Category: Bungie News

This week at Bungie, we watched Guardians become Legends.

This last week has been one to remember. It’s one of the best things about Destiny, really—when memories are forged in the fires of combat. It’s been an absolute pleasure to see these experiences unfold, and we’re excited to see more of these stories shared throughout the community.

In the coming weeks, we’ll dive into what’s changing about Faction Rallies and shed a bit more light on what Crucible Labs will bring to the table. This week, our focus is on feedback…

Powerful Progress

Feedback never stops. From the moment Warmind landed, we’ve had our eyes on the chatter surrounding all aspects of Destiny 2. One trending topic is how players reach appropriate Power levels for endgame content. Senior Investment Designer Daniel Auchenpaugh has some details on what to expect moving forward:

Daniel: Warmind is out! We’re super excited this is in your hands now, as we’re able to get a bunch of excellent input on what we did well and what we still need to work on. One of those areas I’d like to talk about a bit is progression. I spoke a little about this before the Warmind launch, but I think one thing I could have been more clear about was that the Warmind progression system is an improvement over Curse of Osiris, but still not where we ultimately want to end up. It’s a step down the road to make the game more in line with where we want it, but we need to make these iterations one step at a time so we can incorporate feedback and ensure we’re heading in the right direction.

Heroic strikes are a great example of something we definitely want to keep iterating on. In the May 29 update, you’ll see a small change to help make these better. 

• Escalation Protocol Key Fragments will become a 100 percent drop chance from each Heroic strike. The goal here is to make getting these fragments more accessible while also preserving the need to go play non-open-world content to get the fragments. 
• Heroic strikes will be able to drop better rewards. Every three to five Heroic strikes will drop a Legendary that can carry you up to 360 Power (before mods). This should better align the rewards of Heroic strikes with the difficulty of the activity and help solo players have a more reliable source of upgrades. 

We won’t have any time to make changes to what’s coming on the 29th, but please let us know how you feel about these rates; it is good information to inform future updates.

We’re tracking some additional issues that don’t have immediate solutions, but that I want to bring up as things we’re thinking and talking about. I don’t currently have any potential solutions to talk about, but I want to make sure we’re communicating the kinds of things we’re looking at and considering. In that spirit, here are some of the top progression-related issues we’re thinking about right now:

• How to smooth out the transition into the endgame grind once the campaign is over. Currently, there is a brick wall players seem to be running into at 345, where progression goes from fast to super frictioned. This is one of those areas we definitely don’t believe is perfect, so we’re looking at how to smooth this transition out.
• Once milestones are complete, there aren’t rewards to chase. Exotic Masterworks and seasonal ranks help this problem a little bit (giving some amount of non-Power chase to work on once milestones are done) but these definitely aren’t enough. As highlighted in the roadmap, Weapon Randomization and Records should also help give players more to do once their milestones are done. That doesn’t mean we believe this is a fully solved problem, and we’re talking about other ways to help mitigate this.
• Endgame progression needs more tiers. Right now, everything gives similar-sized upgrades without discrete tiers in the progression system for players to climb to (so they can tackle new activities and, in turn, climb to a new tier with new activities). This is something I definitely wouldn’t expect a solution for prior to September, but it is on our radar.
• The quality of the rewards don’t always match the difficulty of the activity. We’re seeing a lot of this feedback around raid lair rewards in particular, so talking about how to better align with the quality of reward and the difficulty of activity is something we’re going to be thinking about more going forward.

Huge thanks to everyone who has spent time to type up their thoughts, what they love, and what they don’t love with the progression and reward systems in Warmind. We’re keeping our ear to the ground. 

P.S.: Send me images of your favorite shader + Escalation Protocol gear combos. This is unrelated to progression—I just wanna see ’em!

Going for Glory

Progression isn’t just achieving new levels of Power, we also look at how players are rising through ranks of Valor and Glory. We’ve gotten some questions on the hows and whys of the ranking system. PvP Design Lead Derek Carroll has some answers.

Derek: Now that we’ve added a serious ranking system to the Competitive playlist, we’re seeing many more Guardians attempt to climb the ladder to become Legend. On their way to the top, some players have raised questions that we can address here.

Q: Why would I match against a player with a higher Glory rank than me?

A: For a variety of reasons, we don’t match directly on your Glory number, instead using our per-playlist “Skill” value. It’s quite likely that your opponent is a good match against you, but they’ve been grinding Glory more consistently, so have moved up the ranks faster. Take this as a sign that you’ll likely reach that rank with continued play.

Q: Why can I match against pre-formed fireteams when I’m searching as a solo player?

