Destiny – The Dark Below

Four story missions, each taking place in the base game’s levels (except backwards). Two strikes, one being exclusive to PlayStation players for a year. A short and buggy raid that was best completed by pulling the LAN cable from one’s router. Destiny was quite the meme when it first launched and there was no bigger meme than The Dark Below, which cost a whopping $20 standalone. Have fun completing the content in a week or two and then waiting five months for more!

Blitzkrieg – Dead Rising 2

Created by combining an Electric Chair – itself made from a battery and wheelchair – with an assault rifle or LMG, the Blitzkrieg isn’t very mobile. It’s also slightly tough to craft. But lest you think this is just a slow wheelchair with guns, the Blitzkrieg has some of the best stopping power in the game. Zombies can be downed in one or two shots and there’s 250 uses in total, allowing for a pretty big spree of murder.

General Mikiel – Strider

General Mikiel has no qualms about attacking from afar and then retreating when Strider approaches. And you can kind of respect that strategy but as a boss fight, having to chase him through several rooms before he finally hops in his tank and stands his ground? It’s…interesting, that’s for sure.

There are a few other things to dissect though. Research firm like Cowen and Company believe that the split from Activision was due to the difference in vision over the game’s direction. Schreier notes that an annualized format of content release was a source of tension as well. Activision is also apparently looking to strengthen its own brands like Call of Duty, even if that means a short-term financial slump from losing Destiny.

"Those who have been in touch with reports over the years know that the situation between Bungie and Activision wasn’t quite so cut and dry."

Not that it matters to fans cheering at Activision’s removal from the equation. The Destiny subreddit wants to proclaim this as “Destiny Freedom Day”. Others have suddenly become more interested in purchasing Eververse items since Activision is not involved. Many believe that Bungie will finally have a chance to shine without an overbearing publisher looking over their shoulder.

Those who have been in touch with reports over the years know that the situation between Bungie and Activision was more than a little complicated. When the much-hyped 10 year deal was penned between both companies, Bungie agreed to deliver numerous Destiny titles and expansions in between those sequels under Activision’s label. Plans went for a toss when Destiny had been delayed from its original 2013 release date to early 2014. It then received another delay to September 2014.

Reports from Schreier and high-profile departures like writer Joseph Staten and composer Martin O’Donnell indicated that all was not well in development though. Once Destiny launched, it was a jumbled mess of plot points, shallow gameplay, fundamental design flaws and networking issues. Such issues were exacerbated with The Dark Below, Destiny’s first major DLC. It featured mission maps similar to the base game but backwards and a buggy as hell raid. Don’t even try to remind players about the process of re-leveling Exotics.

"Destiny had some bumps here and there but was at its peak going into the reveal of Destiny 2 in May 2017."

House of Wolves would improve things, especially for PvP since Trials of Osiris was introduced for hardcore competitive players to indulge in, but not by a huge margin. We eventually learned that the final product of Destiny was meant to encompass the base game, the first two DLC and The Taken King expansion. When Destiny was apparently rebooted in 2014, a spanner was thrown into plans and the additional content was sold off as separate DLC.

However, after The Taken King, Bungie seemed to be back on track. Festival of the Lost was neat. Sparrow Racing League was pretty cool. Crimson Days was lame but hey, new content, and the April 2017 update provided plenty of new, interesting things for PvE fans to engage with. For the most part, it seemed that Destiny was firing on all cylinders even if Bungie made many of us skeptical with its introduction of the Eververse.

Then we learned about Rise of Iron, Destiny’s next expansion, releasing in September 2016. Why was Rise of Iron releasing in September 2016?

According to Schreier, Destiny 2 was pushed back to 2017 because Bungie had rebooted development. Luke Smith was appointed director and the previous director left the company (but that fact would only be revealed later). As for Rise of Iron, it released to a middling reception. The Wrath of the Machine raid was praised but the story missions and overall content were criticized for regressing from The Taken King’s brilliance. The Festival of the Lost returned as a microtransaction-laden debacle but Bungie made good on things with The Dawning and Age of Triumph. Destiny had some bumps here and there but was at its peak going into the reveal of Destiny 2 in May 2017.

