Fans who can’t wait to get their hands on Destiny 2, had a chance to wet their appetites during Bungie’s Destiny 2 event.
The event opened with a new story trailer for the game which featured Commander Zavala, one of the more prominent NPCs from the original Destiny. In the mythos of Destiny, the Traveller is an omnipotent construct which has bestowed the players, known as Guardians. In Destiny 2, a Cabal Leader, part of the Red Legion, known as Gall has attacked the Tower, the main hub city from the first game. Commander Zavala accompanied by several other key NPCs soon become overwhelmed by this unprovoked attack on the city, in the end the Tower is lost, and this sets up the beginning of Destiny 2.
Players will discover that the Traveller has been encroached by the new Cabal threat which has zapped the players of their powers, this plays into the game as players will now have to seek out new powers, which include brand new super moves, it is unclear if these new moves will replace the existing nine super moves present in the original Destiny for the three available classes. The new super moves include:
- The Dawnblade for the Warlock class, a projectile based super move where the player momentarily becomes airborne while shooting large fire spears that hail down on enemies.
- The Sentinel, for the Titan class, gives the player a shield that acts as a large melee weapon that can be flung around and ricocheted from enemy to enemy, akin to the likes of Marvel’s Captain America.
- The Arcstrider, for the Hunter class, gives players access to a large electrically charged staff which can then be used to take out large groups of enemies in fast succession, similar to the archblade special from the original Destiny.
Bungie has taken strides to make the game more accessible for all players, one of the ways Destiny 2 will accomplish this is by making the game’s competitive mode, known as the Crucible, four on four for all available modes present within the Crucible. The HUD for players will also now feature more information such as knowing when your opponents have their supers ready or if they have power ammo at their disposable, giving players smarter and more strategic ways to approach encounters on the battlefield. One of the new competitive introduced into the Crucible will be known as Countdown, Destiny’s first take on an attack and defence mode for the game.
As far as cooperative gameplay modes are concerned, Bungie promised that raids will also be coming back, but as of right now, details pertaining to it are being kept quite. Exploring the game world has also been improved according to Bungie. In the first game, players were able to explore various planets and take on small side missions known as Patrols, which ultimately boiled down to collecting resources, eliminating hordes of enemies or a single, more powerful target. In Destiny 2, Patrols will remain, but in addition, players will also have things such as treasure maps, lost sectors and revamped public events to look forward to. Lost Sectors will be new missions given to the player from NPCs within the game world that let the player explore uncharted dungeons that have bosses waiting for them to defeat, which unlock keys players can use to further explore the Lost Sectors. All of the cooperate and single player modes can now be accessed without the player returning to orbit, the main menu in which players usually pick an activity to partake in from the first game.
Destiny 2 introduces 4 new planets for gamers to explore, Titan, Nessus, IO and the European Dead Zone on Earth, it is unclear if the previous planets from the first game will be accessible on top of the new ones. Players will be tasked with finding and reuniting the scattered remnants of the Vanguard who have fled to the new planets after the attack on the Tower. Within the European Dead Zone, Guardians will discover a camp-like settlement made by the denizens who have fled the Tower, this new area may likely act as the new hub world for players to congregate in, similar to how the Tower worked in-game from the previous Destiny.
- Titan will place players in a large methane ocean, with the only land being dilapidated human constructs from the Golden-Age. Players will be tasked to locate Commander Zavala, the Titan Vanguard from the opening of cinematic.
- Nessus, a planet converted by the Vex, a deadly machine race from the previous game will task Guardians to explore this machine hellscape in the hopes of reuniting with Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard.
Finally, players will be able to touch down on IO, the planet that within the lore of Destiny, was the last place that contact with the Traveller was made, transforming it to a mysterious labyrinth of light. This sacred planet will be where players will be able to find Ikora Rey, the Warlock Vanguard.
One of the biggest hurdles faced by the original Destiny has been the lack of matchmaking for the games end-game content, particularly the raids. Bungie announced that in Destiny 2, players will not only be able to create in-game clans, but also partake in a new feature known as Guided Games. Guided Games will allow players within a clan to pair up with solo players that might be interested in experiencing a raid, or some of the other end-game activities such as the weekly Nightfall, but do not have anyone else to play with.
This new mode will not only allow new players or players who tend to play alone to partake in raids and other game modes that require larger groups of players, but also eliminate the need for third-party applications in order to find enough players for these challenging modes. Additionally, the new clan system has been implemented in a way that all players within an established clan will benefit and earn rewards, regardless of how much they play, as long as some of the members of a clan actively play the game. Other plays who may not be as dedicated will also receive bonuses just by being part of the clan.
Finally, Bungie has announced that Destiny 2 on PC will be available to gamers through Battle.net, Blizzard’s online storefront.
Destiny 2 will be available September 8, 2017 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The beta of the game will take place sometime later this Summer to those who pre-order the game at participating retailers.