A: After a bit of server-side tuning and investigation, we re-enabled the Crucible Fireteam Matchmaking feature yesterday. This does not directly reduce the chances of matching against pre-made fireteams, but does tweak the “Skill” values of those fireteams to make it more likely that they find evenly-matched opponents.

Q: Why won’t you make a solo-queue-only playlist?

A: We don’t want to do that because it would split the population in an unhealthy way, making it less likely for everyone to find good matches. Furthermore, that would probably mean splitting the Glory rank into “Solo Glory” and “Team Glory” numbers, and we’d much rather there be one single number to represent your prowess in the Crucible.

Q: Why would you place me in a game in progress that you know I’m going to lose, ending my streak?

A: There’s no join-in-progress in Competitive, so this can’t happen for Glory. However, we are working on a fix for Valor in the other playlists, so you won’t lose your Valor streak that way.

As always, thanks for the feedback. We are always working to make the Crucible a great place to compete with and against your fellow Guardians. Good hunting!

Ironclad

 

Lord Saladin returns—with updated rewards!

BEGINS: Tuesday, May 22

ENDS: Tuesday, May 29

The game is Control!

The ways in which players earn rewards have also been updated for Season 3. Saladin will feature a similar reputation system to Vanguard, where players can climb the ranks by turning in Iron Banner Tokens. Each reputation rank up will lend progress to unlocking desired rewards.

New Ornaments have also been added, each with specific objectives for players to complete in the Iron Banner playlist when available.

At Your Fingertips

Destiny 2 isn’t the only thing that’s evolving over the course of the Roadmap. The Bungie.net team is also making plans to improve the experience on the website and Destiny Companion App. Senior UX Designer John Stvan and UX Designer Stosh Steward are here to give a report of what’s to come:

John: Two weeks ago, we started a discussion on Bungie.net and Reddit to get feedback on the Destiny Companion App and Bungie.net. We’ve combed the feedback and created a prioritized list of themes and sentiment that have been trending throughout the community. Priority was based on the volume of specific feedback items, how a feature or change could impact the user base, and if current feature usage data matched up with some of our inferences. We then proceeded to sort them into groups of Features/Experiences and UX/UI Improvements.

With Warmind out the door and a few Destiny updates between now and September, we want to be sure to set the right expectations on what’s coming. Each content release comes with a host of changes, updates, and fixes that we as a small team have to make sure don’t break our experiences. We don’t expect there to ever be issues, but sometimes the game makes a simple tweak to some investment, and by the time that gets to Bungie.net or the companion, the effect is magnified. As a recent example, players were unable to interact with characters after Destiny Update 1.2.0 due to issues between the companion and the new emote wheel. With that said, here are our initial goals for what will be coming soon to the Destiny Companion App and Bungie.net:

Timeframe—Early Summer

Stats (Medals): We are actively looking into how we can add medals and other stats incrementally to PGCR’s (post-game carnage reports) and player profiles. We knew ahead of the feedback collection that this would be a widely requested feature, but we were surprised by how many throughout the community wanted more stats surrounding medals acquired in the Crucible.

LFG: We have recently added the Clans Fireteam feature to the Destiny Companion, but we are looking to give players more ways to form fireteams through the companion and website.

Vendor Accessibility and Primary User Experience: Vendors are currently available to interact with through the companion app, but a recurring piece of feedback was that players are unable to locate the feature. We think this is due to vendors being in Progress which may be an unexpected location. The numbers also don’t lie—Progress isn’t getting the views we expected. We suspect that’s due to other sections in the app either having similar features or it being hidden.

Moving forward, we’ll be working to merge the Explore and Progress tabs to fulfill some of our initial goals. Explore was intended to be, “What’s going on? What don’t I want to miss out on?” However, it’s barely been more than a news feed. Progress was intended for users to know what their progress is towards their goals in Destiny 2. 

By combining these two sections, we feel we can create an experience that gives you the “What don’t I want to miss out on?” and the “What things do I need to go do?” sentiments. 

Timeframe—Summer

Gear User Experience and Sorting: When it comes to gear, third-party apps have provided amazing user experiences paired with Destiny and Destiny 2, and we couldn’t be prouder of them. We can’t tell you how excited we are that third-party apps have found solutions and satisfied that itch for the full screen, multi-character, nobs-and-switches experience. We are actively investigating ways to up our own game and provide better experiences within the Destiny Companion App when it comes to things like transferring, sorting, and equipping gear.

Timeframe—…and beyond

The future is bright and hopeful for Destiny 2 and the Companion. We want to ensure that we have targets to aim at—some big, daunting targets—and you’ve definitely helped provide us with those. We are grateful for the discussion we had, and can’t wait to have more ongoing conversations and feedback about the Companion and Bungie.net.

