Destiny 2: Forsaken
Destiny 2: Forsaken is a major expansion for Destiny 2, a first-person shooter video game by Bungie. Released on September 4, 2018, as the third expansion of Destiny 2, it revolves around the player's Guardian seeking to avenge the death of Cayde-6 by the hands of Prince Uldren Sov. Uldren, corrupted by the Darkness, is in search of his lost sister, Queen Mara Sov, both of whom were thought to have died in Destiny: The Taken King. Along their journey, players face the Scorn, undead versions of the Fallen race that have been revived and morphed into a new race. Forsaken adds content across the game, including new missions, Player versus Environment locations, Player versus Player maps, player gear, weaponry, a brand new PvE/PvP hybrid game mode and a new raid. Upon the expansion's release, retailers also issued Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection, which included the Destiny 2 base game, Forsaken, and the previous two expansions, Curse of Osiris and Warmind. An Annual Pass was also released alongside the expansion, which granted access to the seasonal content for Year 2 of the game.
| Destiny 2: Forsaken | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Bungie |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Director(s) | Scott Taylor |
| Producer(s) | Christopher Barrett |
| Composer(s) |
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| Series | Destiny  |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | September 4, 2018 |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing, first-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Its release coincided with patch version 2.0 for Destiny 2, which made fundamental changes to the core functionality for all players to mark the start of Year 2 of the game's lifecycle. Through the development of Forsaken, Bungie sought to address criticisms from players and critics; many changes to the game were direct responses to this.
Gameplay
In comparison to the previous two expansions of Destiny 2, Forsaken features a "full campaign", four new multiplayer Strike missions (one of which was a PS4 timed-exclusive), four new Crucible maps (including one PS4 timed-exclusive), and a new mode which combines elements of Player versus Environment (PvE) with Player versus Player (PvP). A new competitive Crucible mode was added, called "Breakthrough"—two teams of four fight to attempt to capture a central point called a "Breaker"; the first team that captures the Breaker can then hack the opposing team's vault, all while the opposing team defends their vault from being hacked.
The expansion introduces a new faction of enemies, the Scorn—undead Fallen that have become their own race. Scorn enemies do not take cover and have the most aggressive artificial intelligence in the game. In addition, a more liberal sense to mission layout and player choice has been taken, with the initial six Barons being able to be taken out in any order the player chooses. The Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City, both located in the Reef, serve as new playable environments in Forsaken; the latter environment is accessible after completing the main campaign of the expansion and completing a post-campaign mission. At the Dreaming City's Blind Well, players can use special charges of Light to summon Scorn, Hive, or Taken enemies for public battles, each ending with a boss. All participants in Blind Well battles receive rewards. The charges of Light correspond to three difficulty levels; an optional, yet highly difficult, fourth level can be triggered at the end of the third tier of difficulty. A new raid mission, "Last Wish", was opened on September 14, 2018; unlike previous raids, there is no Prestige version. Bungie claimed that the raid had more bosses than any previous raid (including from the original game); the first completion of the raid triggered a three-week curse cycle in the Dreaming City, opening up new activities and missions for players to participate in, including a 3-player raid-like activity called a dungeon. "The Shattered Throne", the game's first dungeon, which was made available on September 28, 2018; the dungeon activity was initially available every three weeks when the Dreaming City curse was at full strength until the release of Shadowkeep in October 2019, which was then made fully playable anytime. A new weapon type, a bow and arrow, was also added in the expansion. The EXP level cap was raised to 50 and the Power level cap was raised to 600.[1][2]
Each of the three character classes feature three new supers for each of their subclasses, which are tied to a brand new third subclass branch. For Hunters, the new super for Gunslingers is "Blade Barrage", focusing on throwing a volley of flaming knives; "Spectral Blades" for Nightstalkers, allowing players to turn invisible and see through walls and attack with Void daggers; and "Whirlwind Guard" for Arcstriders, which allows players to block and reflect projectiles by spinning their Arc Staff. For Warlocks, the new super for Voidwalkers is "Nova Warp", allowing players to teleport around the battlefield and unleash a Void explosion; "Chaos Reach" for Stormcallers, which unleashes a beam of Arc energy that can be turned off at any time to conserve Super energy; and "Well of Radiance" for Dawnblades, allowing players to create a healing and empowering aura for players to stand in. Finally, for Titans, the new super for Strikers is "Thundercrash", allowing players to launch into the air and slam onto the ground; "Burning Maul" for Sunbreakers, where players wield a large flaming hammer that can unleash flaming tornadoes; and "Banner Shield" for Sentinels, allowing players to use their Sentinel Shield to unleash a protective barrier that players can also shoot their weapons through. Each new subclass branch, along with their new supers, can be unlocked by obtaining an item called a "Seed of Light", in which three are available for each character; the first Seed of Light is obtainable through playing the campaign of Forsaken, while the other two can be obtained by playing through high-level, endgame activities.
