Destiny was an odd game on launch. Its story was half-baked, its goals were obscure and it attempted to sell itself as game without genres. What Destiny did have going for it in the long run though, was the finest gunplay this side of the belt of Orion, a vibrant social scene and some of the most beautifully expansive environments ever built.
The Cosmodrome of Russia, the caverns of Venus and the red sands of Mars were just a few examples of worlds that had gone untouched for centuries by humanity after the great collapse of their Golden Age. Destiny 2 wants to continue that tradition, leveraging its handful of new locations to explore with an unbelievable amount of detail, secrets and arenas to fight in.
You may have noticed that I was missing in action last week. That’s because I was in Bellevue, a mere stone’s throw away from Destiny 2 developer Bungie as Activision flew me up to spend a few days in the European Dead Zone where the sequel kicks off. It was glorious. Now I could wax lyrical about the zone. I could write a thousand words easily on that bastard Fallen Ultra who wiped my entire Fireteam out in the EDZ with a single slash or how new character Devrim Kay injects some class into the lawless frontier that you explore.
Instead, here’s a collection of facts to kick-start this new coverage off with. Grab some tea and have a read:
The map
- Want to reach the other side of a map but don’t feel like spending five minutes on a Sparrow to do so? Good news! You can now fast-travel to several sections in the EDZ at the click of a button.
- The more detailed map can be brought up by holding down the PS4 touchpad/Xbox one Select key for a few seconds longer.
- The EDZ is made up of several large zones that are complemented by smaller areas to explore.
- Trostland is where you’ll start whenever you land in the EDZ and is also connected to Maevic Square, the Salt Mines, Reservoir and the Outskirts.
- From the Outskirts, players can enter the Winding Cove, a collection of shallow rivers, bridges and trees across many an uphill section.
- The Gulch features winding roads and broken bridges, where Fallen hide underneath like the smelly trolls that they are.
- Firebase Hades is home to the main Red Legion deployment in the EDZ, a barren section of deforestation and devastation that can be further explored inside the Legion’s Anchor.
- The Sludge is shanty towns and rotting buildings, ruins that lead back to Trostland.
Devrim Kay
- You’re going to need a contact in the European Dead Zone, and Devrim Kay is that vendor, wealth of information and marksman at your service.
- Devrim Kay can be found in the abandoned church in Trostland, taking shots at nearby Fallen.
- Kay’s bio describes him as “Ever the gentleman Sniper, Devrim Kay holds fast in the wilds of the EDZ”.
- Devrim Kay really really likes tea, discussing Fallen dialects and is more at home in the EDZ than he is in the Last City.
Enemies
- The EDZ is home to the Fallen and the Red Legion.
- The Fallen have been particularly busy on this map, scavenging lost Golden Age technology.
- The Red Legion have a commanding presence from Firebase Hades, with the full brunt of their forces having set up shop in an attempt to hunt you down.
- The Fallen have a new melee unit active, a scrapper with low health who’ll rush players and duck their fire until they get up close.
- You’ll still encounter Vandals, Dregs and Fallen Captains who attack in much the same manner that they did in Destiny 1.
- Red Legion troopers are heavier bullet-sponges, who can jetpack into battle after you. Similar to the vanilla Cabal units.
- Red Legion Captains still have a shield and more health, while Psions present a more agile threat from a distance.
- The Taken are back, as the shadow of Oryx has yet to be fully extinguished.
- The more powerful enemies in Destiny 2 now have unique names such as Prusk The Unequalled Maul
Adventures
- New to Destiny 2 are Adventures, missions which are more open-ended in their structure.
- Essentially missions on a smaller yet still challenging scale, Adventures are quests that can be completed solo, in a fireteam or with the assistance of any other nearby Guardian on the map.
- Adventures usually last around 15-20 minutes in length, are fully voice-acted and an be activated at any time.
- Adventures also come with a recommended light level before you activate them.
- One example of an Adventure was Dark Alliance, in which Red Legion captains had meddled with forbidden technology and it was up to you to stop them.
- Adventures like this stretch across the entire EDZ, and can end in more exclusive regions where your allies cannot follow you.
- Yes, there are rewards of varying quality
EDZ Tokens
- Instead of painfully and slowly earning a reputation, Guardians can now earn tokens in the EDZ that can be used to purchase their standing with Devrim Kay.
- These EDZ Tokens can be dropped from high-level enemies, loot chests and as rewards for completing Adventures.
- EDZ Tokens are used to purchase progression, with each new level unlocked earning players new gear and weapons.
- Devrim Kay’s rewards will be highlighted in his menu so that players can see what they’re working towards.
Challenges
- Another way to keep players coming back for more, are daily challenges in Destiny 2.
- These can be accessed any time from your Ghost menu.
- Challenges include exploring Lost Sectors, defeating a set amount of enemies and raiding loot chests as an example.
Lost Sectors
- During your exploration or Adventures, players will sometimes see Red Legion and Fallen markings painted on walls and rocks that indicate that a Lost Sector is near
- While Lost Sector marking are marked on your map, the actual entry into these zones are hidden
- You’ll need to explore the surrounding area for a secret passage, which can be anything from a cave entry to an open shop door
- Inside you’ll find plenty of target practice, as well as more dangerous Ultra-level foes who are guarding some treasure
- It’s worth the effort to take these enemies down, as their loot usually happens to be rather sweet
- Lost Sectors are also notable for the fact that they can be explored even when you’re busy with an adventure or a mission.
- Nearby Guardians can also join you, so the more the merrier.
Public Events
- While Public Events haven’t changed much in their structure, their execution has been revamped.
- No longer do you need to stumble into a Public Event, but you can see when and where one will happen when you open your map.
- Public events can also be broadcast to nearby Guardians when you rally around a flag, as you attract a fireteam to assist you.
- Some of the classic Public Events have been tweaked.
- Fallen Glimmer mining now requires players to eliminate certain enemies linked to the mining.
- Taken down a Fallen Walker now also allows players to pick up dropped shock cores from the tank when it is weakened, and use them to unlock access to Scorch Cannons
- One of the Red Legion Public Events requires overriding a mining lander while fending off Cabal troops as you stay within a circle.
- All of that, while the Cabal peppers the ground with orbital insta-kill assaults.
I’ll have a lot more content in detail going up later. Stick around like a Warlock Voidwalker grenade with the right mods for that. If you’ve got any questions about the EDZ that you’d like answered, drop a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer them for you.
Last Updated: August 24, 2017