This conversation is far from over. In fact, it should never end. We want to always be listening and responding either with dialogue or action. Post feedback on Bungie.net. Stosh and I will be monitoring closely for your thoughts. It doesn’t go without saying how valuable your contribution to Destiny 2 is, and we want to ensure we’re providing the right tools and features to support your gaming experience.

Would You Like to Know More?

Destiny Hotfix 1.2.0.2 has shipped, but we still have some issues to address. As they say, the only good bug is a dead one. Destiny Player Support has the information you need to take on the threat.

This is their report.

Destiny 2 Hotfix 1.2.0.2

This week we deployed Hotfix 1.2.0.2 to players. Among the fixes to game issues, we resolved an issue blocking characters from appearing in the official Destiny Companion App, Bungie.net, and third-party applications that rely on the Destiny API.

Warmind Known Issues

With the launch of Destiny 2: Warmind, Destiny Player Support has continued to monitor player chatter regarding issues players are encountering in the wild. Those who do run into issues in Destiny 2: Warmind should make our Warmind: Vital Information and Known Issues thread their first stop for information on potential workarounds. As always, players who experience issues should report them to the #Help forum.

Listed below are a couple of items that we believe require further explanation to assist in mitigating their impact:

Heroic Strike Progress and Boons of the Vanguard

Progress toward the weekly Heroic strikes milestone, as well as toward some endgame quests, will be blocked when players activate a Boon of the Vanguard. Characters who enter this state will be unable to make progress on any pursuit that requires Heroic strike completions until the Boon expires.

As we continue to investigate this issue, we recommend that players save their Boons until after they have completed the pursuits mentioned above.

Clan XP Milestones and Powerful Gear

Currently players are not receiving powerful gear from Hawthorne when completing and turning in the weekly Clan XP milestone.

Players can work around this issue by completing the Clan XP milestone, then waiting for the next weekly reset to pass. After the new week starts, the previous week’s milestone will autodecrypt and correctly award powerful gear.

Additionally, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind players that Power progression from weekly clan engrams has changed with Destiny 2 Update 1.2.0. For details, players should revisit This Week at Bungie – 4/18/2018 for more information. 

Try This at Home

Grab your popcorn. Don’t forget the butter. We’ve got a few Community Creations well worth a watch, especially if you’re looking for a good strategy to take on the “Spire of Stars” raid lair.

Movie of the Week: World First

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Honorable Mention: Pure Power

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Honorable Mention: Sleeper Strikes Again

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1v1:

4v4:

See you on Mars? Maybe we’ll bump into each other. I have a bit of data to collect.

Cheers,

Dmg04

Game Director Christopher Barrett:

Now that Warmind has officially launched, we’re ready to add some additional details to the upcoming roadmap. There are a lot of eagerly awaited updates that are scheduled to arrive in September, and we’ll tell you more about those in the coming months, including our plans for year two of Destiny 2. But this summer won’t just be spent playing the waiting game. We’ll be delivering the Prestige modes you’ve been waiting for, bringing back Bounties, providing quality of life fixes, and more. In addition, we’re launching a new seasonal event called ‘Solstice of Heroes’ where Guardians will celebrate their accomplishments and, of course, earn sweet new rewards.

Design Lead Derek Carroll:

Keep the Bungie Blog in your cross-hairs for more insights on all these developing features.

This week at Bungie, we launched Warmind.

Guardians are breaking new ground on Mars, meeting up with Ana Bray to investigate the mysteries of Rasputin. If you haven’t had a chance to dive in yet, we have a trailer to serve as your mission briefing.

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We’re not done yet. Another activity is going live tomorrow…

Spire of Stars

Your next raiding adventure goes live on May 11 at 10 a.m. PDT. If you think you’re ready, line up at the starting line to make an attempt at becoming World First to complete the new raid lair, “Spire of Stars.” We’ll be watching and cheering you on as you travel back to the Leviathan to face a new challenge.

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We’ll be standing by to congratulate the first fireteam to complete the activity. Good luck out there, Guardians!

Trials 

The raid lair is not the only activity going live tomorrow. Trials of the Nine will return at 10 a.m. PDT with new Season 3 rewards. Here is what you can expect to earn as you battle other players for access to the Spire.

Bungie Versus

Next week, we are firing up the streaming studio again. This won’t be a reveal stream or a Bungie Bounty—we’ve been challenged in the ways of old by a player who claims he can defeat a Bungie Community Manager in the fires of the Crucible. PopeBear, one of the hosts of the popular Destiny Community Podcast, has bravely stepped up to go against Dmg04 in a friendly 1v1 match in Destiny 2. The stream kicks off at 6 p.m. PDT on May 16.