The new mode that combines PvE and PvP is called Gambit, a best-of-three rounds mode featuring a new character called the Drifter as its non-player character (NPC). A 24-hour free trial of the mode was made available to all players on September 1, 2018, three days prior to the launch of Forsaken. In this mode, two teams of four players compete against each other by defeating PvE enemies. Enemies, when defeated, drop motes which players can pick up and deposit in a bank in the center of the arena. Depositing 5, 10, or 15 motes sends small, medium, or large enemy blockers, respectively, to the opposing team's arena and locks their bank; the opposing team must defeat the blockers in order to reactivate their bank. Every 25 motes deposited opens a portal where one team member can invade the other team's arena. Motes are permanently lost if a player is defeated by a PvE enemy or an invading member of the opposing team. After depositing 75 motes, a boss called a Primeval spawns in the middle of the arena; if a team member is defeated by an invading member of the opposing team, the Primeval regains health. The first team that defeats their Primeval wins the round. Gambit also features a progressive-based ranking system similar to the Crucible's Valor and Glory ranks called "Infamy"; however, each progression rank is separated into three tiers, with each rank requiring more Infamy points.[2]
Plot
Forsaken focuses on Prince Uldren Sov, who, along with his sister, Queen Mara Sov, were thought to have died at the onset of the Taken War three years prior. Uldren is in search of his lost sister, believing her to still be alive. Several months after the events of Warmind, the Guardian and Cayde-6 travel to the Reef, where they aid Petra Venj in securing a breakout from the Prison of Elders by an enemy called the Scorn, which are undead Fallen that have become their own separate race. However, during the assault, Petra discovers that someone else had released the prisoners and escaped (revealed in supplemental lore to be Variks, the Loyal, from the first game's House of Wolves expansion). Cayde goes to find them, only to be attacked by the Scorn and their leaders, the Scorned Barons; the Baron Pirrha, the Rifleman, destroys Cayde's Ghost, then Reksis Vahn, the Hangman, severely wounds Cayde afterwards. The Guardian and Petra attempt to rescue Cayde, but Uldren murders Cayde with his own handgun, the Ace of Spades, before fleeing; as Cayde's Ghost was destroyed, he is unable to be revived.
The Guardian takes Cayde's body back to the Tower, where Ikora Rey holds a funeral for the fallen Vanguard. Ikora wishes to pursue vengeance against Uldren, but Commander Zavala refuses to go to war in order to protect the Traveler and the Last City. Without the support of the remaining Vanguard and only a small lead from Ikora, the Guardian sets out alone to hunt down Uldren and avenge Cayde, tracking him, his Barons, and the Scorn to the Tangled Shore, a lawless wasteland in the Reef. After a confrontation with the leader of the Barons, Fikrul, the Fanatic, The Guardian is contacted by Petra, who introduces them to the Spider, the leader of a Fallen crime syndicate, and establishes an alliance. With help from Spider and Petra, the Guardian sets out to eliminate the eight Scorned Barons, one by one. Meanwhile, Uldren, who was corrupted by the Darkness after the Battle of Saturn, is apparently guided by visions of Mara to free her, and takes a shard of the Traveler from the European Dead Zone.
