Destiny 2 is perhaps one fo the most anticipated games of the year thanks to the dedicated fanbase that stuck with the original game for nearly three years. While the sequel to this FPS/RPG hybrid was announced late March, today marks the first time users get a chance to see what the game looks like in action. This gameplay stream marks an important step in how Destiny 2 will perform moving forward and from what we’ve seen it looks very promising.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Destiny 2 gameplay reveal:
1. Cabal Warlord Gaul Believes He Deserves The Traveler’s Gifts
The main antagonist for Destiny 2 is a Cabal warlord who was raised to believe that he deserves The Traveler’s gifts. He has grown bitter that those on Earth were the ones to be blessed with this mystical beings gifts and seeks to take them from Guardians. He leads a powerful army known as the Red Legion, which spearheads the attack on The Tower. Despite the Vanguard’s resistance, the Cabal army claims victory and imprisons The Traveler.
This strips the Guardians of all their power and reduces them to a weakened state. Bungie is using the imprisonment of The Traveler to explain why players progression isn’t transferring over from the original Destiny. Gaul is described as a “…different villain…” who believes that “…this is something owed to him…” It’s clear that Bungie is focusing more on developing their antagonist beyond just being a giant, evil monster.
2. Weapons and Supers Have Been Altered
During the Destiny 2 gameplay reveal, players got a glimpse at new guns, super changes, and a reconfigured weapon system. Two of the stand out firearms were the grenade launcher and chaingun which absolutely tore through their opposition. Other weapons that showed up were hand cannons, auto rifles, pulse rifles, and a nasty looking fully automatic rocket launcher.
Bungie has also redesigned the three weapon slots that players are accustom to in the original Destiny. Instead of a Primary, Secondary, and Heavy weapon, these three slots are now described as Kinetic, Energy, and Power weapons. The latter are powerful weapons like shotguns, fusion rifles, sniper rifles and grenade launchers, while the other two allow for far more freedom.
Players are now able to carry the same type of weapons in both slots, meaning a Guardian is capable of having two hand cannons or pulse rifles equipped at once. Details were still limited on which weapons would fall into this category, but it’s clear that players will have more freedom in how they design their character.
Characters will also have new Supers that are built around a specific weapon and element. These three supers are called Dawnblade, Sentinel, and Arcstrider which are solar, void, and arc based respectively. Here’s a quick rundown on all three Supers:
- Dawnblade (Warlock): A solar sword that when activated allows users to throw streaks of fire from above.
- Sentinel (Titan): A void based shield that lets users block incoming fire and deal damage via a strike or being thrown from a distance.
- Arcstrider (Hunter): This is an electric infused staff that allows players to quickly move between targets as they bash enemies to death.
There has been no word if these new Supers outright replaced the old ones or if they are simply secondary options for players. It’s certainly intriguing to see Destiny alter some of the beloved abilities that players have grown to know and we are curious to learn what other changes to the 4 remaining subclasses will be.
3. New Worlds Now Include Side Missions, Hidden Dungeons, and More Loot
There are also going to be four new worlds for players to explore in Destiny 2, with each one having their own side missions, dungeons, and areas to explore. Some areas, dubbed Lost Sectors, feature rare loot for those willing to explore and kill the boss waiting at the end. Each area appears to be much bigger and players can finally warp to different locations without ever going to orbit. The four explorable planets revealed are as followed:
- EDZ (European Dead Zone): This area is located on Earth and is described as the biggest location that Bungie has ever built. It’s a wooded area that has a large refugee camp for those trying to rebuild after the large-scale attack by the Cabal.
- Titan: Located on a moon of Saturn, Titan is a massive ocean planet that was once a location for a human utopia. Now being consumed by the ocean, Commander Zavala has retired to this location after the fall of The Tower to gather his thoughts. There are no natural landmasses on Titan and the only places players can explore seem to be built solely by humans.
- Nessus: There was no location revealed for Nessus, but it was a lush planet that is now completely consumed by the Vex. This is a machine world whose beauty is being stripped by the occupying army of mechanical monstrosities.
- IO: This sulfuric moon of Jupiter was the last place to receive The Traveler’s blessing during the golden age. For Warlocks, this is a sacred location that is full of mystery, lore, and information waiting to be uncovered.
4. New PvP Mode “Countdown”, Clans, and Other Changes Announced
Destiny 2’s PvP (Player vs Player) has also undergone some rather noticeable changes, as it’s size is being scaled from 6v6 to 4v4. There was also a new mode called “Countdown” revealed, which is this series first attack/defend style game type. However, the biggest alteration coming to Destiny 2 is the integration of clans and an LFG (looking for game) system.
Clans in the first game were more of an afterthought than fully fleshed out feature, as they simply functioned to add a name at the bottom corner of your character card. Bungie has decided to change this and implement a more robust clan system. Players can now not only view their clan’s roster, but partake in challenges for rewards.
There will also be a new system implemented called “Guided Games” to help solo players find teams to play with. This feature works for both PvE (Player vs Environment) and PvP activities, allowing solo users to look up the details on a clan and decide to join them or not.
5. PC Version of Destiny 2 Will be Available Exclusively on Battle.net
One of the biggest announcements made by Bungie is that their PC version of Destiny 2 will run exclusively on developer Blizzards Battle.net service. This is the same online platform that Blizzard uses to maintain. all of their games on including Overwatch, Diablo III, and Hearthstone. We also know thanks to our interview with Destiny 2’s PC Lead David Shaw that the console version of Destiny 2 will be locked at 30 FPS (frames-per-second) and computer version will have an unlocked framerate.
We also know, thanks to Destiny 2 Director Luke Smith’s interview with PC Gamer, that the PC version does not have a set release date. Unlike the console version which is aiming for a September release, there is no word when computer users will get their hands on this title. Here is Luke Smith’s comment on Destiny 2’s PC version:
“We’re not committed to a PC date yet, but at Bungie we’re totally committed to making a PC build as great as we can. Our partnership with Blizzard and being on Battle.net, we want to make sure that this version of the game has the time it needs to bake in the oven so it’s a delicious piece of bread when it comes out.”
Destiny 2 is set to release on PS4 and Xbox One September 8, 2017. No word yet for PC.