In the world of Destiny, things are beginning to look bleaker and bleaker every day. But, Destiny’s future has never been brighter.
Announced today, June 9th, on Bungie’s Reveal Stream, Destiny 2 is going to be with us for a long time to come. Destiny’s newest Fall Expansion will be Destiny 2: Beyond Light, but that’s not all. Also announced are the following 2 years of content in Destiny 2: The Witch Queen in 2021 and Destiny 2: Lightfall, the working title for the 2022 Fall Expansion. This is a very big deal for the Destiny franchise and community, not the least of which is the confirmation that Bungie has no plans to produce a Destiny 3, but also that Bungie is calling this the Era of Darkness for Destiny. Destiny 1 was, in its entirety, the Era of Light (at the time referred to as the Age of Triumph), the first 3 years of Destiny 2 have been what is known as the Era of Loss, and as we approach this new era, we are met with the Season of Arrivals which is in direct correlation to the Darkness knocking on our doors.
As we speak, the mysterious Pyramid Ships have begun to appear across our system, and not only on the Moon. Titan, Io, Mercury, and Mars are all so-say-thee blessed by the arrival of these ships known to belong to the ominous Darkness we’ve been hearing so much about since the beginning of Destiny back in 2014. There have been countless rumors and speculation aplenty, but for now, let’s focus on what we know to be coming this Fall, and take a look at what lies on the Horizon.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light promises to bring some long-requested features, as well as some more contentious ones. Transmogrification being one that everyone is more than pleased about, while sunsetting gear, capping the highest power level a piece can be infused up to, is more of an argued point. Among these, as joked by Luke Smith, Destiny 2’s Game Director, is a black title screen at long last. No more blinding white light at 3 am when you’re significant other is trying to sleep.
Chiefly among all of these is the new Stasis energy type. Stasis is our Guardians embracing their inner Darkness and channeling it through not only new weapons but a fourth subclass, as well. This subclass will work differently than the existing Subclass trees that we have now. They will instead work more similarly to the Destiny 1 subclass paths where there is a large pool of perks for players to mix and match from to build their perfect, well, build. This marks a wonderful point for the community, as it enables the possibility for the rest of the subclasses to follow suit. Maybe not immediately, but at some point in the future.
The actual meat and potatoes of this expansion, as I said earlier, acts as a sort of first entry in a trilogy of expansions wherein we will encounter the Fallen Kell of Darkness, Eramis on a new destination, Europa, the frozen moon of Jupiter. Here, players will once again meet up with not only Eris and Drifter but also, the Exo Stranger from Destiny 1’s Vanilla Campaign. Guardians will wield their inner Darkness with the aforementioned Stasis energy, explore the ancient ruins of a Golden Age long forgotten, and Raid deep into the Deep Stone Crypt, the birthplace of the Exos. This is the first chapter in taking on the Darkness and their fleet of flying Doritos. But the fun doesn’t end there.
Destiny has long since moved away from the original content schedule of full game release, 2 small expansions in the winter and late Spring, then a large Fall Expansion, and has instead moved over to Seasons, starting in Year 2 of Destiny 2. These seasons offer more drip-fed content where the story of the Fall Expansion is continued throughout the year, with each season building on each other. Which helps to make Destiny feel like that living world that Bungie has been aiming for all these years. You can expect 3 seasons each year as has been the cadence since Forsaken dropped in 2018, and will continue through the summer of 2023…
This reveal wasn’t just for the Fall 2020 expansion. It also gave us a glimpse at what to expect in the beyond Beyond Light.
Anyone who was a fan of Destiny 1 is familiar with the Taken King Oryx who came to our system to avenge the death of his son, Crota. What you’re probably less familiar with is his broader family and lineage. Oryx was not an only child and had 2 sisters. One of whom we’ve already heard mention of in the Vanilla Destiny 2 strike, Savathun’s Song. The titular Savathun is the Witch Queen that the fall 2021 expansion makes a direct call to in its title. The wider family tree of Oryx is certainly one that holds a grudge and it looks like before we have our last stand against the Darkness, we’ll be taking on the legendary sister of the Taken King himself. The seeds for this are already being sewn into Destiny 2’s overarching narrative, as Eris is seen confronting Zalvala about just this issue in the trailer for the Season of Arrivals, likely happening later on in the season.
What appears to be the final chapter in this Era of Darkness is tentatively titled Destiny 2: Lightfall, which is a working title (and one that I hope sticks, it’s so cool), which is scheduled for a Fall 2022 release. Lightfall, though very little is shown, appears to be the final stand between the Light and the Darkness. Luke Smith said that this expansion will “drive this all to a [pause], to a moment,” likely trying to avoid saying the conclusion of Destiny as a whole, as myself and countless others would not want to hear, and from a financial standpoint makes a lot of sense. Don’t let people know there’s an end to this ride, otherwise, they might not be so willing to cough up the money to make it happen.
This is the basic outline we have right now. There are so many exciting things happening in the world of Destiny right now, and we have the coverage you’re looking for. If you enjoyed this, please check out our own Editor-In-Chief’s article on Bungie having no plans for a Destiny 3 follow-up and his look at how Destiny 2 is coming to Next-Gen. Connor has an article up briefly looking at the Destiny Content Vault and what that means for Destiny 2 content (and the return of beloved Destiny 1 content), and his look at the new Dungeon that is, as of me typing this exact sentence, available to all players of Destiny 2 for free!
Let us know what you’re looking forward to most about Destiny 2’s future in the comments below.
One more thing, Bungie fired off this stream with an 8 minute and 46 second moment of silence in honor of the time it took for George Floyd to be mercilessly and senselessly murdered by now in-custody and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. This was not only in respect to George Floyd but also every other person who has been murdered by police or judged or discriminated against for the color of their skin. If this makes you uncomfortable, that’s the point. Do something, donate, sign a petition, vote, give your time, your blood, your sweat, but hold on to your tears; There will be time for that again in the future.
#BlackLivesMatter.
