‘Destiny 2: Forsaken’ Expansion Looks Like It Will Deliver Overhaul ‘Destiny’ Fans Expected

Bungie has much riding on Destiny 2’s first big yearly expansion, dubbed Forsaken, due out in September. The studio revealed the opening pieces of its plan to overhaul the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC online shooter this fall with new content, a new game mode, plus many much-requested new features to address lingering issues.

Destiny 2: Forsaken is due out September 4 on all platforms and will cost $35 by itself, similar to the price Destiny 1: The Taken King was released at. Additionally, Bungie is introducing an Annual Pass for smaller DLC updates scheduled for winter 2018 plus spring and summer 2019. This will cost another $35 and include new activities, end-game content, weapons, armor, and other gear plus exclusive rewards.

Bungie also explained the Annual Pass is their way of trying to support the game going forward, but it isn’t clear if this is in addition to Eververse microtransactions or replacing them. This does make the price for each expansion cheaper than before at just under $12 each, however.

‘Forsaken’ Campaign

The Destiny 2: Forsaken campaign will pair Guardians up with Cayde-6 as they go to a wild west-style setting on the now lawless Reef. The Prison of Elders has experienced a prison break where eight deadly Barons roam free in the new Tangled Shore destination and must be brought to justice. Each Baron has their own unique style of combat and followers, which looks to be more than simple re-skins of existing Destiny enemies.

While the setting and content of the Destiny 2: Forsaken campaign look intriguing, it is all the other changes Bungie is heaping into the expansion release that has the community excited.

New Super Abilities

Nine additional Super abilities will be available for Guardians. Those shown include a replacement of the Golden Gun Super with a Hunter capable of throwing multiple knives. Meanwhile, the Thor-like hammer for the Sunbreaker Titan sub-class is replaced with an even larger hammer. Further changes are also present in all the other sub-classes like a Void Warlock with teleportation abilities.

What isn’t known at the moment is if the word “additional” in the official description of Destiny 2: Forsaken means the existing Super abilities will still be present.

New PvEvP Mode

Another huge addition to Destiny 2: Forsaken is the Gambit mode that mixes together the PvE and PvP elements of the game. Two teams of four will battle against enemies in two separate arenas to collect and “bank” motes of Light. One team can send enemies into the other players’ arena to try and slow the other team down. Additionally, one team can send a single-player into the other team’s arena to try and kill off opponents.

This is unlike anything ever added in a Destiny game and points to the kind of high-risk, high-reward playstyle players love. This will be playable at E3 on the show floor next as well as at GuardianCon.

New Weapon Type

Destiny 2 is receiving a bow and arrow with the release of the Forsaken expansion. This one-shot, one kill weapon appears to reward skill.

New Weapon Slot System

The most surprising change is how Bungie is moving away from the currently despised weapon slot system that essentially forces players into selecting two primaries and a heavy weapon. All weapon slots can hold any type of weapon with the 2.0 update releasing alongside Forsaken. Players will be able to equip all shotguns if they so desire.

It’s unclear if there will be any restrictions on pairing up weapons and how ammo will be handled with this system. More details are expected at E3 and GuardianCon where the change will be present.

The Dreaming City

The new end-game destination in Destiny 2: Forsaken will be The Dreaming City. This location is said to hide the secrets of the Awoken and will host the new collection of Raids and possibly other end-game content as well. Bungie could not reveal much about this destination but did say it would change over time based on player activity.

Collections and Triumphs

The lack of ways to track what players have collected and things discovered in Destiny 2 is one of the disappointing aspects that will be addressed in the 2.0 Forsaken update. New tabs are being added to the player inventory where players will be able to see all the weapons, armor, and vanity items they have collected along with hints toward the ones they haven’t.

Meanwhile, Destiny 2 will track player achievements through the Triumphs menu. This will show in-game activities that have been completed along with lore items discovered.

Development Roadmap Update

Bungie also released an update development roadmap showing the 1.2.3 update scheduled for Jul 17 will make the Quickplay playlist 6v6 permanent, while the Competitive playlist will remain 4v4. Additionally, Rumble is receiving a permanent playlist.

Other items that Bungie covered in the 2.0 update but did not expand on include:

• Mod system Overhaul
• Ability to bulk delete Shaders
• New Crucible mode
• Random Weapon rolls
• Four new Crucible maps
• Expanding the Vault an additional 200 slots
• Making Power matter in Iron Banner and Trials