‘Destiny’ Changes With 2.0 Update Tuesday Confirmed By Bungie

The Destiny 2.0update arrives Tuesday, September 8, a week before The Taken King launches. We could already infer some of what would be available early in the PlayStation and Xbox shooter with the update based on previous comments and announcements. Bungie confirmed Thursday all of the high-level changes coming and some of it is surprising.

As expected, the new leveling system that splits a player’s overall level from their light level will go live with the 2.0 update. Interestingly though, all players will have their overall level cap raised to 34, whether they’ve purchased any of the expansions or not.

The new Quest and Bounty system will also be available with the caveat that all Year One Exotic bounties will be auto-completed when the 2.0 update goes live on September 8. That means the Thorn or Bad Juju bounty along that’s been sitting in your inventory will be turned in and the weapon will be added to your inventory. However, any non-Exotic bounties will be abandoned when the update goes live.

Court is in session. All rise for the Weekly Update. https://t.co/gk75MMinUU pic.twitter.com/yqvx3xCooX

— Bungie (@Bungie) September 3, 2015

In a bit of addition by subtraction, Eris Morn will no longer give out bounties while the Elder Cipher will no longer drop in Prison of Elders. Instead, the three Exotic items that are obtainable from the Elder Cipher will now be a loot drop in the Prison of Elder Treasure Chest.

Collections for Exotic gear plus emblems, shaders, and ships will finally be added. The Exotic collections can be found in the Vanguard Hall; emblems and shaders are next to Eva Levante; and ships will be near the shipwright, Amanda Holliday.

One last big change is the Packs of Wolves added to the game world via the House of Wolves will no longer be around. Bungie isn’t saying what is replacing them, yet. We will likely find out when the 2.0 update goes live.

Finally, the Moments of Triumph due date has been extended to September 14, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Don’t delete any characters prior to the release of The Taken King because a Triumph may be tied to that Guardian. Here’s some other suggestions that Bungie has on what to do (or not) before the expansion’s launch.

• Complete those Year One Bounties
• Don’t delete characters or dismantle items just yet
• Try the Year One campaign again
• Jump into the Crucible for some new action (Crucible Preview)
• Try your beloved Auto-Rifles again
• Destroy remaining Wolf Packs and loot their chests for Ether Keys
• Complete your House of Wolves Grimoire as it applies to hunting in the wild
• Complete your Moments of Triumph [time extended – read below]

Here are the complete list of changes that will be available with the Destiny 2.0 update on Tuesday. It will go live at 5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT.

Character

• Character Level Cap for all players will be raised to 34
  • Level Cap for The Taken King will be 40
  • You will be able to level up by gaining XP alone
  • Character Level and Light are now separate statistics
  • Your Character Level will be grandfathered into your highest possible Light Level from all gear in your inventory and vault
• Attack and Defense ratings for armor and weapons will be translated to the new systems – their power levels will be unchanged
• Grimoire Score has been moved from the Character Nameplate and now displays in the Character Screen

Quests

• A Quest Screen will be added to your Menu
• Tracks all active Quests
• Abandoned Quests can be recovered in the Hall of Guardians
• Year One Activities have been converted to the Quest system

Bounties

• Bounty slots will be increased to 16
• Incomplete Year One Bounties will be auto-abandoned on 09/08 in preparation for launch of The Taken King
• Incomplete Year One Exotic Bounties are auto-completed with their respective Vendors
• Year One bounties issues by Eris will be retired
• Reputation with Crota’s Bane can continue to be earned by completing Quests in The Taken King

Tower

• Collections have been added to the Tower
  • Emblems/Shaders can be found near Eva Lavante
  • Ships can be found near Amanda Holliday
• Exotic Armor and Weapon Blueprint added to the Tower
  • You will now have the Blueprint for all Exotics you own in your Collection
  • Report to the Vanguard in the Hall of Guardians

Inventory

• Motes of Light will be used to grant XP to Weapons and Armor
• Class-specific Armor materials will be deprecated in favor of a unified Armor Material
• Vanguard Quartermaster, Roni-9940, will exchange old materials for armor materials

Weapons & Armor

• Revised Sandbox balance will be in effect, based on our previous analysis

World

• Fallen Wolf Hunt Patrols will retreat in anticipation of the arrival of Oryx in your solar system

[Images via Bungie]