Destiny 2 post-release content

There are four pieces of downloadable content (DLC) that have been released for Bungie's 2017 first-person shooter video game Destiny 2. Each package of downloadable content has added new player versus environment (PvE) missions and player versus player (PvP) modes, new locales to visit, and new items for the player to make use of. Year One of the game featured two small expansion packs. The first was Curse of Osiris in December 2017, which was followed by Warmind in May 2018. Year Two began with one large expansion and had three premium content drops, available by way of the Annual Pass. The expansion was Forsaken, which was released in September 2018 and has had the largest effect on the game thus far, featuring an overhaul on gameplay. Upon the release of the third expansion, retailers issued Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection, which included Destiny 2 and all DLC up to and including Forsaken as well as its Annual Pass. The Annual Pass was also made available upon the release of Forsaken, with its three content drops, Season of the Forge, Season of the Drifter, and Season of Opulence, releasing in December 2018, March 2019, and June 2019, respectively. Year Three began with the fourth expansion, Shadowkeep, which released in October 2019 as a standalone expansion, not requiring players to purchase any of the previous expansions. It featured four seasonal content offerings, which were available to purchase separately, unlike the seasons of the Annual Pass. These were Season of the Undying, which was released alongside Shadowkeep, followed by Season of Dawn, Season of the Worthy, and Season of Arrivals, releasing in December 2019, March 2020, and June 2020, respectively. Year Four will begin with the fifth expansion, Beyond Light, to be released on November 10, 2020 along with four seasonal content offerings as well. Year Five will see the release of the sixth expansion, The Witch Queen in 2021, and Year Six will see the release of the seventh expansion, Lightfall (working title) in 2022.

Overview

Prior to the release of Destiny 2, Bungie said that they had already begun work on post-release content. Bungie said they planned on providing post-release content at a quicker rate than that of the original Destiny, which was criticized for not having enough content post-launch and between each of its expansions' releases.[1] Bungie also announced the Destiny 2 Expansion Pass prior to launch, which granted access to the first two expansions of the game, Curse of Osiris and Warmind.[2] Throughout Year One, Destiny 2 featured periodical holiday-themed events, in addition to the expansions. Year Two featured one large expansion, Forsaken, the periodical events, and three premium content drops, available via the Annual Pass.[3]

Like the original game, whenever a new expansion released for Destiny 2, players were required to have purchased the preceding expansion in order to be able to play the newer one. Beginning with the Shadowkeep expansion in October 2019, it and all future expansions are considered standalone experiences, not requiring the player to have bought the preceding additional content.[4]

Curse of Osiris

Destiny 2 Expansion I: Curse of Osiris
Developer(s)	Bungie
Publisher(s)	Activision (2017–2019) Bungie (2019–present)
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One
Release	December 5, 2017
Genre(s)	Action role-playing, first-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Destiny 2's first DLC pack, Curse of Osiris, was released on December 5, 2017. The expansion added new content and focuses on the character Osiris from the lore of the original Destiny and for whom the Trials of Osiris PvP mode in the original was named. The expansion takes players to the planet Mercury with its own patrol mode. Additionally, the EXP-level cap was raised to 25 and the Power level cap was raised to 330. In addition to the character Osiris, his Ghost named Sagira was added with a female voice, as well as the character Brother Vance from the original game, who is now the Non-player character (NPC) of Mercury in The Lighthouse (formerly an exclusive social space in Destiny for those who went flawless in Trials of Osiris). There was also a timed-exclusive Crucible map for PS4 players called Wormhaven. Instead of an entirely new raid, a new feature called raid lair was added, featuring new areas to the existing Leviathan raid and a different final boss.[5]

Plot

In the aftermath of The Red War, Ikora Rey calls the Guardian to the Tower, explaining that her agents, the Hidden, discovered a damaged Ghost on the intact remnants of Mercury. Ikora identifies the Ghost as Sagira, belonging to her former mentor, the legendary Warlock Osiris, who had been exiled from the City years before the first game (detailed in the supplementary webcomic Fall of Osiris).[6] Traveling to Mercury, the Guardian locates the gateway to the Infinite Forest, a simulated universe created by the Vex inside the planet's core, but is unable to enter; the Guardian then comes under attack from Vex constructs from various points in time. Brother Vance, the fanatical leader of the Followers of Osiris (returning from House of Wolves), directs the Guardian to a hidden temple in an abandoned radio tower in the EDZ on Earth, with a modified Vex device that can restore Sagira. The device temporarily merges Sagira with the Guardian's Ghost, allowing them to access the gateway to the Infinite Forest.