"Eventually, Schreier would report how Bungie renegotiated terms with Activision for Destiny 2. Its previous content cycle was thought to be too rigorous and producing so much content was deemed too difficult."

Bungie unveiled some controversial changes for the sequel but it’s a testament to the will of the community that things still looked pretty good. We heard about Lost Sectors, Adventures, World Quests, and tons more content to sink our eager teeth into. Destiny 2 would go on to become an incredible financial success at launch. Critics even lauded it for being an improvement over the first game.

However, as time passed, it was hounded by numerous issues concerning the end-game. Exotics were useless. The raid meant nothing and thus, hitting max Power level meant nothing. The Lost Sectors were rendered useless in the end-game simply because they gave lower level loot. PvP was a snooze-fest and encompassed team-shooting above all. A number of awesome looking cosmetics, previously earned through in-game activities like Strikes and the raid, were locked behind Eververse. Bungie’s decisions when it came to things like one-time use shaders, XP throttling, charging for Heroic Strikes, locking the base game’s raid behind the purchase of DLC and stingy seasonal events didn’t help matters.

Eventually, Schreier would report on how the developer renegotiated terms with Activision for Destiny 2. Its previous content cycle was thought to be too rigorous; producing so much content was deemed too difficult. So instead, Bungie would focus more on cosmetic content through the Eververse and Seasons. As more cosmetic items landed up on Tess Everis’s shelves over the months, it seemed like Schreier’s report had plenty of truth to it.

"Bungie’s track record when it comes to development has been less than stellar. It rebooted Destiny 1 and 2 before their subsequent launches."

Of course, there was still DLC like Curse of Osiris and Warmind. Activision-owned studios like High Moon Studios and Vicarious Visions were assisting Bungie with content as the latter spent 2018 trying to get back on the good side of its longtime fans. It talked more and more about catering to the hobbyist, changing up its weapon slot system and bringing back random rolls for weapons and armour. Masterworks, Exotic revamps, Nightfall Challenges, Bounties and much more were introduced before Forsaken to appease the hardcore player. Bungie even announced the Annual Pass, something that would provide a consistent stream of “end-game” content after Forsaken, as it seemingly moved towards away from more cinematic adventures towards a much deeper grind.

In September 2018, Forsaken launched and was met with praise from critics and hardcore fans. Sure, there was dissent about the heavy RNG-based nature of Bungie’s content (like earning Exotics) and it also didn’t help that some activities were time-gated. But Forsaken delivered a good story (by Destiny standards), a great raid and tons of new loot to collect. The majority of Forsaken was also accessible to all players. Gating content behind high Power requirements, boring quest grinds and baffling puzzles really didn’t stick out as major issues until Black Armory came around.

If you’ve been keeping track of the story thus far, you might have noticed a common theme: Bungie’s track record when it comes to development has been less than stellar. It rebooted Destiny 1 and 2 before their subsequent launches. Throughout the history of both games, Bungie would also prove to be completely out of touch with its community’s needs, taking months to fix long-standing issues.

"For all intents and purposes, Bungie going independent and being free to pursue its own development cycle for Destiny is good."

Only a major exodus of players following the launch of Destiny 2 and Curse of Osiris (not to mention the failure of events like Faction Rally, Iron Banner and The Dawning 2017) would motivate the developer to sit down and actually address concerns. Even now, Destiny 2 is still lacking on issues like competitive PvP matchmaking, endgame economy items like Enhancement Cores and not locking DLC content that players paid for behind ridiculous requirements. And yes, one-time user shaders, awesome cosmetics locked behind Eververse, time-gated content and heavy RNG are still problematic. Did we mention Trials of the Nine was removed before Forsaken and has yet to return?