That won’t be the only bout. Immediately following the 1v1, Dmg04 and Pope will each be reinforced by three of their peers for a best-of-three challenge: Bungie Versus Destiny Community Podcast. Here are the lineups: 

1. PopeBear 

2. Ms 5ooo Watts

3. TeftyTeft

4. TheBriarRabbit

Team Bungie

1. Dmg04

2. Cozmo

3. Josh Hamrick

4. ???

All matches will take place in Private Matches. Game types will be chosen on the stream. May the best team win!

In the Know

As new updates go live, Destiny Player Support is actively responding to issues and giving you the information you need. 

This is their report.

Known Issues

Since the release of Warmind, Destiny Player Support has been all hands on deck troubleshooting issues reported to the #Help forum. The following issues have been confirmed, and teams are actively investigating solutions.

Perfectly Balanced

Let’s check in on our weekly visit to the Creations page to see what cool movies the community has put together.

Movie of the Week: Answering the Protocol

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Honorable Mention: Funnies

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This was a short one. We know you have new things to do and items to earn, so we won’t keep you away from the game with a lot of words. We’re monitoring your feedback on anything and everything you’re playing in the update and keeping track of the changes you’re enjoying and what you think could be better in the future.

Have fun in the raid lair tomorrow. We’ll be watching.

<3 Cozmo

Warmind Launch

Player Character

General

Emotes

Sandbox

Exotic Weapons – General

Exotic Kinetic Weapons

Exotic Energy Weapons

Exotic Power Weapons

Weapon Perks

Activities

PvE

Strikes

Raid

Tower

Items and Economy

General

Character Inventory

Eververse

Clans

Progression

Clan Engrams 

Guided Games

Crucible

General

Maps

Game Modes

Audio

Settings

UI

General

This week at Bungie, we’re counting down the minutes till Warmind.

In recent months, a series of updates for Destiny 2 has added some quality-of-life improvements to the game. On May 8, we’ll deliver even more. Tuesday can’t come soon enough.

Cheers to Vicarious Visions for their passion and dedication to the craft of creating amazing experiences for players. They’ve been wonderful partners with us on this journey. With Destiny 2 PC and Warmind under our collective belts, we’re excited about the future of this collaboration. Before you see their contribution to the world of Destiny, Creative Director Brent Gibson has a message from his team:

Brent: The team at Vicarious Visions have been fans of Destiny long before we started working with Bungie on this amazing franchise. While working alongside our counterparts at Bungie, we’ve met the challenge of expanding the Destiny universe and we are beyond thrilled that the day is nearly here! We are honored to have added to this rich world with passionate fans numbering in the millions. This is the kind of thing that game developers dream about. We are fortunate enough to not only add to the gameplay experience, but the franchise as a whole by bringing the legendary Hunter, Ana Bray, to life! She has carried our banner through this entire journey and we can’t wait for you to meet her on this adventure. See you on Mars on May 8!

On Approach

We’ve had a lot of fun hosting “Warmind Week” on the blog. There’s a lot we want you to know before you plot a course for Mars. If you missed a beat, here’s a recap.

We’ve also released two new Developer Insights to give more details on what to expect when Warmind launches. Creative Director Brent Gibson from Vicarious Visions and Design Lead Evan Nikolich from Bungie shed light on the state of Mars, Rasputin, and the enemies you’ll be introduced to. Sandbox Design Lead Josh Hamrick and Senior Crucible Designer Kevin Yanes walk us through the Exotic Masterwork weapon process, with additional information about Crucible Ranks, which will be available to all players when Season 3 begins on May 8.

Season 3: Exotics and Crucible

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Warmind

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Patch Note Preview

In previous articles, we’ve been diving deep into the details of design goals for some of the larger changes coming in Season 3. There’s quite a bit more to Destiny Update 1.2.0, so here’s a quick overview of feature changes and bug fixes that will also be deployed next week:

The full suite of patch notes will be published on May 8 shortly before Warmind becomes available. We’re currently targeting a 10 AM release, but stay tuned to @Bungie for announcements.

Details on Design

The Exotic Sandbox that you’re familiar with is about to change. We’ve had Senior Sandbox Designer Jon Weisnewski on the hot seat to talk us through the upcoming changes on stream and on the blog. You may have seen some demonstrations of new and improved Exotic weaponry this week. Some of the changes have some nuance to them, so here he is again with the exact details on how your arsenal is evolving:

Jon: Due to a lengthy update this week, I’m going to keep my section short. This’ll be the last Exotic tease from me. After this week, you’ll be playing with all of the new changes!

Risk Runner: We gave Arc Conductor increased resistance to incoming Arc damage (50%) and enabled it in the Crucible. Arc Conductor will now activate when the weapon is stowed, but damage resistance will only work when the weapon is in your hands. This was already a strong gun for PvE. We’re hoping these changes give it a place in some interesting Crucible load outs, strategies, and counters.

