

But You Still Didn’t Answer My Question! 

Q. What goes away when a destination is Vaulted?  

A. When a destination enters the DCV, its PvE content will no longer be available. Explicitly, this includes their unique:  
  • Story missions and cinematics 
  • Strikes (detailed above) 
  • Raids (detailed above) 
  • Dungeons (detailed above) 
  • Adventures 
  • Secret missions  
  • Vendors and associated bounties 
  • Destination-specific patrols 
  • Collectables & scannables 
  • Destination-specific activities (Ex: Mercury’s Forge, Mars’ Escalation Protocol) 
  • Freely roaming the destinations themselves, exploring Lost Sectors, etc. 


Q. What will new Guardians experience if the Year 1 campaigns are going away? 

A. With some of the core Year 1 destinations entering the Vault, it’s true that the free-for-all-players Red War, Curse of Osiris, and Warmind campaigns will no longer be playable.  

We are building a new, expanded Guardian origin story on the Cosmodrome that will launch alongside Year 4 and will be available to all Guardians to play. It is designed to introduce you to the world and mechanics of Destiny and prepare you to play the action MMO game we all enjoy. The Forsaken and Shadowkeep story campaigns will still be playable in Year 4 for owners of those expansions.


Q. What’s happening to The Whisper and Zero Hour secret missions and their Exotic rewards? 

A. The Whisper is entering the Vault alongside Io, and so too is Zero Hour (given the old Tower was part of the Red War campaign and which is also entering the Vault). Their Exotic weapon rewards will not be acquirable until we find a new way to reintroduce them, so if you’re keen to get them, make sure you do that now!


Q. With the Forsaken campaign, Tangled Shore, and Dreaming City sticking around after Beyond Light’s launch, does that mean other Year 2 Seasonal content will remain playable in Year 4 too?  

A. No. The Year 2 Seasonal content - including Forges, Reckoning, and Menagerie - will be entering the DCV on November 10. Be sure to experience that content and mark the final items off your collections and checklists before they are Vaulted. Here’s a cheat sheet of what to complete:  
  • Ada-1, Black Armory, and Season of the Forge quests. 
  • Gambit Prime, Reckoning, and Season of the Drifter quests. 
  • Benedict-66, Werner 99-40, Menagerie, and Season of Opulence quests. 
  • Pinnacle and pursuit weapon quests. 
      • Note: These weapons will receive an alternate acquisition method. More details to come later this Season. 

We have no doubt that you’ll have more questions on what’s coming and going this fall. We’ll be sharing more updates and Destiny Player Support will always have the latest updates available in our help archives. Here is a link to our DPS article that shares more details on the DCV.

Head over to Bungie.net to see the full TWAB.


Aug 7, 2020
Destiny 2 - AlmightyEvent
Rise to the Challenge

Fly the friendly skies of the European Aerial Zone (EAZ) and Take on the Hive, Cabal, and Fallen. Once you've dispatched your foes in this three-player matchmade activity, set out across the EAZ in search of treasure chests. The more bosses you defeat, the more rewards you'll earn.



Elements of Honor

Each day, the event will feature either Solar, Arc, or Void. Eliminate enemies throughout the game with the matching element, then return to the Tower to craft and upgrade your armor. Reach the Majestic level and your armor will begin to glow as you reveal the Light within.



Heroism Rewarded

Raise your Power Level by earning Solstice Key Fragments and unlocking Solstice Packages containing Powerful gear and new armor upgrades. Increase your collection score for the year and continue your Moments of Triumph journey by collecting two additional Triumphs.

The Sounds of Solstice

All players who finish "The Solstice Begins" quest will unlock a free Solstice of Heroes music track. Log into your Bungie Rewards account to learn more.

Light Show

Eververse is celebrating with new accessories, emotes, and a smashing new finisher. There are also new Universal Ornament sets to make any Legendary armor look like Solstice armor... and they glow. The glow changes color with your subclass, so no matter what element the situation calls for, you can be sure your fireteam never loses sight of you.

Destiny 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Imogen Beckhelling)

If there’s one thing I miss about Destiny 2, it’s the armour. I’m a firm supporter of the whole “you can’t save the world if you don’t look good” thing. What I do not miss about this game, however, is how much you have to grind to look that good in the first place. Destiny 2’s Solstice Of Heroes event kicks off on August 11th, and the new armour sets are lush, but good god do they seem like a lot of work to get.

(more…)

Destiny 2 - Cozmo 
This week at Bungie, we're getting ready for Solstice of Heroes.

Once again, it’s time for the annual tradition of honoring Guardians and your great accomplishments. Our free summer event, Solstice of Heroes, starts next week on August 11.



