Much like they did with The Taken King an the original Destiny, Bungie are now attempting to fix the various problems that have been identified with Destiny 2 with the new Forsaken expansion. Apart from the multiple balance, mechanical, and quality of life changes that it brings to the table (which are available to all players, even those who don’t buy the expansion), it also brings a lot of new content to the table, including new gear and new campaign missions.
Without further ado, then, let’s get started.
LEVELING UP DIRECTLY WITH THE SPARK OF LIGHT
Destiny 2: Forsaken raises the level cap to 50, and the Power Level cap to 600- which is a big jump from where things stand right now. However, that doesn’t concern you if you’re not caught up with the game so far- you need to be Level 25 just to be able to begin the expansion’s campaign. If, for whatever reason, that includes you, Bungie is pulling a Blizzard, and letting you level your character up directly to 25. This is in the form of the Spark of Light item, which you get one of for free with a purchase of Forsaken. You can use it to level up your Guardian right away to 25, which is enough to get stated with the new campaign- but after that, you’re on your own. Note that you only get one Spark of Light– even if you have more than one character on your account. You can purchase more, but they cost $30, which is absurd, so make your decision regarding which character you want to level up carefully.
EXOTIC WEAPONS
- Ace of Spades (Hand Cannon) – Players of Destiny 2 will be familiar with this one, since it is Cayde-6’s hand canon. It works pretty much exactly as you’d expect.
- Black Talon (Sword) – A deadly sword that is also effective at ranged combat, owing to its ability to unleash arc energy attacks
- Chromatic Fire (Fusion Rifle) – If you score a precision hit kill with this rifle, you have a chance of causing mayhem with an elemental energy explosion. The perfect weapon for skilled players.
- The Last Dance (Sidearm) – One of the easier Exotics to get in the game, players will receive this one randomly.
- Lord of Wolves (Shotgun) – With an incredible firing rate, and a high energy Solar Damage Booster, this weapon is devastating at short range.
- Malfeasance (Hand Cannon) – Land five Precision Hits with it, and you will create an explosion at the last one’s point of impact- again, a weapon that is begging to be used by a skilled player.
- No Turning Back (Bow) – Arrows shot from this bow explode after a little time has passed, making them do double duty as grenades in addition to arrows.
- One Thousand Voices (Trace Rifle) – Fires an exploding beam of solar energy. You know how that goes.
- Trinity Ghoul (Bow) – Land a precision hit with this, and you will create en electrical storm. The wrath of Zeus rains down upon your foes!
- Two-Tailed Fox (Rocket Launcher) – A rocket launcher that fires two rockets at once. You don’t need any perks beyond that, honestly.
- Wish Ender (Bow) – See through walls when equipped with this Bow, and get the jump on your enemies.
EXOTIC GEAR
- Gwisin Vest (Hunter):Each Spectral Blades kill you make before going into stealth will restore more of your Super energy
- The Sixth Coyote (Hunter):Gain a second dodge charge
- Contraverse Hold (Warlock): Resist incoming damage while charging your Chaos grenade with Chaos Accelerant, Feed the Void, or Handheld Supernova. Charged Void Grenades return a random amount of grenade energy on a hit.
- Shards of Galanor (Hunter): Hits and kills with Blade Barrage will return Super energy after Super ends
- Antaeus Wards (Titan): Improved slide. Sliding reflects incoming projectiles, which grants Super energy.
- Chromatic Fire (Warlock): Precision kills with a Kinetic weapon create an explosion in the element of your equipped subclass.
- Ursa Furiosa (Titan): Move faster while guarding when Sentinel Shield is active. Guarded damage converts to Super energy when Super ends.
- Phoenix Protocol (Warlock): Kills and assists you make while standing in your Well of Radiance return Super energy.
- Geomag Stabilizers (Warlock): When Chaos Reach Super energy is almost full, sprinting tops it off. Damaging enemies with Chaos Reach extends its duration.
- One Eyed Mask (Titan): Marks the enemy that dares damage you. Track down and destroy your enemy for increased damage and overshield.
