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After an extremely successful first year, Destiny developer Bungie is bringing the third – and biggest – expansion, The Taken King , to players of the sci-fi shooter on September 15th.
, to players of the sci-fi shooter on September 15th. The Taken King promises to up the ante for players with an abundance of new content that should keep Guardians busy for some time.
’s The Taken King brings with it new missions, Strikes, Guardian subclasses, fresh weapons and armor, and a new raid, among a handful of other small updates. With so much new content, we’ve compiled everything into one place so it’s easy for Destiny players to see what to expect with the new expansion.
Dreadnaught
With The Taken King, Bungie is introducing Guardians to a new foe: Oryx. Oryx, also known as The Taken King, is father to Crota, the raid boss from Destiny ’s The Dark Below expansion. With Crota dead, Oryx is out for vengeance against the Guardians, and he arrives in his galactic fortress, Dreadnaught.
With such a heavy focus around Oryx, it looks like players can expect to spend a good amount of time on the Dreadnaught. In fact, Guardians will venture to the Dreadnaught for story missions, a Strike, the raid against Oryx, and the Court of Oryx event.
Court of Oryx
Along with new missions, Strikes, and a raid against Oryx, Bungie is including a new public event in The Taken King. The event, dubbed Court of Oryx, pits up to 9 Guardians against unique bosses in an effort to unlock epic loot in Destiny .
Unlike previous public events, the bosses in Court of Oryx can’t be killed from simply shooting or bombing them. Rather, players will need to figure out the boss’s weaknesses and exploit them to win. For instance, one enemy cannot be harmed by Guardian bullets, but receives damage only from exploding Cursed Thralls. As an added challenge, each boss battle is timed, giving players only a few minutes to dispatch their enemy, or risk losing their shot at rewards. There are three tiers to the Court of Oryx, and players will need to complete multiple lower levels to proceed to a higher tier.
New Story Missions
As with previous Destiny expansions, The Taken King will include a handful of new story missions. These new missions will undoubtedly shed additional light on the origin and intentions of Oryx, who takes the stage as the DLC’s ultimate boss.
There are at least eight new story missions that look to transition players from the woes of House of Wolves, to the epic battles in The Taken King. In addition to these missions, The Taken King also has a few new patrol missions, including one that lets Guardians race against the clock.
New Strikes
The Taken King will feature four new strikes, three for all platforms and one that will be a one-year timed exclusive for PlayStation owners. The “Shield Brothers” Strike takes players deep into the Dreadnaught, where they must defeat two Cabal bosses in an epic showdown. In “Fallen S.A.B.E.R.”, players face off against a giant super-powered Shank. “The Sunless Cell” pits Guardians against Oryx’s Darkblades, Alak-Hul, who’s hungry for blood.
PlayStation 3 and 4 players will have exclusive access to the fourth Strike, known as “Echo Chamber”, a Venus Strike, where players will need to work together to stop the Vex from constructing a time bridge that will call the Nexus Mind from the past. Along with the inclusion of new strikes, Bungie is adjusting the way the Weekly and Nightfall Strikes work in Destiny .
King’s Fall Raid
Many Destiny players were disappointed when Bungie didn’t include a new raid in Destiny ’s second expansion, House of Wolves. Fortunately, the developer created a massive raid to accompany The Taken King, where Guardians will face off against the God-King, Oryx.
Players can expect the King’s Fall raid to be the biggest one yet, and will be able to play it beginning September 18th. When King’s Fall is available, Guardians will travel to Oryx’s Dreadnaught ship and shoot their way through Oryx’s many minions in an effort to take on the big boss himself. Players will no doubt be especially interested to discover the unique “twist” in the King’s Fall raid that Bungie said would add some excitement to the event.
New Subclasses
One of the unique aspects to Destiny ’s characters, is the ability to choose between several subclass special attacks during battle. These subclass abilities differ by class, with each focusing on a particular kind of damage and execution.
As Bungie kicks off Destiny Year 2 with The Taken King, the developer is introducing three new subclasses, one for each class: Titan, Hunter, and Warlock. Info on each new subclass is below:
New Gear
Many Destiny players were disappointed to learn that most of Destiny ’s Year 1 gear won’t be upgradablewith The Taken King, save for a handful of exotics. Fortunately, Bungie is bringing a plethora of new weapons and armor to Destiny via the newest expansion.
Players will collect plenty of fresh weapons and armor perks that will help them battle Oryx and his minions. One of the most exciting additions to the game is the Exotic Raze-Lighter, a sword that is sure to rip apart enemies with ease and precision.
Those who venture into the Dreadnaught to fight Oryx will also have an opportunity to pick up some new elite raid armor that’s sure to become a marker of status in the Destiny social areas. And PlayStation owners will have access to some new unique gear, and an impressive new scout rifle called Jade Rabbit.
New Crucible Modes
One of Destiny ’s most popular experiences is the PvP Crucible, where two teams of Guardians battle against each other for bragging rights and impressive loot. Naturally, Destiny players are excited for the two new Crucible modes coming to Destiny with The Taken King: Rift and Mayhem.
In Rift, two teams of six Guardians compete for control of a spark in the center of the map. When a player grabs the spark, they need to quickly “dunk” it in the enemy’s rift, located in their base, to score.
The other game mode is Mayhem, a 6v6 clash match on steroids where payer grenades, melee attacks, and supers all recharge more rapidly than normal. As the name makes clear, this increase in firepower leads to absolute mayhem. Players had an opportunity to test both Rift and Mayhem this past weekend in preparation for the launch of The Taken King.
New Crucible Maps
The Taken King’s two new Crucible modes wouldn’t be complete without some new maps for Guardians to battle on, which is why Bungie is introducing eight new Crucible maps with The Taken King.
The new maps, known as Bannerfall, Crossroads, Ghost Ship, Frontier, Exile, Memento, Sector 618 (PlayStation exclusive), and Vertigo each offer a unique location for Destiny players to conduct their PvP battles. Like the new Crucible modes, Guardians had a chance to preview the new maps ahead of The Taken King launch.
Which aspects of The Taken King are you most looking forward to? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Destiny – The Taken King is now available for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The King’s Fall Raid will launch on September 18, 2015.