Bungie just wrapped up an admittedly long live-stream for Destiny’s House of Wolves expansion. Like previous live-streams, this one was focused on revealing a singular aspect of the new expansion, namely the Prison of Elders Arena activity.
The Prison of Elders is essentially a randomly generated Horde mode of sorts. It has four different types at any given time – level 28 (which nets Vanguard marks and reputation), level 32 (for House of Judgement Reputation and Cores), level 34 (HoJ Reputation, Cores and Etheric Light) and level 35. According to Bungie, the level 35 mode will stay constant while the others cycle on a weekly basis (with five types in total). It should be noted that both level 34 and level 35 modes grant Etheric Light and Cores. The activity supports matchmaking for level 28 but you’ll need to make a group for the higher difficulties. You can also one or two man the higher Areans if you’d so desire.
The Prison of Elders mode showcased was level 34, which had five rounds. Each round has a different enemy type and a different modifier. Some of these are new and never before seen such as an increase to Primary Weapon damage, slow charge rate for Supers, increased shields but lower shield recharge and even a boost to melee attacks. Old modifiers like Arc Burn also showed up, which was responsible for the live-stream team’s continuous wiping. Overall, there seem to be 20 or so modifiers in total.
Each round completion nets you a checkpoint. Complete three waves and you advance to the next round. Fail and you do the round again. There aren’t any checkpoints like Vault of Glass however – once you’re in, you need to see it through all the way to earn your rewards. Each wave has the potential for a different critical objective such as diffusing three mines (capturing three points) or assassinating a VIP target quickly. Completing these objectives nets you weapons like the new Scorch Launcher which lets you fire rockets and hold down the trigger for increased damage. Failure to complete critical objectives results in a wipe.
There seem to be different enemy types for each “Arena” in question with the level 34 Arena populated by Cabal and Hive. The only new weapon showcased during the stream was the Vestian Dynasty, a fast firing Arc pistol from the Reef. What it lacks in impact it makes up for in reload speed and fire rate.
What are your thoughts on the Prison of Elders in House of Wolves? Let us know in the comments. House of Wolves is out on May 19th for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360 and PS3.