Home Features Destiny 2 -Everything we know so far

Destiny 2 -Everything we know so far

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  • Developer – Bungie
  • Publisher – Activision
  • Platforms – Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC
  • Realease Date – September 6 for console, October 24 for PC
  • Framerate – 30FPS on console, unlocked on PC

What’s the story of Destiny 2?

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It’s not a good Tuesday for the Guardians. After countless battles that saw the House of Wolves smashed, the God-King of the Hive Oryx slain in his Ascendant Realm and the resurrection of the SIVA virus halted, the Guardians are feeling a bit overconfident. A Cabal threat in the form of Dominus Ghaul and the Red Legion has decided to give the Guardians a reminder of the taste of Death, stripping them of their connection to the Light and successfully invading the Last City.

That’s where you come in. It’s up to you to begin a saga of reclamation, as you learn to walk in the Light again and take the fight back to Ghaul. You’ve forged a legend once, and now you’ll do it again as you reunite the broken Vanguard and explore new worlds in your quest to drive back the Red Legion.

Read more here:

“There is story everywhere” in Destiny 2
50 cool things we learnt about Destiny 2 from our hands-on visit
Destiny 2 will have a “followable narrative” that tells the tale of the Red War
Dominus Ghaul is the hero of his own story in Destiny 2

Is Dominus Ghaul actually Bane from The Dark Knight Rises?

Maybe.

What new worlds can I explore?

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Tired of the Cosmodrome, the Dreadnaught and Mars? Good news! Destiny 2 has four planets waiting for you and your guns. Earth has the European Dead Zone, while the rest of the solar system has you visiting Titan, Io and Nessus. The European Dead Zone will easily be the most feature-rich area to explore and will also be home to a new social hub that is known as the Farm.

Nessus is a planetoid filled with those pesky Vex from the original Destiny, Io is a Warlock homeground and a moon of Jupiter filled with all manner of ancient lore and Titan is a Saturn moon that has players bouncing around on massive Golden Age rigs in an ocean of methane. These aren’t just planets to explore, but also locations where you’ll find the Vanguard after their crushing defeat at the massive hands of Dominus Ghaul.

Read more here:

Say goodbye to the Tower and hello to The Farm in Destiny 2’s new social space
Destiny 2 – More details on the four new zones to explore
Destiny 2 – Hands on with the exhilarating opening mission

Any big changes in how Destiny 2 handles exploration?

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Oh yeah, totes. For starters, Guardians now have a proper map to call up which can be used to pinpoint locations and markers. There are still plenty of activities to rumble through, but perhaps the biggest change fundamentally is that players can embark on new missions without needing to constantly return to orbit. Likewise with missions that take place elsewhere, Guardians can simply jet there instead of having to constantly hop into a middle-man screen.

Read more here:
In Destiny 2, the Red Legion are the “special forces” of the Cabal

What’s there to actually do in Destiny 2’s PVE?

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Plenty! Including the main campaign of shooting the Red Legion in their stupid gross faces, Players have five primary categories of PVE ahead of them: Story missions, Adventures, Patrols, Strikes and Raids. A Patrol is an easy mission done in minutes, Strikes are fantastic three-man missions that run players around 20-30 of action and Raids are the mother of all missions. They’re crafty, challenging and close to impossible to beat without a full fireteam of six Guardians.

Adventures are the latest addition to exploration. Out there, are missions that function similarly to Patrols but provide more depth and lore to the world around you. They’re packed with more content and may turn a quick jaunt into a lengthy excursion that seeks to fill you in on the story of Destiny 2 far better than the original game did. Also, there’s loot at the end of them. Always a plus.

Beyond that, you can expect to see Public Events return. Dynamic instances of your environment spawning a sudden mission, these are open challenges which can now be boosted to become even more difficult as bigger risks mean bigger rewards.

Read more here:

Destiny 2 – Adventures, Lost Sectors and new Public Events detailed
Destiny 2 adventure mini-missions will tell the “rich history” of the game

Will weekly challenges return?

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Yup! While Nightfalls return and serve their purpose as collections of Strikes with more difficult modifiers attached to them, Flashpoints serve as an alternative selection of tasks for Guardians. Cayde-6 will sell treasure maps for Flashpoint events every week, which will take place on a specific world and feature a special monster protecting some of the finest loot available.

