Destiny 2 Premiere- What Was Revealed??
In the early hours of this morning, here in Aus, Bungie
streamed their live premiere for Destiny 2 and showcased exactly what they have
to offer.
The premiere began with a lengthy cinematic showing the
history of the Vanguard, Guardians and Tower construction…a grass roots up kind
of narrative that showed just how invested the Vanguard especially are in the
fate of their world. From humble beginnings in Old Russia, the building of the
wall and Tower, and the Traveller finding its home with us, to the settlement
of a whole civilisation of survivors brought together. We end with Zavala
questioning just what would happen if we lost it all.
Luke Smith, Game Director, takes the stage and treats us to
the ground up story for Destiny 2 and what is in store. Destiny 2 will be a new
experience, a convergence of veteran players and new players with an emphasis
on the new. Luke confirms that Destiny 2 will be available on PC.
Destiny 2 will be focusing on an in-depth player experience
with new and rich story to draw you in. New enemies take the stage and new guardian
abilities are showcased in the Homecoming gameplay trailer.
As you fight your way through the Tower, word comes through
that the Speaker “hasn’t made it”. Understatement of the century perhaps as the
entire wing of the Tower he occupied has been removed. The biggest question
here is whether the Speaker has been killed or whether he escaped prior to the
demolition. And there are many fresh theories already on this score!
The fast paced action continues as Ikora rage attacks a Red
Legion ship and disappears. Our attention is turned to the gates that have
never been opened in this part of the Tower. We discover what has been behind
those walls all this time- an entire city full of people. Now infiltrated with
Red Legion cabal it is up to the Guardians to fight them off. And fight well
they do. But it isn’t long before we find ourselves face to face with our
newest foe…Dominus Gaul. He appears from the darkness and smoke to utter the
single line of “Your journey ends here..”
Luke states that the obvious conclusion to this is that we
fail. We lose everything we had- powers, vaults, weapons, the Traveller, and
our home. Left in complete destruction the Vanguard and inhabitants are forced
to flee. Zavala questions the existence of the Guardians with no light to
empower them. Ikora has not returned. And Cayde does what Cayde does best, try
to be the hero we always want Nathan Fillion to be. ;)
The Red Legion take control of the Traveller. Luke informs
us that Dominus Gaul has come all this way for the sole purpose of claiming the
Traveller. Gaul “is not a psychopath” he says, but believes that he has been
wronged, that he deserves the Traveller and its powers far more than the
Guardians. He is angry at the Travellers incorrect decision and wants to
convince it to come to the stronger army. He believes he and his Red Legion are
the rightful recipients, and the Guardians are just in the way.
Now it is up to us, the Guardians, to rally the troops,
regather to Vanguard and reclaim our home and the Traveller.
Abilities:
If you were paying attention you would have noticed a few
nice additions to our Guardians powers. As well as a rather sizeable Ward
(bubble shield) from Zavala, and a heavy hitting Nova Bomb from Ikora, the Guardians
have their turn to show off.
The Titan has a new style of void shield ability called
Sentinel…it looks damn sexy. This hand-held, throwable shield gives you the ability
to use your shield for ranged attacks.
The Hunter showcases its Arcstrider ability, which is reminiscent
of the Bladedancer but with a pretty sick looking staff.
And the Warlock is not to be left behind. A new solar
ability, Dawnblade, lets the once revive only Warlock wield a flaming sword
that can be thrown down range and offers a heavy attack with sun spot perks.
All around a bit of a fresh air for the subclasses.
Weapons:
Weapon slots have been reconfigured. Now the 3 slots are
assigned as Power, Energy and Kinetic with Power and Kinetic weapoms (eg. Sniper
rifles, pulse rifles, etc) interchangeable between slots. So instead of your
old Primary, Secondary, and Heavy slots being so heavily preset, now you can
choose the weapons you want more broadly with far less restriction as to what
weapons goes in which slot.
There are new weapons shown such as the Dubious Shot, a multi-rocket
launcher noted to be in the Destiny 1 code but that never made it to our inventory,
a minigun AR, new grenade launcher and a new SMG sneakily peaked on the avatar
screenshot.
Buffs are numerous and include Healing Rift, a healing
ability on a super pull; and Empowering Rift, like a solar hot spot which
issues buffs.
Gameplay:
As well as the Red War campaign, Solo modes will have
new features such as Adventures with new mechanics and rewards, Lost Sectors
which contain a Treasure and a boss that holds the key, new public events with
Heroic objectives, and sectors to explore. At face value the game is more open
to being played at your own pace and with choice to the order tasks are
completed.
A great inclusion is the ability to initiate new activities
without needing to return to orbit, which is a massive time saver. Instead you
can choose activity while you are patrolling and move straight into it.
There are 3 new planets to see now as well and these will
notably play into the story line.
Nessus is a Vex occupied planet and this is where we will
find Cayde. Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, is a planet covered in a methane
ocean featuring a half sunken tanker ship and this is where Zavala has
retreated to. And Ikora? We will find her on the third planet, Io- one of
Jupiter’s moons covered in sulphuric acid…and one of the last places the
Traveller touched.
A fourth area to explore is the EDZ or European Dead Zone,
and this is where most of the settlers have sought refuge and are trying to
rebuild again. From the looks of it this will become a new social area but
remains relatively open too.
Competitive modes will see a rethought crucible with
4v4 configurations for all modes, a rebuilt sandbox and now other players
Supers will be visible. The emphasis in Competitive is “easy to get in to, hard
to master.” Mastery is the focal point for PVP with a push for players to know
and play their characters more effectively.
So how have they addressed this issue? Without wanting to
move to a matchmaking interface for raids and nightfalls, Bungie have brought
Clan support into the game and introduced Guided Games. The intention is that
Solo players will be shown Clans that they are able to join for any coop
instance. This allows those who have never played to be brought in to a team
easily and quickly. For the Clan’s side it provides an easier way to draw in a
complete fireteam and enables faster and easier recruitment.
In addition to this Destiny 2 will allow for more efficient
clan support with in-game rosters, fireteam building and custom banners.
Rewards are shared across all members of the team whether they play casually or
hardcore.
What about PC?
So there is a lot to take in and plenty of exciting new
features to enjoy in Destiny 2. But by far the best news is that PC gamers will
finally be able to enjoy this world that PS and Xbox gamers alike have fallen
in love with.
Where are you going to be able to find Destiny 2 for PC?
Activision CEO, Eric Hirshberg taunts. Bungie and Activision have brought
Blizzard on board to support PC player with Destiny 2 to be available on the
Battlenet, Blizzard’s online platform.
Hirshberg reiterated in conclusion that the Beta for Destiny
2 will be “available in Summer” (US) to those who Preorder.
So what are your thoughts? Is Destiny 2 a win for you? Will
you be jumping in for this next adventure, or joining the universe for the
first time?
-Rem