Destiny 2: The Forsaken...And It's Not Us Anymore (+ Faction Rally First Impressions)
If I'm being honest with you. I was not geeked when Bungie announced it's year two DLC "Forsaken". Your favorite Youtubers were talking about what should happen, what needs to happen, and what most likely will happen. Me? I just didn't have faith. Then then came the day. June, 5th, 2018. And Bungie not only changed my mind, but they shut me up in the process.
CHANGE IS ON THE HORIZON...
Speaking of change! Bungie looks to be changing up some of the Supers as well...looks like I might be putting my Titan to rest and bringing my Hunter back from the grave. However, assuming they're changing everything up. We have yet to see what raw power the Void Titan can unleash. I digress; Forsaken is looking to be the shining light that Bungie needs to cast off all the shade and criticism of Destiny 2's first year. Destiny 2: Forsaken isn't just promising new abilities, but new narratives, environments, ways to play, and so much more. Change is on the horizon and feels oh so yummy. However, if I can go back to these new class abilities for a second. I do wonder if they will change how those classes are played of if you have the choice to switch between the two. Like will I have the choice between Golden Gun or Flaming Throwing Stars. Or will they just lock me into the new? One would hope not, however, I can't be mad at FLAMING THROWING STARS or a MVC Hadouken Super styled Warlock lightning bolt! [UPDATE: It would appear that it is fundamentally changing the each class works with each element. So yeah. Still exciting.]
TEAM vs TEAM BATTLE THE LIKES OF WHICH WE'VE NOT SEEN...
All that aside. The stand out reveal of the trailer was...NO, not the Bow & Arrow. Although, pretty freaking sweet. The big new feature was the introduction of an ACTUAL new game mode called Gambit. This is PVP meets PVE (Thanks Halo 4). The point of this game mode is simple! Kill the enemy, collect the "motes", and put em in the bank. Assumably before dying! It's the execution of accomplishing this task that's the hard part. See this is a team vs team battle the likes of which we've not seen in D2 or even Destiny before. You and your team have your arena and the opposing team has theirs. It would seem that every time you place "motes" in your bank, you send a "blocker" to the enemy arena, preventing them from scoring their "motes" until the said "blocker" is eliminated. According to online sources, players can only hold fifteen motes at a time. The prime objective is to bank enough "motes" to summon your main baddie and kill it before the enemy team summons and kills theirs. Oh, did I mention that you're allowed one person from your team to go over to the enemy team and cause a ruckus at some point in the mayhem? Because you can. And it seems amazing!
IT'S VERY OWN DESTINY 2 ANNUAL PASS...
Bungie has also introduced something I was JUST talking about in another article I did about Fortnite. And in that article I mentioned that one of the best things Fortnite is getting right is it's "Battle Pass". I talked about how this could potentially change the landscape of DLC for all games coming and it would appear I was on the nose. Destiny announced it's very own Destiny 2 Annual Pass. And though it's not 100% clear to me how it'll work, what I do know it that it's essentially a paid season that gives players new content for months to come in the form of challenges, goals, lore and more. Yep you read right. Destiny 2 is finally giving us in game, discoverable lore. This pass also includes the Black Armory update in Winter 2018, Joker's Wild in Spring 2019, and Penumbra in Summer 2019. Bungie took to twitter shortly after the stream to clarify what the cost of all this is going to be and posted the image you'll see below.
And you know what, I can't be mad at that. It still sucks their trying to milk you for Caydes "Exotic Stash" but hey. If they can deliver on content that lasts...then I'm happy to pay. Like I said, I jumped on The Taken King immediately. Collectors edition. Because it offered so much to do. This looks to add even more than that did and on a more engaging level.
MAKING IRON BANNER AND TRAILS GREAT AGAIN...
Hell, if we just take a look at their road map for the update 2.0.0 you'll be as excited as I am right now. And in case you're new to the franchise or D2 was your first experience. Allow me to elaborate. In D1 we had these things called random rolls on weapon drops. (No counting Exotics). Well, in 2.0.0 it's coming back and that's some of the best news that could come out of all this. It's one of the major things that turned me off of D2 and kept me from wanting to play. Or better, being able to find a reason to. You combine this with the changes to weapon slots and you've got yourself a smorgasbord of playstyles that I honestly never thought I'd see in Destiny. They are also making Iron Banner and Trails great again by making power matter. Because nothing has been more upsetting than having level 10s or 11s get that last hit on me and walk away victorious after their teammates did all the heavy lifting. SO kudos to the team for that.
THE HUNTERS SHALL RISE...
Now if you can indulge me for a few while I talk the bones of the expansion. . .and that's the story. You just had to know this one was focused around Cayde. Ikora had her moment. Zavala had his...and now the Hunters shall rise. That being said, The Forsaken campaign takes us back to the Reef and the Prison of the Elders. Someone needs breaking out of the Prison and Cayde is just the one to do it. With the help of you of course. This new story is being developed by High Moon Studios in conjunction with Bungie, and honestly. It looks promising. According to the stream we will get more on what's the happening come E3. All I know is that when the dust settles and all is done. We will be able to explore a new location called The Dreaming City as endgame content, which houses tough bosses and is the first area designed for endgame players.
WHAT'S REALLY GOT ME GEEKING...
What's really got me geeking is the fact that you can feel the changes. You can see Bungie wants to make a mends and Forsaken isn't even the start of it. It's with the most recent update 1.2.3. I never played Faction Rally before now. However, I can say that I've looted lost sector after lost sector. And generally just run shop on whatever enemy crosses my path while exploring.
But "Reknown" changes all that and it's the latest addition to the game. So basically after pledging to a faction you start earning this thing called "Reknown" by completing Public Events, Patrols, or defeating High Value targets. If you loot a Lost Sector with it active you get more faction tokens than normal. The more "Reknown" the more tokens. However, the thing is "Renown increases the level of challenge in gameplay". By more than just a little. Health regeneration is vastly reduced. VASTLY! That said, enemy kills have a chance to drop health orbs, which can and do come in clutch. Player damage done is decreased and that scales with stack, up to 5. While incoming damage increased. It really puts you at the edge of your seat. It turns a walk in the park into a full blown episode of Law & Order S.V.U. . .and you're the victim. This has really made me want to explore the planets more...and has made the game generally more challenging.
LET'S BE REAL...
What can I say except good job Bungie. Good job on getting the community hyped, buzzing, talking, interested, and genuinely
excited again. I don't know if those who have left will return because let's be real. You're asking people to trust that the game is worth 40 bucks. 60 to 70 with the pass. And I'm only giving it a 10 dollar mark down because you have to factor that you're paying a little extra for Cayde's Stash. However, what they've shown has peaked my interest and it gave me feeling of Elder Scrolls Online. Primarily in how beautiful the landscapes are, but also in the tone that they are trying to make Destiny a living world finally. And though it will never have the life of games like Diablo, ESO, or WoW. It's definitely creating a life of its own. And with random rolls, Gambit, and lets not forget that New Raid...combined with the Annual Pass and all that will have to offer. I mean hell, they're giving us 9 new supers. How can I be remotely disappointed in that. I can't. I can say with full confidence that Destiny is back. And it's done in a way that doesn't alienate the fanbase (minus the dumbass PS exclusives that you know we'll see) and allows for new players to come in and be amazed.