Inside the Forest, the Guardian encounters reflections of Osiris created to explore its different simulated realities. The reflections explain that in the past, Mercury had been a garden world shaped by the Traveler, before the Vex arrived and created the Forest in Mercury's core. The Guardian witnesses a simulated future scenario created by Panoptes, the Vex Mind that controls the Infinite Forest, in which Light and Darkness no longer exist, all non-Vex life has been wiped out, and the Sun is darkened. Osiris' reflections claim that they have been unable to find a way to prevent the dark future, but believe that the Guardian may be the key to stopping it. Ikora directs the Guardian to the Pyramidion, a Vex construct on Io, which contains the location of a map that leads to Panoptes' lair. Following the Pyramidion's data back to the Forest and battling Red Legion simulations within, Sagira discovers that the map changes too quickly to find Panoptes. The Guardian travels to Nessus to obtain the core of a smaller Vex Mind to boost Sagira's processing power. Returning to the Forest's simulated past on a tip from Ikora, the Guardian combines the map data with Panoptes' algorithms from the moment of its creation, allowing Sagira to locate Panoptes' lair. At that moment, Panoptes itself arrives and forcibly separates Sagira from Ghost before ejecting the Guardian from the Forest.

Regrouping at the Tower, Ikora accompanies the Guardian back to Mercury, where she forces open the gateway to allow the Guardian to return to the Forest. Upon reaching Panoptes' lair, the Guardian fights through Panoptes' simulated legions, but is unable to damage the Vex Mind alone; Panoptes prepares to "delete" the Guardian from the Forest when Osiris himself arrives to aid the Guardian. Osiris is able to hold Panoptes at bay long enough for the Guardian to weaken and then destroy Panoptes, freeing Sagira and preventing the dark future from occurring. The Guardian and Osiris emerge from the gateway, where Ikora invites Osiris to return to the City. Osiris declines, and bids farewell to his former student and the Guardian before returning to the Infinite Forest.

Following the defeat of Panoptes, Emperor Calus extends another invitation to travel to the Leviathan on Nessus, where the fireteam of Guardians venture deep into the Leviathan's core to confront Argos, Planetary Core, the Vex Mind which was responsible for the transformation of Nessus ("Leviathan: Eater of Worlds" raid lair). After destroying Argos, the Guardians are nearly consumed by the Leviathan's fiery inferno, but are saved by Calus, who once again offers a place by his side and more than just the power of the Light.

Critical reception

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic (PC) 61/100[7] (PS4) 57/100[8] (XONE) 57/100[9] Review scores Publication Score GameSpot 5/10[10] IGN 5.5/10[11]

Upon release, Curse of Osiris received mostly average reviews. It has an aggregate score of 57/100 for the PlayStation 4 version (based on 28 reviews),[8] 57/100 for the Xbox One version (based on 9 reviews)[9] and 61/100 for the PC version (based on 9 reviews)[7] from Metacritic.

