Bungie held a live-stream to discuss many of the interface and gameplay changes coming in Destiny’s The Taken King. And boy was it a doozy.
To start with, Vault Space has effectively been doubled. Each category of item – Armour, Weapons and Consumables – now have 72 slots each and players can switch two pages for each category. Exotic Blueprint collections were also explained and it was more than a little confusing. Any Exotic earned in Year One can be attained from special kiosks and they will be available across all characters. So if you unlocked Obsidian Mind and then lost it, you can go back to this kiosk and pay an Exotic Shard and some Glimmer for a new one.
Here’s where things get interesting. Certain Exotics will have new Year Two variants and if you possess the blueprint for Year One, you can pick up the Year Two variant by spending some marks. However, not all Exotics appear to have made the leap to Year Two. Many have pointed out the lack of Gjallarhorn, for example, in the Year Two screen (despite the fact that Bungie’s David “DeeJ” Dague had it unlocked in Year One).
Attack and defense values for weapons and gear have also been re-balanced to come up with numbers closer to one’s Light level (which is now the average of your attack and defense across all equipped items, including Ghost Shells and Bonds/Capes/Loinclothes which also add to your stats). You attain better gear based on your level and your Light level will go up accordingly.
If you found something you like early on and aren’t a fan of later level weapons but want more attack power, you can choose to sacrifice a higher level Legendary item to make your lower level item more powerful. This is done through the new Infuse option which also requires some Legendary marks, Motes of Light, Glimmer, and other assorted ingredients. It should be noted that the Infuse option is only available for Year Two items (sorry Fatebringer fans).
Speaking of Legendary marks, they’re still capped at 200 but there’s no longer any limit on the amount you can earn. Marks are also shared across characters so your alt characters.
There’s honestly a lot more to go through so hit up the Destiny sub-Reddit for more information including the new UI changes, other kiosks for emblems and shaders, new Ghost shells, earning Reputation at the Gunsmith (and Armsday purchases), pledging allegiance to factions and much more.
Destiny’s The Taken King is out on September 15th for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3 and PS4.