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Sweet Business: If you run this gun, you probably just want to shoot forever. We gave it a capped ammo inventory of 999. It’s not forever, but it’s a lot.

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D.A.R.C.I.: This Sniper Rifle now grants 4x damage once locked on a target (exact scaling depends on activity, difficulty, light level delta, etc). It shouldn’t take a master strategist to figure out how this will benefit you in PvE. Any Crucible combat snipers will also want to give this gun a try; it’s got a: 7 round magazine, reduced zoom for closer engagements, and an aim assist stat retuned to be more generous when you haven’t locked a target yet for better results while drag sniping.

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Lastly, I want to quickly acknowledge the whole team, which has been working really hard to get Exotic weapons in Update 1.2.0 ready for you over the past few months. I’ve been the one doing the talking, but it has been far from a solo effort. In particular, there’s a group of testers who has come to the table daily to both ensure these changes are bug-free, and also provide us with bone-breaking player feedback. The team has done a tremendous job at helping dial in a sweet spot for many of the guns. A billion thanks to them!

Mixing Things Up a Little

Destiny Updates 1.1.2, 1.1.3, and 1.1.4 have brought quality-of-life changes to Destiny 2. Update 1.2.0 is almost here to bring more community-requested features to the table. Senior Investment Designer Daniel Auchenpaugh has details on the upcoming Heroic strike modifiers and the new Legendary Nightfall Challenge Card.

Dan: In Season 3, we’ve increased the baseline difficulty of Heroic strikes to make combatants more aggressive and make the experience feel more, well, Heroic. Additionally, at any given time the Heroic strike playlist will have three modifiers on it: one Burn (rotates weekly), one Advantage (rotates daily), and one Disadvantage (rotates daily). 

Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect in those categories:

We’re excited to see players reaching new top scores through a variety of modifiers on the Legendary Nightfall Challenge Card. Here are the top scoring fireteams from last week’s Nightfall, “A Garden World”: 

Prismatic Matrix

At release, the Prismatic Matrix will feature 10 Eververse items from Season 3 each week it is active. Each item within the Prismatic Matrix is on a knockout list, which means every player is guaranteed to receive all featured items for a given week by the tenth activation. Earning items via Bright Engrams, Bright Dust, or previous Matrix activations will also knock rewards off the list. In turn, each activation guarantees players an item that they have never previously acquired.

With your first well-rested level-up each week, you’ll earn a Prismatic Facet, allowing one free use of the Prismatic Matrix. Prismatic Facets stack up to 3, so make sure to have proper inventory space before earning a rank-up on a given week. Players can also purchase more activations for 200 Silver each.

Outside of the Prismatic Matrix, players may continue to earn Bright Engrams each time they level up, and they can still purchase these engrams if they want a chance to get everything from the Season 3 catalog. Additionally, we’re increasing the number of items available from Tess each week with Bright Dust, from 14 to 18 items.

We want to continue experimenting and evolving Eververse to improve player experience, and give more paths to earn Eververse rewards. Please give us your feedback once Season 3 begins, as we’re dedicated to improving these systems moving forward.

Run of Show

  

With each update, Destiny Player Support is on standby to ensure the package has been delivered to your platform without issue. The following information will guide you to your first steps in Hellas Basin:

Destiny 2 Server Maintenance

Services will be brought offline for maintenance on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. During this time, Destiny 2: Warmind, Update 1.2.0, and Hotfix 1.2.0.1 will become available to players. Please see below for the timeline of the maintenance window.

If you encounter any issues when playing Season 3 or Warmind content, please post a report to the #Help forum.

Moving Pictures

The title of “Movie of the Week” is frequently earned by those who showcase skill in the Crucible, or moments of success against overwhelming odds in endgame activities. This week, we’re looking at the word “creation” in a more literal sense…

Movie of the Week: Ana Bray SpeedArt

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Honorable Mention: Herald

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I think we’re at five more sleeps until Warmind? Depends on your caffeine intake.

Tuesday, Warmind goes live at 11  AM. Friday, May 11, the Spire of Stars raid lair goes live at 10 AM. Who among you will take the challenge head on? We’ll be watching and calling a World’s First. Good luck!

As a reminder, Season 2 ends with the launch of Warmind. This is your final weekend to earn Season 2 rewards from activities and Bright Engrams. Make sure to check with the Vanguard, Crucible, Iron Banner, and Trials of the Nine for your last chance to earn Season 2 ornaments before they’re gone.

It’s almost time to head to Mars. See you next week.