Warmind

Destiny 2 Expansion II: Warmind
Developer(s)	Bungie
Publisher(s)	Activision (2017–2019) Bungie (2019–present)
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One
Release	May 8, 2018
Genre(s)	Action role-playing, first-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Warmind was released on May 8, 2018 and focuses on the Warmind Rasputin from the original game. This expansion takes players to the planet Mars in a new area called Hellas Basin. The expansion also features a new mode called "Escalation Protocol", a horde mode which can be started by any player in the patrol mode on Mars. Players fight seven waves of Hive enemies culminating in a unique final boss which rotates each week. A maximum of six players in a fireteam can participate in the mode but other players in the patrol area may join in as well. As well, the EXP level cap was raised to 30 and the Power level cap was raised to 380. In addition to Rasputin, a new character named Ana Bray (also from the lore of the original Destiny) was added, who serves as the primary NPC on Mars. A timed-exclusive Strike called "The Insight Terminus" was also added for PS4 players. Like the previous expansion, Warmind also includes a second raid lair on the Leviathan. The expansion also added progressive ranking systems for PvP, titled Valor and Glory. Players earn Valor in quickplay matches while Glory is earned in competitive matches, with each new rank earning greater rewards. Valor points are earned regardless of win or loss, while Glory points are earned by wins but reduced by losses.[2]

Plot

Several months after the events of Curse of Osiris, the Guardian sets out for Mars, the first place where Humanity encountered the Traveler, pursuing the remnants of the Red Legion as they scavenge across the Solar System in their retreat. As the Guardian's ship arrives, orbital weapon platforms known as Warsats begin falling out of orbit and smashing into the surface. The Guardian receives a distress call on the Vanguard's private comm channel from a Hunter named Ana Bray, warning that the Hive have broken out of the southern polar icecaps and attacking the Clovis Bray Research Facility at Hellas Basin. The Guardian goes to the surface to assist Bray, who reveals that the central core of the ancient Warmind Rasputin, which controlled the Warsats, is inside the facility, and that the encounters with Rasputin in the Cosmodrome on Earth (as seen in the original Destiny) were fragments of his personality left behind following the Collapse. Reluctant to involve the Vanguard due to its policy of not pursuing past lives, Bray asks the Guardian to help her get inside Clovis Bray and protect Rasputin. From her ability to access the security systems, it is revealed that Bray had been a scientist at the facility, operated by her family, in her life before becoming a Guardian.

As the Guardian fights through hordes of Hive to reach Rasputin's central core, the Warmind activates a javelin-like weapon called the Valkyrie to assist the Guardian in battling through the elite Hive forces. As the Guardian and Bray enter Rasputin's core, however, they are confronted by Commander Zavala, who excoriates Bray for focusing on her past life in defiance of Vanguard law, instead of helping the Guardians fight against Ghaul on Earth. As the facility shakes, Zavala reveals that Rasputin was "not the only thing to awaken on Mars". A Hive worm god called Xol, Will of the Thousands, has also arisen, and is directing the frozen hordes of Hive around Clovis Bray to attack the facility and destroy Rasputin. Bray insists that Rasputin is the key to defeating Xol, but Zavala refuses, considering Rasputin to be too dangerous.

To bait Xol, Zavala sends the Guardian back to the EDZ on Earth, to investigate another shard of the Traveler broken off when it awakened at the end of the Red War. The Guardian finds the fragment in a Taken containment shield, and Bray is able to call upon Rasputin to retarget a Warsat in Earth orbit to fire on the fragment, disabling the shield. Returning to Mars with the fragment, the Guardian ventures into the Hive's caverns deep beneath Hellas Basin to locate Xol's feeding ground, where they encounter Nokris, Herald of Xol and the exiled son of Oryx, the Taken King (who was killed in The Taken King). After the Guardian defeats Nokris, they set down the fragment. Xol emerges, ignoring the fragment and burying the Guardian in the collapsing ice caves. Though the Guardian is able to crawl out of the rubble, Bray warns that Xol is heading directly for the Clovis Bray facility to destroy Rasputin, which would make the worm god all but unbeatable. Setting aside his reservations about the Warmind, Zavala reluctantly agrees to Bray's plan to use Rasputin in order to destroy Xol.

As the Guardian fights through Xol's hordes, Bray calls on the Guardian to overload Rasputin's core to channel more power into the Valkyrie. After disabling the cooling system and forcing a core meltdown, the Guardian emerges on an exterior platform to confront Xol. With Bray's help in stabilizing the power to generate Valkyrie javelins, the Guardian destroys Xol in a pitched battle. The Guardian then joins Bray and Zavala at Rasputin's central core. Speaking in Russian (with Bray as translator), the Warmind declares that while the Bray family sought to make him into an "all-seeing savior", and the Vanguard sought to wield him as a "primitive weapon", he would define his own existence from now on, and defend Humanity on his own terms. Rasputin then releases a new network of Warsats to the edges of the Solar System and beyond, to ensure that "never again will a threat go unseen".