For all intents and purposes, Bungie going independent and being free to pursue its own development cycle for Destiny is good. However, the enthusiasm for the developer’s approach doesn’t look all that different from when it split from Microsoft.

“Finally, we’d get to see the developer separated from the evil corporation and free to pursue its own vision!” “Finally, we’d get the very best that Bungie could deliver!” That wasn’t quite the case though, as evidenced by the barreling rollercoaster that is the Destiny franchise. I’m no fan of Activision (especially following their treatment of Call of Duty creators Vince Zampella and Jason West) but reading about the additional time and resources, not to mention the new deals it negotiated with Bungie, makes it look like a publisher tried to help rather than impede Destiny’s progress.

"But hey, if you’re a Destiny player, all of this should be very familiar. Destiny has offered experiences to a player base that simply can’t get enough of it."

What this split means for the future of Destiny 2 is still unknown. Cowen and Company believes that Destiny 3 is still coming in 2020. Rumours regarding its content and features along with a greater emphasis on RPG mechanics have been doing the rounds for a few months. Will the studio repeat the same mistakes as before? What’s the plan for content after the Annual Pass? Will we receive another expansion and another Annual Pass until Destiny 3 comes out? Will Bungie scrap the idea of sequels altogether? Will Destiny go free to play? What’s the plan for Eververse? How likely is it that Bungie announces Destiny 3’s exclusivity on the Epic Games Store for PC in the coming years? Will the core issues with leadership that caused Staten and O’Donnell to leave in the first place be fixed?

Blame Activision all you want but Bungie was and still is the company developing the series. How it addressed the issues that plagued both games at their respective launches is available for all to see. It’s currently fine with the stingy RNG for Exotics and Power level system that makes much of the loot irrelevant. It’s the company that said Black Armory’s Niobe Labs was for anyone that was “smart and brave enough to attempt it” in a now-deleted tweet after frustrated attempts by players. At least it went ahead and unlocked the last Forge when no one could figure out the solution.

If you’re a Destiny player, all of this should be very familiar. Destiny has offered experiences to a player base that simply can’t get enough. I should know, having been part of that player base for a few years. Even when the content didn’t quite measure up, I plunked down my own money and waited till launch to join the hype train. Destiny has been a franchise that’s provided some truly amazing moments while simultaneously making me question the numerous blunders that could have been avoided. Looking back, at the end of the day, maybe everyone just wants that same kind of experience without the fear of Activision mucking everything up.

"Can Bungie adhere to long-time fans and become successful in its own right? Can it attract even more players to its franchise in the coming years?"

For Bungie, the real test begins now. Without the big bad villainous publisher for people to deflect blame to when things go wrong, it will take the brunt of not delivering worthwhile content and financial failure. Will it sink or swim in the process? This is an industry that’s being defined more by games-as-a-service titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Fortnite: Battle Royale. That’s not including beloved free to play games like Path of Exile or Warframe. Additional competition from blockbusters like Anthem and The Division 2 is also coming. Can Bungie adhere to long-time fans and achieve the potential that Destiny seemingly promised all those years ago? Can it attract even more players in the coming years?

It’s hard to say but unlike October 2007, this isn’t a Bungie that inspires confidence. It’s a Bungie that makes me cautious of investing time or money in their products. Here’s hoping for the future to change. As a member of the Bungie.net forums so aptly put it though: We’re finally going to see who was responsible for Destiny’s failings – Bungie or Activision.

Looks like Destiny: The Collection is real! Today, Bungie and Activision shared a brand new trailer announcing the bundle, which will come, in one package, with the base Destiny game, as well as all of its expansions- The Dark Below, House of Wolves, The Taken King, and of course, the upcoming Rise of Iron.

Basically, if you haven’t yet jumped in on Destiny yet, but want to now, this package is the way to go- the best bit here is that by now, most of Destiny‘s various bugs and problems have been largely worked out, and we are left with a game that largely lives up to its initial promise. This bundle will let players go through dozens of hours of content just among the five campaigns included- and that’s nothing to say of the end game content, which is truly endless.