The Guardian eliminates six of the eight Scorned Barons. They destroy Hiraks, the Mindbender, and his Hive throne world; stop Araskes, the Trickster, and her plan to sabotage engrams for the Tower; prevent Kaniks, the Mad Bomber, from blowing up the Tangled Shore; kill Yaviks, the Rider, and her Pike gang; and then eliminate Reksis Vahn and Pirrha afterwards, respectively. Following the death of the sixth Baron, the Guardian is contacted by Petra, who informs them that Uldren is headed for the Awoken Watchtower in the Tangled Shore. After defeating the seventh Baron and second-in-command to the Fanatic, Elykris, the Machinist, the Guardian, aided by Spider's crime syndicate and Petra, assaults the Awoken Watchtower and eliminates the Fanatic (though through additional dialogue it is implied that he is immortal). The Guardian makes their way through the Taken-infested Watchtower, as well as the Ascendant Realm in search of Uldren, who offers the shard and his own Darkness to open a gateway to the Dreaming City, the Awoken homeland. Instead of Mara, however, Uldren is devoured by a grotesque Taken creature called the Voice of Riven. The Guardian slays the abomination, releasing a weakened Uldren. They retrieve the Ace of Spades, and soon after, Petra arrives, with Uldren adamantly declaring that everything he did was for his sister. The Guardian and Petra then point their weapons at Uldren and the screen cuts to black, as gunshots are heard. The Guardian then returns to the Tower, their mission complete. Multiple characters either encourage or disapprove of the Guardian's actions, with the Drifter stating that they are "just what he needs for Gambit", and Zavala forewarning of the consequences of their revenge.
With Uldren dead and Cayde avenged, the Guardian speaks to Petra and is presented with a broken Awoken talisman. They set out to repair it with Light and Dark energies, and after doing so, they meet her at the Awoken Watchtower again. The Guardian follows her into the Dreaming City, where Petra attempts to contact Mara Sov using an Awoken device known as the Oracle Engine. The Guardian and Petra repair the device and establish contact with the Queen, who has been in a mysterious realm of her own creation following her confrontation with Oryx. She reveals that Uldren's corruption was caused by Riven of a Thousand Voices, a powerful dragon-like creature called an Ahamkara that can grant wishes similar to a genie, and the last of her kind, who was voluntarily taken by Oryx during the Taken War. The Queen then opens the Dreaming City to Guardians in hopes of ending the Taken threat by killing Riven. A fireteam of Guardians assembled by Petra make their way through the Keep of Voices in the Dreaming City ("Last Wish" raid), freeing two Awoken Techeuns, Kalli, the Corrupted, and Shuro Chi, the Corrupted, from their Taken corruption. They advance further and kill Morgeth, the Spirekeeper, and unlock a maximum-security Awoken vault before facing Riven herself. After killing her, the Guardians take Riven's heart out of the keep to be purified by Shuro Chi and Kalli, unwittingly unleashing a Taken curse upon the Dreaming City in the process.
Following the Taken corruption of the Dreaming City caused by Riven's last wish, the Guardian continues to work with Petra against Scorn, Hive and Taken forces over the course of three weeks. On the third week of the curse, a fireteam of Guardians enter Eleusinia, the throne world of Mara Sov, in order to end the curse ("The Shattered Throne" dungeon). They fight their way through and find Dûl Incaru, the Eternal Return, a powerful Hive Wizard and daughter of Savathûn, the Witch-Queen, a Hive god and sister to Oryx. The Guardians defeat Dûl Incaru and seemingly end the Taken curse. However, the curse reverts the Dreaming City to the state it was in after Riven was killed, indicating that the Dreaming City is caught in a time-loop. During this time, it is also revealed that a Ghost named Pulled Pork entered the Dreaming City and discovered the body of Uldren, who was then resurrected with Pulled Pork's Light, making him a Guardian with no memories of his past life.