Cheers,

Dmg04

Alongside the launch of Warmind, a new season of gameplay updates begins for all players of Destiny 2, including powerful upgrades to Exotic weapons, the introduction of Ranked Crucible play, new Crucible maps, Private Matches, Heroic Strike Modifiers, Multi-Emote, additional Vault Space, and much more.

These Season 3 updates will be available to all players of Destiny 2, regardless of Warmind ownership. Full Patch Notes will be published on May 8.

Exotic Weapon Tuning will enhance some of the most unique items in your personal arsenal. 

Seasonal Crucible Rankings will deliver new ways to earn bragging rights and some coveted weapons in the competitive arena.

New Crucible Maps will give every player new spaces to fight in the Crucible. All matchmade playlists will feature Meltdown and Solitude.  

Private Matches will give you full control over your competitive experience. Set your own match and invite willing combatants to play.

[Note: You’ll need to purchase the Expansion to use the new maps in Private Matches.]

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On May 8, Warmind launches and Season 3 begins.

Golden Age satellites slam into the surface of the Hellas Basin on Mars. Icy glaciers thaw, revealing the core of the Warmind Rasputin – and an ancient Hive army, bent on its destruction. 

Destiny 2 Expansion II: Warmind introduces new activities, new weapons and gear, more endgame content, and an all-new story. 

New Story

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Ana Bray, a Guardian long thought lost, searches for a connection to her past…one that could be hidden forever beneath the polar ice cap of Mars.

(Developer Insights video coming soon)

New Cooperative Endgame Activity

Escalation Protocol is a public, player-triggered event where players fight escalating waves of enemies and slay challenging bosses alongside their Fireteam and other brave Guardians on Mars. Locate and activate Escalation Protocol, and then survive seven waves of increasingly difficult combat waves to earn exclusive new armor and weapons.

(Developer Insights video coming soon)

New Raid Lair

Return to the Leviathan with a Fireteam of six to conquer the Spire of Stars, launching on Friday, May 11 at 10:00AM PT.

Season 3 Begins

Alongside the launch of Warmind, a new season of gameplay updates begins for all players of Destiny 2, including powerful upgrades to Exotic weapons, the introduction of Ranked Crucible play, new Crucible maps, Private Matches, Heroic Strike Modifiers, Multi-Emote, additional Vault Space, and much more.

These Season 3 updates will be available to all players of Destiny 2, regardless of Warmind ownership. Full Patch Notes will be published on May 8.

Exotic Weapon Tuning will enhance some of the most unique items in your personal arsenal. 

Seasonal Crucible Rankings will deliver new ways to earn bragging rights and some coveted weapons in the competitive arena.

New Crucible Maps will give every player new spaces to fight in the Crucible. All matchmade playlists will feature Meltdown and Solitude.  

Private Matches will give you full control over your competitive experience. Set your own match and invite willing combatants to play.

[Note: You’ll need to purchase the Expansion to use the new maps in Private Matches.]

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Destiny 2 – Expansion 2: Warmind launches on May 8 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Blizzard’s Battle.net app.

Game Director Christopher Barrett:

As you know, we’ve been engaging with the Destiny community to pivot and improve every part of our Destiny 2 experience. This includes a commitment to the tone, story, and lore of Destiny both in and out of the game.

This week, I wanted to give a shout out to Destiny’s hard-working Narrative group, who has been collaborating with myself and the rest of the dev team on a whole bunch of new lore content that will be coming your way in the near (and in some cases, very near) future. While I can’t tell you everything we’ve been working on together, I’m happy to reveal that another (free) Destiny digital comic – Warmind – is headed your way this week, written by Mark Waid (Dr. Strange) and David Rodriguez (Warmind) and inked by Kris Anka (Runaways). I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.  

And if the week seems like a long wait, I’ve got more good news; you can join us in celebrating the upcoming launch of Destiny 2: Warmind with a few pieces of new and original Warmind Weblore, now available here.

<3 Chris

[Editor’s note: Revised copy to accurately reflect the release date of the comic.] 

Tyra

“Ghost, open a new file. Research Notes TK-48725.8, Category: Clovis Bray.”

“I don’t like it when you call me that.”

“What, ‘Ghost’? Oh, come now. We’ve been having this discussion for more than three centuries. Ghost is what you are, my friend. If you want a name so badly, choose one for yourself.”

“Maybe I will. Now that everyone’s gone back to the Tower and we’re still out here, I have plenty of time to consider what my name should be.”

“Can you open my file while you ponder the possibilities?”

“If you insist.”

“Thank you. Research Notes TK-48725.8. Data recovered from Freehold—Bray Landing. Kirren found an entire cache of intact data cores there. Brought them back just before the attack on the City.”

