Destiny 3 rumours point towards a Second Collapse storyline, hardcore gameplay and the return of The Darkness

Without Activision pulling their strings, Destiny 2 is in a good place right now. The recent Joker’s Wild content has been an injection of freshness into Bungie’s cosmic sandbox, overhauling Gambit and adding some interesting wrinkles to the lore of Destiny and its suddenly dicey morality. That’s not just a fascinating setup for the future of the series, but also a damn good foundation for where Destiny can go next after the Penumbra DLC launches.

Destiny 3 is clearly a given at this stage, but where does the series go from here? By the end of Destiny 2, Curse of Osiris, Warmind and Forsaken, a new status quo had been setup. What began with the Red Legion attacking the Last City and almost succeeding in stealing the power of the almighty golf ball in the sky, eventually ended with their forces scattered, Rasputin’s awakening and a hunt to end the scourge of the Seven Barons who killed Cayde-6.

Currently, Guardians may be questioning if they’re even the good guys. Is the Vanguard of Earth really the beacon of do-goodery that it’s cracked up to be? Why was Uldren Sov resurrected and transformed into a Guardian? Just what secrets does the Drifter hide as he continues to draw rogue Guardians to his side.

While I’m hoping that Destiny 3 will answer some of those questions, current rumours point towards the threequel also preparing to wipe the board clean once again. Take these with a pinch of Power Level 650 salt, but here’s a rundown of recent rumours that were posted on reddit lately, and promptly removed. Credit to Evade for grabbing a few screenshots before it was too late:

• The Darkness will return
• Not the band fronted by Justin Hawkins, but in the form of a new race that is known as “The Veil”
• The Veil’s primary goal? To use the Light of the Traveller to resurrect a being known as the Formless One
• Destiny 3’s storyline will focus on the second great collapse of humanity as The Veil attack Earth
• The Fallen and the Cabal will join forces with players, while the Veil will fill the enemy role in their absence
• The Veil have more enemy types than every other race combined
• In addition to The Veil, the Aphelion will also be an enemy race

• The Vex, Hive and the Taken will also return as enemy races
• With Oryx dead and Savathun still plotting, the Hive’s war goddess Xivu Rath will have a large part to play in the story
• With the solar system under siege, The Nine task you with fighting back against The Veil
• The Traveller has been critically wounded in the opening battle of Destiny 3
• Emperor Calus of the Cabal will return, and lead his own faction as an ally of your war against the Veil
• The Veil are led by several ancient beings, known as the Entombed
• Factions now reward players with unique abilities and perks

• The Veil’s Hand faction for example, gives you the power to tap into the Darkness
• A major new part of the gameplay will be the split between light and dark, with Guardians being forced to choose a side
• Europa, Old Chicago and Venus form the main sandboxes that players will explore
• Much like the Dreaming City, Destiny 3 will have an endgame area in the form of the Hollow Spire
• Each new world will be bigger than the ones found in Destiny 2
• New world activities include Dungeons and Holds

• Holds are the locations that Factions will fight over, with each Hold reflecting the Faction in control of that zone
• Bungie calls this Faction Wars
• Veil enemies have the ability to throw a spanner at your abilities and they can affect your environment
• Your Light abilities can be directly influenced by the Veil, as they suppress your skills in battle
• The Aphelion are described as Glass cannons, fragile but monstrously powerful enemies who can even stop you from resurrecting
• There’ll be two raids on launch: One has you taking on the Formless One in the Hollowed Spire in a “grand finale” to the Second Collapse saga
• Trials of the Nine will return
• Destiny 3 is described as a hardcore return to basics for veterans

That’s…a lot to unpack. It’s no secret that Destiny 2 is kind of despised by the hardcore fandom of the community, with the OG Destiny currently still a thriving hub of activity as Guardians run old raids and pine for the good ol’ days. While it’s a rumour of the highest order, there’s a lot that I like about the ideas of what Destiny 3 could be. A more story-focused adventure with grand themes, less vague wishy-washy narratives and more gameplay that buckles down on rewarding driven players instead of attempting to appeal to a more casual market?

I’d be down for that.

Last Updated: April 1, 2019