Destiny 2: Forsaken is the third expansion in the online FPS RPG pay-to-play Destiny 2 franchise. It was released by Bungie on September 4, 2018. In addition to new content and storyline, Forsaken also introduces a multiplayer mode that includes raids and PvP challenges.
The Premise
As a basic reminder, in the Destiny universe Guardians are resurrected humans who are given special abilities by their Ghost companion in order to protect humanity against the threat of destruction by the Darkness and its various emissaries. Each cost can be customized with collectible shells and provide intel, mechanical assistance and resurrection to their Guardian throughout the game. This current expansion is Western-inspired, hence the sudden desire for vengeance and the introduction of bounty-quests.
Destiny 2: Forsaken sees the player’s Guardian and Cayde-6 responding to an outbreak at the Prison of Elders, from which Scorn pirates are escaping. However, Cayde-6 and the player are separated and Prince Uldren Sov, the new leader of the Scorn, kills him. The player’s Guardian, as well as the other Guardians are angered by this, and swear vengeance for their friend. So, it is that the Guardians set out to stop Prince Sov, and to put an end to his plans.
However, Prince Sov is not acting solely according to his own will, as he has been corrupted by the Darkness and has gone mad to the point that he betrays and kills his own people in the name of finding his missing sister, Queen Mara of the Reef.
As for the Scorn, they are the newest enemies to be introduced to the Destiny universe. They have been resurrected by the Darkness many times. This process has altered them both physically and mentally, making them more aggressive and larger than previous versions of the Darkness’s Fallen followers. However, the Hive, Cabal and the Fallen are also going to be appearing during this arc.
The majority of the story takes place in the Reef, which is currently in a state of conflict, as various factions seek to wrest the position of rulership over the Awoken, now that Queen Mara is gone. In order to stop this conflict, the Guardians form a partnership with Petra Vanj with the goal of defeating the eight Scorn Barons who are currently wreaking havoc in the sector.
Gameplay
As this is an expansion, the gameplay is fairly similar to that of the previous versions, although there are a few new noteworthy changes, aside from the new game modes that will be discussed below. Firstly, there are two new locations introduced in this game. One is the Tangled Shore within the Reef, which is where most of the new main storyline will be taking place. The other is the Dream City that is unlocked at the end of the game.
The second major change lies in the way that the weapons are stored and upgraded. The players three weapon sots will know be categorized as Kinetic, Power or Energy weapon slots. These categorizations are based on the amount and type of ammunition that each weapon has. However, these new ranking systems will only apply to expansions from Forsaken onward, so all previous weapons will be allocated to slots as previously done. Furthermore, while players can still use glimmers, legendary shards and masterwork cores to upgrade their weapons up to level 10, they can also upgrade their weapon by simply combining it with another weapon of the same name. However, infusing weapons together to create new weapons might also require new crafting materials such as Alkane Dust.
Another change lies in how the economy will function. For the most part, rather than players acquiring various tokens to spend, they will need to gather certain planet-specific materials in order to make purchases or craft items. Some tokens that players already have can still be used as usual, but others such as Trials of the Nine, will temporarily be unredeemable.
Furthermore, in addition to the main quest line, there are also a number of daily bounties offered by various characters in the game Those offered by Spider cost Shards, but they reward gear, some of which is at the legendary tier. Some bounties, such as Spider’s involve travelling to different planets and capturing targets. Others provide engrams (mystery boxes that often need to be decrypted by cryptarch NPCs to unlock their contents), currency or other items. Many of these bounties reset each week and are a good way to rank up and gain loot, XP and tokens.
Once the main story arc is complete, players will gain access to the Dreaming City, which is the Awoken’s homeland and the new raid mode that takes place there.