“It’s these little miracles that intrigue me so much… Fragments of memories, frozen in silicon and quartz, trapped in a moment that survives the end of a civilization, centuries of decay, and the predations of invading armies, only to be recovered and end up as flotsam of a second war. That this cache even managed to survive the Collapse is a wonder, and then the Red War? The probabilities of such an occurrence are…”

“Tyra?”

“Yes, Ghost?”

“Ahem. You’re rambling. Again. You said I should remind you.”

“Thank you. As I was saying, this data was recovered more than six months ago but is just now being decrypted—2.6 exabytes of documents and schematics have been decoded so far. At first glance, most of this was just the detritus of Bray’s work: review notes, payment records, memos. I did find some very interesting notes on a propulsion system design that I’ve already sent to Amanda, and there are some messages between the sisters that will illuminate Master Melivander’s work on the history of Clovis Bray.”

“But then I found something extraordinary. The records were fragmented—some files had been partially deleted—but there’s enough there to indicate that the Bray facility at Hellas Basin was larger than we previously thought.”

“Hellas Basin? The tourist spot?”

“The same. And while we know there was a BrayTech Futurescape there for promotional purposes— Bray even had an AI-led tour—all indications had been that if any research was done there, it was mostly for show: low-level projects creating improved cold-weather gear and the like.”

“But if these records are correct, the facility operated on a far larger scale. It could have been the site of the initial Warmind development. Perhaps even a core site for Rasputin itself. This could have been where the Warmind was born.” 

“You got all that from some fragmented files? Is this going to be like the time you thought you’d identified a second Warmind? We spent a decade searching for Charlemagne’s vault.”

“I was correct about Charlemagne existing, just not about what it was. If we hadn’t done that research, we wouldn’t know anything about subminds.”

“Rahool still disagrees.”

“Rahool needs to get his head out of his engrams. This is why Guardians look for fragments of the Golden Age! We are the descendants of a lost civilization. Only by understanding what was can we understand what we are now. How the world we know came to be. And each artifact we find helps us interpret what we already know. Adds layers. New identities. We are experimenting in the laboratory of time, testing each observation through a crucible of evidence.”

“Sometimes our conclusions change. And with each shift, we learn more of where we came from. The next shift in our perceptions? It may be on Mars.”

Apocrypha

In the beginning, there were five.

Yul, the Honest Worm. Akka, the Worm of Secrets. Eir, the Keeper of Order. Ur, the Ever-Hunger. Xol, Will of the Thousands. And they were Virtuous.

In time, Yul spoke truth and bargained well. Its children escaped the Fundament and spread throughout the worlds. They followed the words of the Deep and brought low many agents of the Sky. They took, and a portion of all they took was returned to the Virtuous.

They grew strong.

In time, Auryx learned Akka’s secret. That he was stronger than the gods. That they had given their power, and in giving, it was diminished. Auryx rose up and slew Akka. He took, and he grew strong with Akka’s power.

After the five became four, Yul spoke.

Behold my majesty. Behold my crushing might, my staggering size, my scales that shine with an oppressive gleam. 

Behold my wings, which create winds that sweep through the stars.

Together, we have called life to Fundament, and made that life thrive. Protected it from extinction. They are our hosts, and we are their strength.

But we do not give. We take. For this is the struggle to exist. We are not immune. The weakest of us must give way to the stronger.

And Xol felt [fear|cunning], for it knew that Yul would in time turn its teeth to Xol.

But Akka was not the only one with a secret. Xol had a pact with a forgotten child, abandoned by its father.

The cursed one took a fraction of Xol’s power, and in return, Xol took the heart from the child, whose name had been struck from the World’s Grave. The orphan called life out of death, and fed that power to Xol.

Together, they would find a new world to rule.

And the five became three.

I, the child become [herald|death], record these words. They are not of the Sorrow. They are mine.

Cryptarch

From “Collapse and Post-Collapse Incidents on Mars: An Examination of Ecological Changes in the Polar Regions,” by Master Reinhart, Cryptarch 

We have detailed records of the expedition sent to the Moon to battle the alien race known as the Hive, the calamitous results of that assault, and the subsequent Lunar Interdiction that was lifted only after definitive evidence was found that the Interdiction had not restricted the Hive’s movements (Rahool et al., “The Great Disaster: From Burning Lake to the Hellmouth”).

However, there are indications that while that event may have been the Vanguard’s first engagement with the Hive, Earth’s Moon was not the first place the Hive made contact with Human settlements.

Golden Age records detail an extensive network of Clovis Bray structures on Mars. The vast city of Freehold served as the Bray headquarters, but ancient mass-transit lines that lead from the remains of Freehold across the planet reveal multiple other sites, including the Clovis Bray Health Center in Skyline and an extensive Futurescape near Core Terminus, in the Hellas Basin region.