Following Xol's defeat, the remnants of the Red Legion, led by Val Ca'uor, assault the Leviathan in an attempt to assassinate Emperor Calus. Calus once again calls upon Guardians to his aid ("Leviathan: Spire of Stars" raid lair). With aid from Calus's psychic powers, the Guardians repel the Red Legion assault and defeat Ca'uor. Calus then congratulates the Guardians for their efforts and tells them he awaits the day they stand by his side when the end comes. Although it was believed that Xol was destroyed, it is soon discovered after the defeat of Ca'uor that the worm god had in fact survived; the Guardian discovers an anomaly deep in the Grove of Ulan-Tan on Io, where Xol had been communing with the Taken there ever since being defeated by the Guardian. The Guardian investigates the anomaly and eliminates the Taken there, including three former enemies who were resurrected and Taken by Xol—Ta'aurc, Aspect of War; Urzok, Aspect of Hate; and Drevis, Aspect of Darkness. After eliminating the Taken, the Guardian obtains an exotic heavy sniper rifle called the Whisper of the Worm, revealed to be Xol itself transformed into a weapon so it could feed off the Guardian's kills in combat.

Forsaken

Main article: Destiny 2: Forsaken

The third expansion, Forsaken, was released on September 4, 2018, beginning Year 2 of Destiny 2. Similar to the original Destiny's The Taken King expansion, Forsaken had a large overhaul on gameplay, though not to the extent that The Taken King had with the original Destiny. A large expansion, the story has a "western revenge" theme, according to Bungie. A large portion of the expansion takes place in the Reef's Tangled Shore, including a new raid called "Last Wish", which takes place in the end-game area, the Dreaming City, also located in the Reef. The developers claimed that it has more bosses than any previous raid (including from the original game) with a massive roam area, puzzles, and the raid will change over time based on players' actions in the raid itself. There is also a new mode called Gambit that combines PvE and PvP, and features its own ranking system called Infamy, which works similar to the Crucible's Valor ranking system. Two teams of four players compete against each other while facing PvE enemies. A new weapon type, a bow and arrow, was also added. The EXP level cap was raised to 50 and the Power level cap was raised to 600.[12] A trailer displayed during Sony's E3 2018 press conference showed the death of Cayde-6 by the hands of the returning Prince Uldren Sov. Uldren is on a mission to find his lost sister, Queen Mara Sov, believing her to still be alive after the events of The Taken King and he leads the Scorn, former Fallen that were revived from the dead and have become their own race.[13] The launch trailer for Forsaken revealed that the player's Guardian would once again speak; the player's Guardian had not spoken since the end of the original Destiny's base campaign.

Annual Pass

The Destiny 2 Annual Pass was released alongside the third expansion, Forsaken, and was available as a bundle with Forsaken or could be purchased separately from Forsaken (although Forsaken is required to access the content of the Annual Pass). The Annual Pass included three premium downloadable content packages that were released in Winter 2018, and Spring and Summer of 2019.[3][14] Content in these content drops included new endgame challenges, new weapons, armor and "vanity rewards" to collect, new and returning Exotics, new pinnacle activities, new triumph records to collect, and new lore to discover.[15] 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.[16]