Destiny: The Collection launches on September 20 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. You can check out its announcement trailer below.

Red Bull of all sources seems to have mistakenly leaked the official name of the next Destiny expansion (referred to so far mostly by its codename, Comet), thanks to a mistaken early reveal of a cross brand promotion. The new expansion, it appears, will be called The Taken King.

The name lines up with trademark filings that Bungie has made earlier, so this isn’t an outlandish claim. Right now, nothing else was leaked about the expansion (though we will probably learn more at E3 in two weeks), although, thanks to prior official statements, we do know that this will be the biggest content expansion to Destiny yet (not that that is saying much), and that it will include a new endgame raid, unlike House of Wolves.

Personally, I am cautiously looking forward to this expansion- in spite of all the pre-release controversy, House of Wolves managed to clean up some of the mess that the base game and The Dark Below had. Assuming the next expansion continues on with this trajectory, there is a very real chance that Destiny may actually begin to live up to its promise.

We’ll keep you posted.

When Destiny’s new ‘expansion,’ The Dark Below, was released, a lot of people cried foul at the fact that the older strikes, including the Iron Banner, had been taken out of rotation. One of the side effects of this was that players who hadn’t bought the DLC were locked out of weekly strikes. Now, Bungie is confirming that the Iron Banner weekly strike will be returning to Destiny with the new update to the game that goes live tomorrow.

The Iron Banner will not include any of the new PvP maps that The Dark Below, Bungie has confirmed, which is a bit of a bummer, but acceptable and justifiable; that said, there is a possibility that the new rewards and drops system, as well as the increased level cap, will come into play in the strike somehow, though it is unknown how- if they do, then there is still the question of whether players without the expansion will be able to play it.

We’ll keep you posted.

We also take a look at Vanguard and Crucible Commendations, double reputation, bounty Duplication and the fastest way to to rank up Crota’s Bane and Factions. Furthermore you will also know what gears, weapons and shaders Eris the vendor provides, the fastest way to reach level 31 and 31, a comprehensive list of exotic weapons, armor and legendary items.

And finally we take a look at Vanguard And Crucible legendary armor stats and abilities, farming Farming Vanguard Commendations For Legendary Gear and an easy expolit/cheat to get The Extermination bounty.

Collectibles:

Dead Ghosts Locations Guide:

There are six Dead Ghosts locations in the expansion pack. Collecting them all will also unlock the Ghost Hunter trophy/achievement. When you collect them, each will give you new Grimoire Card which in turn will increase your Grimoire score. So where exactly can you find? We have handy video guide which you can check out below.

Times in the video where you can find Dead Ghosts in the video above.

[0:09] – Siege of the Warmind – Seraphim Vault
[0:45] – Siege of the Warmind – Seraphim Vault
[1:16] – Siege of the Warmind – Seraphim Vault
[2:04] – The Wakening – Chamber of Night
[2:39] – The Wakening – Chamber of Night
[3:15] – The Wakening – Chamber of Night

Crota’s End Raid Gear Chest Location [possible spoilers]:

You can complete the raid while going solo and then step on the plate that will trigger the walkway. Now you need to make your way towards the glowing light and turn left and look for an orange light. The chest is behind the doors but if there is no orange light, the player’s character need to do die and try again. The chest will give you Radiant materials as well reward a Raid Gear. You can find more in the video below.

Crota’s End Raid Hidden Chests [possible spoilers]:

This may contain exotics weapons and armour.

This may contain legendary items.

How and where I can find new Bounties?

You need to complete a series of side quests which are hidden on the planet Earth via Patrol mode. You need to complete Kill 25 Knights / Wizards Bounty from Eris Morn before you can unlock the three bounties.

Bounty Locations( Eyes, Heart & Hand of Crota Read ):

The Heart of Crota can be found in the Refinery, Hand of Crota in the Lunar Complex and Eye of Crota in the Terrestrial Complex. You can check out the video guide below which will tell you exactly where to find them.