Release
Released on September 4, 2018, Forsaken, which began Year 2 of Destiny 2's life cycle, is available as paid downloadable content (DLC) and was originally only available to owners of Destiny 2 and the two prior expansions, Curse of Osiris and Warmind—with the release of the free-to-play version of Destiny 2 called Destiny 2: New Light on October 1, 2019, previous premium content is no longer required to own Forsaken or future expansions. At release, Forsaken was also available as part of an SKU of Destiny 2 known as the Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection, which featured the game and all downloadable content up to and including Forsaken. A Digital Deluxe Edition is also available and includes extra DLC, such as a legendary set of armor. Per an exclusivity agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment, certain content in Forsaken was exclusive to the PlayStation 4 platform until fall 2019. This content included a Strike, a legendary gear set for each class, a ship, and an Exotic weapon. Furthermore, players who purchase Forsaken receive an item that boosts one character to the minimum level needed to play the game's content.[2][3]
Post-release content
Upon release of Forsaken, Bungie also released an Annual Pass that players could purchase either bundled with or separate from Forsaken (though the expansion is required to access the Annual Pass content). The Annual Pass included three pieces of premium downloadable content, each filled with new activities, gear, lore, and a power increase within each content drop.[4] The first content drop, Season of the Forge, released on December 4, 2018, followed by Season of the Drifter on March 5, 2019, and then Season of Opulence on June 4, 2019. Both Season of the Forge and Season of Opulence included a new raid.[5][6] All of the content of the Annual Pass became free to all owners of Forsaken on September 18, 2019 just prior to the release of the next expansion, Shadowkeep, which changed the way in which seasonal content is purchased and delivered.[7]
The "Festival of the Lost" Halloween event returned and ran from October 16 to November 6, 2018, culminating in a 3-week murder mystery quest that rewarded players with a returning Destiny exotic, Thunderlord.[2] The holiday season-themed event "The Dawning" also returned and lasted from December 11, 2018 to January 1, 2019, which saw the return of Eva Levante, an NPC from the original game who served as the main vendor for the event. The Valentine's Day-themed event "Crimson Days" also returned and ran for one week from February 12 to 19, 2019. A new spring-themed event called "The Revelry" ran from April 16 to May 6, 2019, with Eva Levante as the returning vendor for the event.[8][9] The yearly "Moments of Triumph" event returned on July 9, 2019, and the Solstice of Heroes summer event returned on July 30, with Eva Levante once again as the main vendor for the event.[10]
References
- Makuch, Eddie (June 6, 2018). "Destiny 2 Forsaken DLC Release Date, New Mode, Trailer, And More Details". GameSpot. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- Reynolds, Matthew (September 14, 2018). "Destiny 2 Forsaken walkthrough and guide to what's new in Year 2". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- Pereira, Chris (June 12, 2018). "E3 2018: New Destiny 2 Forsaken Trailer Shows Cayde-6 In Serious Trouble". GameSpot. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- Destiny Dev Team (November 27, 2018). "THE ROAD AHEAD". Bungie. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- McWhertor, Michael (June 5, 2018). "Destiny 2 gets an Annual Pass, here's what's included". Polygon. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- Gurwin, Gabe (August 29, 2018). "The 'Destiny 2: Forsaken' Annual Pass shows Bungie isn't messing around". Digital Trends. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- Wood, Austin (September 18, 2019). "All Destiny 2: Forsaken owners now get the Year 2 Annual Pass for free". GamesRadar+. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- Gilliam, Ryan (February 28, 2019). "Destiny 2: Season of the Drifter's new roadmap details 90 days of content". Polygon.
- "Destiny 2: Season of the Drifter roadmap outlines upcoming content, new spring event". February 28, 2019.
- "Season of Opulence > News". Bungie.net.