Season of the Forge

Season of the Forge, also known as Black Armory, was released on December 4, 2018 as the first content drop for the Annual Pass. The expansion revolved around the exploits of Ada-1, a female Exo who has been left in charge of a late Golden Age weapon foundry known as the Black Armory. The story was much more loose and lore-driven than that of Forsaken, with the player piecing together the story of the weapon foundry via weapon lore tabs and minor quests given by Ada-1. The main new activity for the expansion was the "Lost Forge", where players forge weapons in Black Armory forges on the EDZ and Nessus while protecting the forges from waves of enemies. Players obtain weapon frames that can be purchased from Ada-1, then complete certain objectives for each weapon frame prior to participating in a Lost Forge activity. A new raid, "Scourge of the Past", was also released, and takes place in the Last City. In addition, the Power level cap was increased to 650, and four new exotic weapons were introduced—Le Monarque (a poisoning combat bow), Jötunn (a handheld fusion rifle that shoots tracking fireballs), Izanagi's Burden (a sniper rifle that can fuse up to four shots into one powerful one), and Anarchy (a Fallen grenade launcher that can create an electrical grid). The Last Word, an exotic hand cannon from the original game, was made available through an exotic quest that was released near the end of the season. The Dawning holiday season event also returned and lasted from December 11, 2018 to January 1, 2019, featuring the return of Eva Levante from the first game, who serves as the event's main vendor. The Valentine's Day-themed event Crimson Days also returned, and ran for one week from February 12 to 19, 2019.[3][14]

Plot

Following the events of Forsaken, the Guardian is given a mysterious seal by the Spider, leading them to a hidden section of the Tower known as the Annex. Here the Guardian meets Ada-1, an Exo who is the curator of the Black Armory, a weapon foundry that was founded during the late Golden Age, known for creating valuable and high quality weapons. Despite the initial hostility from Ada, the Guardian eventually earns her trust and wares, slowly piecing together the identity of the Black Armory's mysterious assailant who has been stealing the Lost Forges—used by the Black Armory to craft their weapons—for themselves. After discovering three of the forges—Volundr in the European Dead Zone, and Gofannon and Izanami on Nessus—the Guardian discovers that the mystery assailant is a Fallen captain named Siviks, Lost to None, the forsaken brother of the Spider. Siviks, seeking to plunder the Black Armory vault in the Last City, dispatches an invasion force led by Insurrection Prime, Kell's Scourge, a Prime Servitor built into an immense bipedal war machine. A fireteam of Guardians confront and destroy the machine at a desolate section of the city housing the vault ("Scourge of the Past" raid), which later prompts the revelation of the last Forge, Bergusia, and its location in the European Dead Zone. Upon discovering and igniting the Bergusia Forge, the Guardian is able to unlock a mysterious box, containing a unique weapon frame, the likes of which Ada claims to have never seen. After a lengthy quest involving returning to Eleusinia and once more igniting the Bergusia Forge, the Guardian returns to Ada and forges the exotic sniper rifle Izanagi's Burden, the same weapon used by Ada centuries prior to take vengeance on the founders' murderers. One last time, the Guardian returns to the Bergusia Forge and confronts Siviks, killing him and returning a device known as the Obsidian Accelerator to her, restoring her lost memory and rebuilding the Black Armory once and for all.

Sometime after the defeat of Siviks, the Drifter summons the Guardian to the Tower and gives them a tainted Hive artifact for them to cleanse using their Light. The Guardian defeats several Hive as well as Guardians in the Crucible, and then heads to Titan where a Hive ritual to create Weapons of Sorrow is taking place. After disrupting the Hive ritual, the Drifter then advises the Guardian to sully their Light in order for them to stop a Hive weapon master from creating more Weapons of Sorrow. The Guardian taints their Light by defeating more Guardians in the Crucible, collecting Hive crystals and larvae, as well as disrupting Hive summoning rituals on both Titan and Mars. After doing so, the Drifter contacts the Guardian, stating he has located the Hive weapon master, Enkaar, the Anointed, on the Tangled Shore. The Guardian travels to the Tangled Shore and confronts Enkaar. Out of nowhere, the exotic hand cannon The Last Word appears before the Guardian and they use it to defeat Enkaar for good. The Guardian returns to the Drifter afterwards, who is extremely furious to see the Guardian wielding the fabled weapon, stating he knows its previous owner; the Drifter then warns the Guardian to not betray his trust.