NEW SUPERS
There are nine new Supers added via Forsaken, three for each of the Classes, one for each subclass. Gaining them can be a big pain- you ned to be at least Power Level 380, and you need to farm Visions of Light (pro-tip: complete Public Events in the Tangled Shore area, since they seem to drop a lot more often there than anywhere else), complete the new mission on Io, and you unlock a new Super for your equipped subclass.
Titan:
- Barrier Shield (Sentinel): Creates a shield that blocks enemy attacks, but allows your own to pass through. Melee attacks cause Void-based explosions.
- Siege Hammer (Sunbreaker): Your hammer can be thrown for melee damage; retrieve it to recharge your melee, and instantly regenerate your health. The more Solar kills you have, the more powerful your hammer becomes (stacks up to 3x)
- Thundercrash (Striker): Groundpound for super energy. While this Super is active, sliding through bullets grants automatic reloads.
Hunter:
- Blade Barrage (Gunslinger): Launch burning blades that detonate on impact
- Spectral Blades (Nightstalker): A stealth based Super that powers up your Melee, while also making it easier for you to strike undetected
- Whirlwind Guard (Arcstriker): Reflect enemy projectiles and do triple damage after using the Guard
Warlock
- Chaos Reach (Stormcaller): Fire a powerful beam of arc energy
- Nova Warp (Voidwalker): Gain the Atomic Breach melee ability to hit at long range, gain the ability to teleport rapidly, and hold down Grenade to create a short-range Supernova explosion
- Well of Radiance (Dawnblade): Your grenades heal allies; melee attacks burn enemies, but buff allies; gain an overhead sword strike that damages enemies but heals allies
GAMBIT MODE GUIDE
Gambit is the exciting new multiplayer mode added to Destiny 2 with Forsaken that shows some of the old multiplayer brilliance that Bungie was known for. Melding PvP and PvE, the mode basically tasks two teams of four players each with killing waves of enemies as quickly as possible. The team that kills all the enemies, and their final boss, first, wins. Through all this, you can also, of course, choose to attack the other team to sabotage them. Enemies can also drop Motes of Light, which you can bank and encash to get the chance to fight your Final Boss right away.
It’s a new kind of mode- so here’s some tips to start you off:
- Speed dominates this mode! I can’t say this enough- you can’t be slow and expect to do well. Equip fast firing weapons, be quick on your feet, and always be on the move
- Don’t save your Super. Use it to clear out enemies, or opposing team members- again, speed is paramount, so do what you need to to get to the final boss asap
- Have some heavy weaponry on hand. While I don’t recommend using it during the first phase, it can come in handy against the Final Boss
- Bank Motes ASAP. Never have more than a few on you at a time- especially since you lose them if you die
- 75 Banked Motes let you get straight to the Final Boss. You know what to do!
UNLOCKING THE HALLOWED LAIR STRIKE
This one is the easiest one to unlock- complete the Forsaken campaign. That’s it. Do that, and you can access this from the Director. A minimum Power Level of at least 400 is recommended for this Strike (and higher still for the Nightfall version).
THE ANCIENT’S HAUNT LOOT SECTOR
Loot sectors are dungeons with a lot of great loot to find (duh). They are usually marked on your map, but getting to their entrance from the icon can be a tricky business. Not so for the Ancient’s Haunt- the entrance to it is on Nessus literally where the icon on your map is marked. So, uh- head on there, I guess.
TURN THE CYRO POD PUBLIC EVENT HEROIC
Public events can be turned Heroic in Destiny 2 if certain conditions are fulfilled- this usually makes them harder to complete, but also grants better loot, so it’s a trade-off. So how to turn the Cyro Pod public event in the Tangled Shored Heroic? Well, you have to destroy the caps on the side of the cell of the pod you are capturing and throw the cores at the prisoner. Which sounds easy, but can be complicated.
Basically, once the ground begins to damage you, look for the cap that is letting out a stream of electricity and damage it to reveal the core. Throw the core at the prisoner- once all the cores have been thrown, the prisoner freezes, and the event turns Heroic.