Read more here:

Destiny 2 – A guided tour of the new Inverted Spire Strike

How about some new classes to play as?

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Your wish is Bungie’s command. Destiny 2 features a complete overhaul of the Guardian subclasses, as well as the new ability to pop a temporary shield or healing rift that is mapped to the Circle/B button and is activated by holding it down. While the game still features the Titan, Hunter and Warlock classes, the way in which each character grows into their subclass is now different and caps out at nine classes in total.

In the returning subclass section that we know of so far, Titans still have access to their Striker abilities, Hunters can fan a hammer with their Gunslinger powers and the Warlock still throws down some big damage as the Voidwalker. New classes for Destiny 2 include the Hunter Arcstrider, the Titan Sentinel and the Warlock Dawnblade.

The biggest change in how these classes operate, is in the application of their Super abilities. The sum total of your chosen subclass power, Supers now have more meat on their bones and are no longer done in one ultimate attacks for most of the subclasses. Ability trees have been completely redesigned, resulting in power-ups that provide style and substance this time around.

Read more here:

Thank the Traveller! Supers will recharge quicker in Destiny 2
Destiny 2 – Tips and tricks for mastering the new Supers
Destiny 2 – Breaking down the new and improved Voidwalker subclass
Breaking down the new Warlock Dawnblade class of Destiny 2

Can I import my original Guardian into Destiny 2?

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Yes sir, yes you can. While you can import your good digital looks into the sequel and throw a few emblems into the mix so that other Guardians can see that you were there to shove a sword up Crota’s butt, your gear isn’t coming along the ride. Your entire armoury gets crunked up during the initial Red Legion invasion, leaving you to start all the way back at square one when your connection to the Light is reset as well.

Which makes sense from a narrative and technical point of view, you understand? I’m still going to miss my glorious Iron Gjallarhorn though.

WHEN DO WE GET THE FREAKIN’ GUNS?

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Soon enough! While Destiny 2 is keeping most of its treasured Exotic weapons and armour a secret, a few have managed to be revealed so far. The new sub-machine gun weapon class has Riskrunner, there’s a new hand cannon by the name of Sunshot and Sweet Business looks like the kind of autorifle that would give the Terminator an erection.

Read more here:

Don’t cross the streams with Destiny 2’s new Coldheart exotic weapon
Destiny 2 – Bungie talks grenade launchers, story evolution and world-building
The guns of Destiny 2 look amazing in real life

Have guns been fine-tuned even further?

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Buddy, they’re sweeter than ever before. The biggest change in terms of weapons, is that pretty much any gun type can serve any role. Guardians no longer have just rocket launchers and heavy machine guns in their heavy weapon slot, but can now also cycle in Fusion Rifles and sniper rifles if they fancy. Your primary and secondary weapons are also different, now serving as Kinetic and Energy weapons instead.

All legendary guns and exotics can also have shaders applied to them, as well as elemental modules to up their damage even further. It doesn’t sound big, but you factor in the renewed focus on PVP and the PC market and you start to realise just how much of a difference there is between Destiny 1 and 2 in terms of how weapons handle.

Read more here:

Destiny 2 – The new weapon system “changes up the combat loop for players”

This sounds like the PVP section of Destiny 2 is the main focus

I wouldn’t be surprised, as the tweaked weapons are perfect for Destiny 2’s Crucible and have generated some controversy with regards to this focus. That being said, Destiny 2’s PVP is now a 4v4 affair, ditching the 6v6 and 3v3 modes of the first game.

Read more here:

Destiny 2’s beta is a comfortable jump back into familiar territory

Any good online game types?

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Countdown is pretty neat, a new mode which has Guardians setting a charge in one zone while the opposing team rushes to defuse it. Roles of course can be switched around, while Control also makes a return. That’s a game mode where teams need to capture points, defending and holding onto them as the opposing side zeroes down on them.

Beyond that, expect a few unannounced modes to pop up soon, the regular Iron Banner tournament and standard deathmatches across a wide variety of maps.

Read more here:

Bungie has “invested heavily” in new server infrastructure for Destiny 2
Countdown in Destiny 2 has pulled me back into the Crucible

What kind of action can I expect from the maps?