Season of the Drifter

Released on March 5, 2019, Season of the Drifter, also known as Joker's Wild, was the second content drop for the Annual Pass and focused on the Drifter and his connection with the Nine. It introduced a brand new Gambit mode called Gambit Prime (a more intensive, single round-based version of Gambit, with some changes), as well as a new activity tied to it called "The Reckoning", a three-tier PvE horde mode that takes place inside the Drifter's mysterious ship and the realm of the Nine. The Reckoning's three tiers were released over the course of the season and awards new Gambit Prime role-specific gear with perks that can be used in Gambit Prime. The four Gambit Prime roles that are tied into the new gear are "Invader" (focusing on invading the opposing team's arena and stealing motes from their bank, color-coded red), "Sentry" (focusing on defeating blockers and invaders and defending their bank, color-coded yellow), "Collector" (specializing in collecting and banking motes, color-coded white), and "Reaper" (specializing in defeating enemies, color-coded green). Collecting a full set of gear tied to a particular role unlocks exclusive perks for that role. As well, the Power level cap was increased to 700; players who were below the recommended power level for the expansion's activities could obtain power surge bounties from the Drifter to obtain gear that would quickly raise their power level up to 640. The expansion also added two new Gambit maps and private Gambit matches; a nine-week quest called "Invitations of the Nine" that can be obtained from Xûr starting from March 15 that unlocked new story and lore focusing on the Nine and their Emissary (who was formerly the NPC for the Trials of the Nine PvP mode from the base game); an allegiance quest that began on March 15 that allowed players to either side with the Vanguard or with the Drifter; a new spring-themed event called "The Revelry" that ran from April 16 to May 6, 2019, with Eva Levante as the returning vendor for the event; as well as two exotic quests, which awarded Thorn, a returning exotic hand cannon from the original game, and Outbreak Perfected (formerly known as Outbreak Prime), an exotic pulse rifle from the original game's Rise of Iron expansion.[17][18] [3][14]

Plot

Shortly after the events of Season of the Forge, the Guardian is summoned by the Drifter, who has moved down to the Annex. The Drifter invites the Guardians to participate in his new scam called Gambit Prime; he also invites the Guardian to visit his ship, the Derelict, after completing a few matches. The Guardian, upon exploring the Derelict, discovers that the mysterious haul tied to the back of the ship that, upon entering, leads into the realm of the Nine in unknown space. The Guardian fights waves upon waves of Taken inside the haul, including powerful Taken facsimiles of Nokris and Oryx. The Guardian also meets the Emissary of the Nine inside the haul, who reveals to the Guardian that it was the Nine who gifted the Drifter with the haul itself, and that the Taken and Primevals that the Drifter uses in Gambit originate from there, created by the Darkness and the Drifter's force of will. The Drifter finds out about this and advises the Guardian to not trust the Nine and to stop contacting the Emissary; he reveals that the Emissary was an Awoken named Orin who was close to Mara Sov before dying and being resurrected as a Guardian, and that she sought the Nine to gain power and was subsequently transformed into the Emissary. Despite the Drifter's objections, the Guardian continues to make contact with the Emissary via Xûr over the course of nine weeks, which leads to a dark omen from the Emissary, foretelling the return of the Darkness.

During these events, the Guardian is contacted by a Praxic Order Warlock named Aunor Mahal, who strongly advises the Guardian to not trust the Drifter—Aunor has been investigating the Drifter due to his connection with the Shadows of Yor, a group of renegade Guardians known as Dredgens who idolize Dredgen Yor, a former Titan who had been corrupted by the Hive and the Darkness and killed by Shin Malphur, a legendary Hunter who was also the previous owner of The Last Word exotic weapon; the Drifter has been training Guardians to become Dredgens themselves through Gambit. As a result, Aunor has made several attempts to persuade the Vanguard to expel the Drifter from the Tower by any means necessary. In light of this revelation, the Drifter contacts the Guardian and asks where the Guardian's loyalties lie—whether if the Guardian remains loyal to the Vanguard or if the Guardian fully trusts the Drifter. Regardless of the decision made by the player, the Guardian learns more about the Drifter and his past through a series of recordings scattered throughout the European Dead Zone. In the recordings, it is revealed that the Drifter was resurrected by a Ghost during the Dark Age of humanity, becoming one of the first Guardians known as the "Risen", but he did not trust the Traveler's Light nor the Ghost that revived him. After several years trying to survive and live a normal, peaceful life despite getting into several conflicts with other Risen, the Drifter departed the Solar System during the onset of the City Age with a crew in search of a power "greater than Light". It was also revealed that the Drifter was also part of the Shadows of Yor for a short time until he had a falling out with a fellow Shadow named Callum Sol, followed by a testy confrontation with Shin Malphur; the Drifter also warns of an impending second Collapse, and that the Reckoning activity in the Derelict's haul was created to prepare Guardians for the looming apocalypse.