New Modes
Players will be happy to know that Bungie has issued a few new play modes for players, which should add the replayability of Destiny 2: Forsaken:
Gambit
This is a new PvPvE game mode that pits two teams of four players against each other in a race to summon and destroy a Primeval boss. Each team spawns in their own arena and will need to kill the various creatures there to collect motes. Once they have collected motes, they will be able to summon creatures o abilities to use against their opponents to distract them from killing their Primeval. At 25-50 motes, players can opt to create warp-gates through which to invade their enemy’s arena for 20 seconds. During this time, they can PK their opponents and pick up dropped motes. This will also heal the opponents’ boss. A 75 motes, teams will be able to summon their Primeval. Each Arena victory will improve the player’s tier ranking, so they will be paired with similarly-tiered players in their next Gambit.
Raids
Once players have completed the main story arc, they will gain access to the Dreaming City where they can participate in a raid called the ‘Last Wish.’ However, they will also need to have a minimum Level of 550 in order to participate in a raid. In this scenario, the Guardians are tasked with freeing the Dreaming City from the corruption of some unknown evil force. Additionally, as the party progresses in the raid, the monsters will increase in power, which is all that much tougher on the team when the monsters start out at level 560, with the Boss at 580.
Special Seasonal Events
These are available for limited time periods only, and some may only be accessible to Annual Pass holders.
The Black Armory
This is a new MMO mode that is available exclusively to Annual Pass holders. This mode allows players access to new quests and loot rewards, with more quests being unlocked as each previous one is completed. So far, there is only one forge to run through in this mode, but Bungie plans on releasing new forges in future seasons.
Standard vs Annual vs Deluxe Editions
The difference between these versions lies in the downloadable content that comes with the different versions. Destiny 2: Forsaken requires the base game to play and comes with some new cosmetics, weapons and superpowers, as well as new missions and storyline. All modes will have access to the basic seasonal updates and content, but there will be extra content for those who subscribed to the annual pass. Each year is divided into three seasons.
Standard
Each season will feature new lore, power upgrades, cosmetics, rank rewards and seasonal events, regardless. Additionally, there may be new maps and quests.
Annual Pass
Annual subscribers will receive access to even more weapons and skins, quests, lore as well as raids, bounties, weekly quests and armory forges, and more. The new weapons that will become forgeable with the Black Armory quest line, will no doubt give the advantage to Annual Pass subscribers over the standard players in the new PvP and raid modes.
Deluxe
The Deluxe version will offer the same extended content as the Annual Pass, with the addition of a special bow that will able the character to see targets through walls and a shield. Again, this will likely prove advantageous both in terms of grinding and PvP play.
New Classes
Destiny 2: Forsaken introduced three new subclasses for each main class, namely the Hunter, Warlock and Titan Classes. Each of these sub-classes feature their own new set of abilities and powers. Each new subclass is unlocked by completing a specific quest, with a cap of one new subclass being unlockable per day.
Hunter:
- Nightstalker – Corrosive Smoke melee attack; Flawless Execution and Shattering Strike perks and the Spectral Blades super ability.
- Gunslinger – Knife Trick melee attack; Playing with Fire and The Burning Edge perks and the Blade Barrage super ability.
- Arcstrider – Tempest Strike melee attack; Lightening Weave, and Ebb and Flow perks and the Whirling Guard super ability.
Titan:
- Sentinel – Tactical Strike melee attack; Controlled Demolition and Resupply Perks and a Banner Shield super ability.
- Sunbreaker – Throwing Hammer melee attack; Tireless Warrior and Roaring Flames perks and a Burning Maul super ability.
- Striker – Ballistic Slam melee attack; Impact Conversion and Inertia Override perks and the Thundercrash super ability.
Warlock:
- Voidwalker – Atomic Breach attack; Handheld Supernova and Darkmatter Perks and Nova Warp super ability
- Stormcaller – Ball Lightening melee attack; Ionic Traces and Pulsewave perks and Chaos Reach super ability.
- Dawnblade – Guiding Flame melee attack; Divine Protection and Benevolent Dawn perks and the Well of Radiance super ability.
