With Destiny 2’s Season of the Outlaw over, it’s time to look towards the future. After Forsaken helped rejuvenate both Destiny 2’s story and gameplay, developer Bungie is looking to keep the momentum going with Black Armory. Teased before Forsaken’s release via ViDoc, Bungie has remained mostly quiet at what we can expect from this content.
However, with the new Season of the Forge and Black Armory content set to release on December 4, we sat down with community manager David “DeeJ” Dague to talk about the future of Destiny 2. There’s clearly a big push towards a new seasonal model, with both Season of the Outlaw and an unnamed season set to release next year.
All of this content is tied to the Annual Pass, which DeeJ explained as an “additional level of challenge and reward for our most hardcore players.” Unlike previous expansions, the Black Armory will not feature a traditional campaign. “When you access the Black Forge you’re not beginning a campaign. You are beginning a series of quests that will present themselves as a new resource for greater power and new rewards and guns with a new classification of mods that you can break down and apply to other weapons in your arsenal.”
Unlike previous expansions, all of the content coming to Black Armory will not be available upon release. DeeJ elaborated to us that this “is to have the Destiny 2 player experience something that unfolds and changes week over week or season over season. This is not a campaign that comes and goes over the course of a few days and might not ever be experienced by the player ever again. This is us infusing the hobby and the end game with new things to do.”
DeeJ did explain that while the Black Armory lacks a traditional campaign “it does tell a story and that’s a very important addition.” In favor of the cinematic approach we saw in Forsaken, Black Amory seeks to unfold its story in the same manner as The Dreaming City. “We are equipping Guardians with the potential to learn more about the world that they are exploring and defending.” Lore seems to focus largely on three lost cultures – Japanese, Norse, and French – who not only founded the Black Armory but crafted “three different strains of weapons.”
Of course, the big draw will be the post-game activities that Black Armory offers players. One of the first pieces of content mentioned in our interview was an Exotic quest. While DeeJ wouldn’t divulge what the quest entailed, he did tease that this gun is a “beloved weapon that they’ve [Destiny 2 Community] been missing for some time.” Currently, we do not know what the gun is, but our best guess is The Last Word. Of all the original Destiny’s firearms, this is certainly one of the most popular.
There will also be a new raid called Scourge of the Past that takes place in the ruins of the Last City. DeeJ was unsurprisingly quiet about any details, however, he did state that it will be “larger than a Raid Lair,” but not on the scale of The Last Wish. Both the mechanics and the setting of the raid were described as “new and interesting.” In the press photos sent to us, the teaser image for the Scourge of the Past showcased a large urban landscape, which would certainly be a first for the franchise.
Along with this, Black Armory will feature a new mode called The Lost Forges. This is a 3-player activity that has users facing off against waves of enemies. Unlike other PvE activities such as Escalation Protocol or the Blind Well, this will feature matchmaking. Details on the encounters were scarce during the interview, but DeeJ did point out that they will “work differently” than other PvE modes. We can also expect rewards specifically tied to these Forges, but what those are remain a mystery.
“All four of them take place in a unique setting that will expand the boundaries of destinations that you’ve come to know and explore.” Unlike the Blind Well, all four Lost Forges will not be available right away. While they are infinitely replayable the different forges “will be revealed in their own way in the Black Armory. Ada-1 is the story agent who will give you these quests and send you to them.”
Sadly, Black Armory and the Season of the Forge will not introduce any additional Strikes, Gambit, or Crucible maps. DeeJ did remark “Ask me the Gambit question again when we get closer to Season of the Drifter and I will talk to you about what the Drifter may have in store for the role he plays in the Guardian’s lifestyle.” It was also confirmed that there was a Light level increase, but DeeJ explained that the ViDoc will reveal that. However, based on the press photos sent to us we can infer that the new Light level is at least a minimum of 650.
The Season of the Forge starts today.
See what new challenges, rewards, and special events await all Guardians over the coming months.
Finally, we inquired about any additional Exotics or pieces of Legendary gear included with Black Armory. While DeeJ didn’t divulge any details – except his love for the Thunderlord – we got a glimpse of three Exotics in the official press photos sent to us. One of the Exotics is called Anarchy and it’s an Arc grenade launcher that holds six rounds. The special perk is dubbed “Arc Traps” which causes grenades to stick to surfaces and “chain Arc bolts to other mines.”
For bow lovers, a new Exotic called Le Monarque is on the way. This void weapon has a pretty nasty perk called “Pestilence Arrows” that focuses on damage over time effects. “On a perfect draw, a hit target receives damage over time. On a perfect draw with a precision hit, all enemies in the Void cloud receive damage over time. ” There is also a new sniper rifle called Izanagi’s Burden. The special perk is called “Honed Edge,” which allows the user to consume the magazine and load a round that has increased range and damage.
With Black Armory right around the corner, it’s clear that Bungie is aiming to deliver a different type of experience for players. The Annual Pass is something that is really getting pushed and it will be interesting to see how this seasonal content model plays out. Given the lukewarm receptions to Warmind and Curse of Osiris, Bungie’s new model may be just what Destiny 2 needs.
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Uncovering Destiny 2’s Black Armory, Post-Game Content, and Loot