Sometime later, the Guardian discovers a Fallen transponder on Titan, left behind by Mithrax, the Forsaken, a friendly Fallen who was initially encountered and spared by the Guardian during the Red War, and has since become their steadfast ally. The Guardian deciphers the transponder by finding six data nodes throughout the EDZ and Nessus; after retrieving the six data nodes, the Guardian uncovers rendezvous coordinates, leading them to Mithrax himself, hiding out in the basement of an old building on the Farm. Mithrax brings the Guardian to the ruins of the old Tower in the Last City, where Fallen House of Devils loyalists have broken into the Cryptarch vault deep within and have stolen preserved SIVA tech. The Guardian and Mithrax invade the old Tower ruins and neutralize Siriks, Loyal to Eramis, the Fallen captain behind the heist. After defeating Siriks, Mithrax recovers and gives the Guardian the SIVA-powered exotic pulse rifle Outbreak Perfected, in order to prevent the Fallen from using SIVA ever again. The Drifter eventually notices the Guardian's efforts, and asks the Guardian to "grab something" for him the next time they are in the old Tower ruins.

Season of Opulence

Released on June 4, 2019, Season of Opulence, also known as Penumbra, was the third and final content drop for the Annual Pass and focused on Emperor Calus from the base game's "Leviathan" raid, who is the main NPC for the expansion via his emissaries Benedict 99-40 in the Tower and Werner 99-40 on Nessus. The expansion raised the Power level cap to 750, and introduced a new six-player match-made activity called "The Menagerie", a PvE horde mode featuring raid-like mechanics that takes place on the Leviathan which awards weapons and gear that players can choose to earn via runes offered to an upgradeable item called the Chalice of Opulence. Runes for the Chalice can be obtained from weekly bounties, weekly chests on a new location on Nessus called the Imperial Barge, as well as from using a new consumable that will reward a rune from completing strikes and Crucible and Gambit matches. The Chalice itself can be upgraded by using a new currency called "Imperials", which are awarded by completing weekly bounties and treasure maps obtained from Benedict 99-40 and Werner 99-40, completing triumphs, as well as using a consumable that will increase the chances of obtaining Imperials from completing strikes, Crucible and Gambit matches, and the Menagerie. New bosses for the Menagerie were released on June 11 and June 18, and the heroic version of the activity sans matchmaking was released on June 25. A new raid, "Crown of Sorrow", which also takes place on the Leviathan, was released and made available the same day the expansion released; the expansion's opening quest must be completed in order to access the raid. Players who were below the recommended Power level for the expansion's activities were awarded gear that quickly raised their Power level up to 690 upon completing the opening quest, acting similar to the power surge bounties from the previous season. Three exotic quests were also made available, which awarded Truth, a homing exotic rocket launcher from the original game, and Lumina, a brand new exotic hand cannon similar to Thorn. A third exotic quest, which awarded Bad Juju, an exotic pulse rifle also from the original game, was also released in the form of a brand new activity and space called "The Tribute Hall", which released on July 9. Players can obtain golden tribute statues for their Tribute Hall by completing in-game triumphs as well as purchasing tributes directly from a statue called the Visage of Calus. Completing bounties obtained from the Visage of Calus lower the cost of purchasing tributes directly from the statue, with only four bounties (each giving 1% discount) being able to be completed each day. The maximum discount for purchasing tributes is 80%. The expansion also saw the return of the yearly "Moments of Triumph" on July 9, as well as the return of the Solstice of Heroes summer event on July 30, with Eva Levante once again returning as the main vendor for the event.[19][3][14][20]