It is the Futurescape facility that is of interest when considering the effects of ecological changes in the Collapse and post-Collapse eras. Although there are records that show that, just after the Traveler’s departure, the region had a mesothermal climate with an average temperature of 20°C, the region’s ecological zones today range from boreal to ice cap near the planetary pole, with harsh winds and a thick layer of ice that has made exploration in the region difficult.

What caused such a drastic change in the climate? If it were related to the cessation of Traveler energy during the Collapse, then we would have seen similar effects on other planets in the solar system, which we have not.

If we cannot look to the Traveler for causation, then we must contemplate other external factors. Recovered satellite data reveals that the climate change in the Hellas Basin region was too rapid to have resulted from long-term ecological damage, as it had on Earth in the pre-Traveler era. In fact, data from Warsat J54987F122S, which crashed and was recovered near Freehold, indicates that the climate change on Mars may have happened over a matter of mere days. However, this Warsat was heavily damaged during reentry, and the data may be suspect. Until we have a secondary source for corroboration, this is mere supposition.

Nonetheless, if we accept the data from J54987F122S, then we are looking at an external endothermic event, caused by artificial means, on a scale so massive that it altered the entire climate of the region.

Why would this have happened? Our only source is J54987F122S, and if it is to be believed, an invasion of unknown biological entities, including one of massive size, was detected in the region immediately before the event. Could this have been a Collapse-era attack with a weapon of unknown origin?

As of yet, Guardians have not reached Hellas Basin, and we have not had the resources for remote exploration. But if we did dig into the ice, what would we find?

Ana,

Told you I remembered an article from the Mars research we were doing at Owl Sector. This could be what you’re looking for—if you can dig it out. 

Reinhart goes on for a few hundred pages from here—I’ll send the whole thing to Jinju if you’re interested— but his conclusions are all wrong. Because he never mentions the ONE THING that could have done this.

There’s something in Hellas Basin. And you’re going to be the one to find it.

—Camrin

Zavala

Ikora has confirmed my fears. The ice on Mars is melting.

She says it’s the Traveler’s Light—that when it awoke, it sent out a wave of Light that altered everything it touched.

I don’t know what to believe. I look at the Traveler now, shining and alive, and I remember all the times I begged it to respond. To help its chosen through our trials.

I remember its silence. Even now, it does not speak… or if it does, there is no one to hear and understand its words.

Ikora says that we cannot understand the Traveler, or its desires. They are too far removed from our own. But can we rely on something that doesn’t understand us to protect us? Or must we protect ourselves?

I think we must. I have been searching the databanks—records that even the Cryptarchs cannot access—and sifting through data that the Speaker thought too dangerous to be disseminated.

I know what is on Mars.

What is buried beneath that ice is too dangerous to allow back into our world. It doesn’t think like we do. It weighs and judges our existence in its ruthless calculations, and we don’t even know what the goal is. Once, long ago, it might have been created as a tool to save Humanity. It is far more than a mere machine now.

And it is broken. 

When Saladin sealed all the records relating to SIVA, he also put a lock on certain data concerning what lies hidden on Mars. We were stumbling around blindly in those days, in the wrong place and at the wrong time, calling out to something that could not respond or understand us. And Saladin let it happen, because our failures were safer than the alternative. 

But the locks are open now. I’ve studied the monsters in our past to prepare for the battles in our future. I know how to reach this particular monster before anyone else does.

Ikora is too intrigued by the knowledge it holds to heed the dangers. Cayde is wasting his time filling the Prison of Elders. It’s up to me to keep this secret buried.

To keep us safe. 

Rasputin

218CBI800JRS101

AI-COM/RSPN: ASSETS//POLARIS//IMPERATIVE

IMMEDIATE EVALUATION DIRECTIVE

This is a POLARIS ASSETS IMPERATIVE (secured/UNDISCLOSED)

This is an INTERNAL ALERT. 

Multiple distributed Polaris axons report increased sterile neutrino patterning correlating to increase in AVGPOLARISTEMP. Reactivated areoseismic analysis detects high quantities of nonnative organic chitin.

Axon 5-Sierra’s event footprint includes evidence of vermiform parasites (UNCONFIRMED/RED).

One hypothesis on event mechanism (FLAG ACAUSAL). Possibility of HARD CIVILIZATION KILL EVENT is NONZERO. 

Check variable AVGPOLARISTEMP

>AVGPOLARISTEMP greater than or equal to MELTINGPOINT

I am assessing available VOLUSPA and CHARLEMAGNE resources.

I am assuming control of atmospheric defenses (Warsat COMPREHENSIVE) and invoking AURORA PALISADE.