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Lots. Destiny 2 is putting a focus on creating tighter corridors of action that force players into conflict, while also allowing them room to breathe with wider spaces. Destiny’s PVP is also a tale of two online shooters: While the Iron Banner is an open tournament that emphasises your actual Light Level instead of making everyone equal, the Trials of Osiris is considered the endgame of the Crucible.

Whether the infamous Trials will return to Destiny 2 is a question that Bungie hasn’t answered yet, but I’d imagine that they have something in mind for Guardians looking for a Friday night fight.

Read more here:

Take a look at the Endless Vale map that’ll be in the Destiny 2 beta

Help! I need someone to help! Not just anyone!

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Looking to join a team of like-minded Guardians? Destiny 2 has you covered. The new Clans feature has everything you need to get the ball rolling on forming a community, from banner design all the way through to a witty Clan name like Ge0ffSuckZ87. Your community can be accessed from within Destiny 2, while lone wolves have another option available to them.

Called Guided Games, this feature allows the anti-social to join up with teams that are a man short. This works perfectly for Raids, as that endgame feature was traditionally walled off to anyone who didn’t have enough friends present to form a proper fireteam for the difficult quests such as King’s Fall and the Vault of Glass.

Guided Games do come with a limitation however, and will only be available for Raids and Nightfalls played on normal difficulty settings. A caveat that perfectly suits the more serious Destiny 2 player who wants a team that is ready to rock and roll on the harder challenges.

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Call of Duty’s Mile High Club was a big influence on Destiny 2 and its carry culture
Expect tougher challenges for the “pinnacle” of Destiny 2

I’m in. On PC that is. What do I need to run Destiny 2 on my rig?

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Bungie reckoned that the following hardware will do just fine with Destiny 2’s recent beta:

Recommended specs:

  • CPU: Intel – Core i5-2400 / AMD – Ryzen R5 1600X
  • GPU: Nvidia – GeForce GTX 970 / AMD – Radeon R9 390
  • RAM: 8GB

Alternatively, your PC would have needed at least this much Light to run the sequel beta:

Minimum specs:

  • CPU: Intel – Core i3-3250 / AMD – FX-4350
  • GPU: Nvidia – GeForce GTX 660 2GB / AMD – Radeon HD 7850 2GB
  • RAM: 6GB

You’ll also need a Battle.net account, as Blizzard is helping out with the PC side of things. Official PC specs have yet to be properly revealed, but the numbers above should be a solid indicator of what you need to get a frame-rate that puts the locked 30 frames per second of console to shame.

Read more here:

Destiny 2 PC beta arrives late August, PC specs revealed
You may be able to purchase Destiny 2 with World of Warcraft gold

I’ve got a PC that can double as a Borg Cube, so what can I expect to see?

Why this, you person who likes showing off you!4K Resolution Support (3820×2160)

  • Uncapped framerate
  • Full mouse and keyboard support with custom key mapping
  • Text chat
  • Adjustable Field of View
  • Detailed PC settings screen
  • 21:9 monitor support

There will of course be plenty of other settings to tinker with, that includes ambient occlusion, depth of field and texture quality across a wide range of environments and characters. It’s safe to say that on PC, Destiny 2 is going to be one hell of a good-looking game.

Read more here:

Destiny 2 on PC feels tighter, quicker and still looks gorgeous
Hands-on with Destiny 2’s visually impressive PC version

How is Bungie planning to support Destiny 2 after it launches?

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One of the biggest complaints of the first Destiny, is that there just wasn’t enough of it to play between major expansion releases. Extra content barely trickled out, leaving many a fan anxious for something to do. Bungie plans to support Destiny 2 more regularly between the planned expansion content, which so far includes DLC which hints at new adventures involving the mad monk Osiris and the mysterious AI warmind Rasputin.

It’s the weeks between those expansions, which Destiny 2 will hopefully drop more content on.

Read more here:

Destiny 2 post-launch content will be more regular thanks to Activision’s support studios
No more updates planned for Destiny 1 as Bungie focuses solely on Destiny 2

Where’s Xur?

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UP YER NOSE WITH A RUBBER HOSE!

Last Updated: August 8, 2017

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