Plot

Following the events of Season of the Drifter, the Guardian is given an imperial summons by Benedict 99-40 (who has also moved to the Annex in the Tower) on the orders of Emperor Calus of the Cabal. The Guardian is invited to partake in treasure hunts across the Solar System, as well as exploring the Leviathan's Menagerie—described by Calus as the Leviathan's oldest deck and once served as a prison for the Emperor and his Loyalist Cabal after Ghaul usurped Calus's throne and sent them into exile, now turned into an arena that pits Vex and Hive captured by Calus against Guardians for the Emperor's own entertainment—and other tasks that the Emperor has created for them. After participating in the Menagerie, the Guardian returns to Werner 99-40 on Nessus and is informed by Calus that one of his Loyalist Shadows, Gahlran, the Sorrow-Bearer, was given a Hive artifact called the Crown of Sorrow in an attempt to control the Hive, but instead triggered a trap laid by Savathûn, causing Gahlran to fall under her control; as a result, the Leviathan has been overrun by the Hive. Wanting the Leviathan cleansed of the Hive infestation and his former Shadow put down, a fireteam of Guardians assembled by Calus make their way into the vessel's treasure vaults deep within the Menagerie and confront Gahlran ("Crown of Sorrow" raid). With the aid of Savathûn's magics, the Guardians slay the mad Shadow, rendering the Crown of Sorrow inert. Calus rewards the Guardians with treasure and formally makes them his Shadows.

Sometime after the defeat of Gahlran, Calus invites the Guardian to travel to the Leviathan, where the Emperor has erected a tribute hall onboard the vessel to celebrate the Guardian and their legacy. At first the hall is empty but Calus advises the Guardian to complete tasks across the Solar System to earn golden tribute statues for the hall. After the Guardian fills the hall with some tributes, a portal to the Ascendant Realm appears in the middle of the hall, indicating that the Leviathan was pulled partially into the Ascendant Realm as a result of the Crown of Sorrow's influence. The Guardian ventures into the Ascendant Realm and defeats both Taken originating from the Hellmouth on Earth's Moon and Calus's Loyalists deep within. After surviving the onslaught, the Guardian escapes the Ascendant Realm and returns to the tribute hall, where a display case below the Ascendant portal unlocks and rewards the Guardian with the exotic pulse rifle Bad Juju.

Shadowkeep

Main article: Destiny 2: Shadowkeep

On June 6, 2019, Bungie announced the next expansion, Shadowkeep, which was planned to be released on September 17, 2019, but was delayed to October 1, 2019. The expansion is set on the Moon and features the return of Eris Morn and is similar in scale to Forsaken. Shadowkeep does not have any dependencies on previous DLC. Its release coincides with a number of changes brought upon by Bungie breaking away from its publishing agreement with Activision, including the transition of the PC version from Battle.net to Steam, release for the Stadia cloud gaming platform, cross-save support between platforms, discontinuation of PlayStation 4-exclusive content, and release of a "foundational" version of Destiny 2 as a free-to-play title, under the name "New Light", which also includes the first two expansions.[21]

Beyond Light

Main article: Destiny 2: Beyond Light

On June 9, 2020, Bungie announced the fifth expansion, Beyond Light, which was planned to be released on September 22, 2020, but was delayed to November 10, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The expansion is set on Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and features the return of the Exo Stranger from the first game and is similar in scale to Forsaken and Shadowkeep. The expansion will also bring back the Cosmodrome on Earth as a playable destination as well as the "Vault of Glass" raid from the first game. For the first time in the franchise's history, players will be able to wield the Darkness in battle, featuring new Darkness-based subclasses and a fourth, Darkness-based element called Stasis. Similar to Shadowkeep, Beyond Light is a standalone expansion and will not require any dependencies on previous DLC.

References

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