The European Aerial Zone is back and full of Hive, Cabal, and Fallen enemies for you to dispatch. Defeat as many of the bosses as you can in a fireteam of three and then hunt for chests that are hidden away around the floating island. The more bosses you take down, the more rewards you will earn.



Armor
This year, we have a new approach to Solstice of Heroes armor that we think is going to give you far more flexibility on how you show off your Solstice-ness.

Similar to previous years, you will start with a Rare set and upgrade it into a Majestic Legendary set. Once you have all of your Legendary gear, you can start upgrading it into a Magnificent set. The Magnificent set has a final list of objectives to complete:

  • Complete a Nightfall Ordeal on the Master difficulty.
  • Complete a Nightmare Hunt.
  • Complete Pit of Heresy.
  • Win seven Trials of Osiris matches. (Not on a single Passage)
  • Complete a Tier 5 Altar of Sorrow three times.

Completing these final objectives will unlock a white glow on your Magnificent armor. You need to upgrade your armor to Magnificent during Solstice of Heroes but can continue to complete these objectives to unlock the glows after the event ends. After you earn your Magnificent set you can continue to earn more randomly rolled pieces from opening Solstice Packages found in the EAZ.



Earning the Majestic Legendary set will unlock the option to purchase a Universal Ornament set from Eververse for either Silver or Bright Dust. This ornament will change its glow to match your Elemental subclass color. Unlike last year, you won’t need to purchase individual color glows. Each class set will be able to display three different elemental glows that will match whatever subclass you have equipped at the time.



Since the Elemental glow sets are Universal Ornaments, you will be able to apply them to any armor 2.0 pieces instead of only being able to apply them to your Solstice armor like before.

As a bonus, all of the Elemental Universal Ornaments will also support a fourth glow for players who equip the Stasis subclass when Beyond Light releases this fall.



One of our goals with the Solstice of Heroes armor was to improve the experience of earning over previous years. There won’t be any major armor updates, so once you earn your Majestic set it will be relevant up until next year’s event. The Elemental glows being made into Universal Ornaments will ensure you can use them on any of your high stat armor going forward.

Glows can’t be toggled on and off for Universal Ornaments. That is why this year’s glows are always on, as they are built into their Universal Ornaments.

The white glow on the Legendary Magnificent set are also always on once you complete the challenge for the corresponding piece. Both the white glows and the elemental glows will increase their intensity depending on how much super energy you have at the time.

Eververse
The Eververse store will also have some shiny new things available. Every new Solstice of Heroes item will be available for both Silver and Bright Dust at some time during the event with the exception of the “Iron Severance” Finisher.

Here is a quick look at some of the wares.



For more info on the event, check out our Solstice of Heroes page. Enjoy the celebration!

Lo-fi Beats
The Bungie Music team just released a remix lo-fi Destiny 2 track perfect for unwinding after an adrenaline pumping Crucible match or stressful Flawless dungeon finish. Put on some headphones and kick back with your feet up to these soothing jams.



You can check out thehttps://www.bungie.net/en/Explore/Detail/News/49425.
Destiny 2 - dmg04
This week at Bungie, we shared our Prophecy.

Challenge. Mystery. The Nine. Deserts, cubes, and… whiteboards? Earlier this week, we did a deep dive on our newest Dungeon, featuring some behind the scenes developer commentary. Did you miss it? Well, let’s fix that. Hit the jump for a recap!

These are some of our favorite streams to host. We’ve opened the minds of our designers to bridge the gap between Guardian and developer and get you into their headspace. If you’re not in a place where you can watch a stream, we also released a companion blog article. What does it take to build out a dungeon? How do these ideas come about? And most importantly, how many lines did Jon To write to stay occupied when quarantine began?

I don’t think I’ve ever put that many questions into a single intro, but it’s fun to embrace the chaos, isn’t it? Let's get on with the rest of the show. This week, we're talking Iron Banner, and have a quick patch note preview. Read the full article for more.
Destiny 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alice O'Connor)

Destiny 2 screenshot showing Lord Shaxx, veteran of the Great Beaver Hunt.

If you’ve been plagued by ‘Beaver’ errors gnawing at your connection in Destiny 2, good news: the bug behind the recent Beaver plague has been fixed. Turns out, something was wonky with Valve’s network setup, which they’ve now fixed. Beaver disconnections should now be a lot rarer, especially in the central and eastern USA. I casually say “something was wonky with Valve’s network setup” but if you want a full technical explanation, oh boy, you will enjoy one Valve engineer’s full story of the Beaver hunt.

(more…)

...