00:06 – Heart of Crota (Refinery)
01:54 – Hand of Crota (Lunar Complex)
03:10 – Eye of Crota (Continue of Hand of Crota – Terrestrial Complex)

Unlocking Heroic Strike And Nightfall Missions:

Once you are done finding the heart, eye and hand of Crota, the new weekly Nightfall and Heroic Strike missions will get unlocked. However make sure you complete all bounties through Patrol mode on the planet Earth.

Vanguard And Crucible Commendations:

Other than Vanguard and Crucible marks, if you want to purchase legendary items, you will require Vanguard And Crucible Commendations. You can get those via the Postmaster who delivers the Reputation Rewards package when you reach a new reputation level.

Double Reputation – Bounty Duplication – Fastest way to to Rank Up Crota’s Bane & Factions:

Check out the video to know how you can earn double reputation, bounty duplication and rank up Crota’s Bane and Factions quickly.

All Vendors: New Gears, Weapons And Shaders:

Check out all the weapons, gears and shaders that Eris Morn has for sale.

How To Reach Level 31 and 32:

The video below will explain how you can reach level 31 and 32 quickly in The Dark below.

Exotic Weapons, Armor And Legendary Items:

Dragon’s Breath Rocket Launcher:

Fusion Rifle “MURMUR”:

Legendary Gear:

Exotic Sniper:

Top 5 Exotic & Legendary Auto Rifles:

Top 5 Exotic & Legendary Sniper Rifles:

All Legendary Weapons:

Vanguard And Crucible Miscellaneous Guide:

Vanguard And Crucible Gears And Weapons:

Vanguard Weapons: Stats And Abilities:

Crucible Weapons: Stats And Abilities:

Crucible / Vanguard Armors: Legendary Armor Stats & Abilities

Farming Vanguard Commendations For Legendary Gear:

An easy exploit to get the “The Extermination” bounty:

This guide will be updated once we have more information.

Bungie recently released a brand new update for Destiny, which, among other things, changed how exotics worked and how Raids would work in the game. This update was accompanied by some very lengthy patch notes, and ordinarily, that would be enough to avoid any sort of confusion, but in true Bungie fashion, there was miscommunication regarding the mechanics related to Exotic weapons and players were pretty angry.

Now, Bungie has gone ahead and posted another really detailed blog post outlining, clearly, the kinds of changes the update has brought, as well as the general vision for Destiny in the coming months.

“In the months to come, your quest to become more powerful will have more avenues that lead to satisfaction,” community manager for Bungie, DeeJ, wrote. “The last thing we wanted was for you to look at your favorite gun or helmet and decide that it had become obsolete. Since the reveal, we’ve read a lot of ideas for how this could have been done better. Your feedback is clear: The time you have invested in your stuff should be respected.”

To make things further clear, he posted a full list about the ‘new economy of Destiny.’

• Destiny will continue to provide new ways to evolve
• Your existing items will still be effective in any encounter
• The Dark Below will contain exclusive options to level up
• More powerful Exotics will drop, or be sold by Xûr
• More powerful Legendaries will drop, or be sold by vendors
• More powerful Raid gear will drop – and more often!
• More predictable options will upgrade beloved Exotics
• Exotic upgrades purchased from Xûr replace weaker items
• Exotic upgrade paths require much less time and material
• An upgraded Exotic is more powerful right out of the box (see the mighty Thorn below).

In addition, he also talked about how players who don’t buy the upcoming expansion, The Dark Below, would interact with the game.

“If you’re not accepting Eris’s call to war against the Hive and their dark God, you’re still welcome to browse the new wares in the Tower. If you’ve been struggling to reach Level 30, a whole new path is about to become illuminated by green flames.”

It sounds like, on the whole, Bungie is responding to criticism by giving players exactly what they want. Whether or not they renege on this, and go back to doing something stupid, however, remains to be seen.