Destiny 2: Forsaken

Destiny 2: Forsaken
Developer(s)	Bungie
Publisher(s)	Activision
Director(s)	Scott Taylor
Producer(s)	Christopher Barrett
Composer(s)	Michael Salvatori Skye Lewin Rotem Moav Pieter Schlosser
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One
Release	September 4, 2018
Genre(s)	Action role-playing, first-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Destiny 2: Forsaken is a major expansion for Destiny 2, a first-person shooter video game by Bungie. Released on September 4, 2018, as the third expansion of Destiny 2, it revolves around the player's Guardian seeking to avenge the death of Cayde-6 by the hands of Prince Uldren Sov. Uldren, corrupted by the Darkness, is in search of his lost sister, Queen Mara Sov, both of whom were thought to have died in Destiny: The Taken King. Along their journey, players face the Scorn, undead versions of the Fallen race that have been revived and morphed into a new race. Forsaken adds content across the game, including new missions, Player versus Environment locations, Player versus Player maps, player gear, weaponry, a brand new PvE/PvP hybrid game mode and a new raid. Upon the expansion's release, retailers also issued Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection, which includes the Destiny 2 main game, Forsaken, and the previous two expansions, Curse of Osiris and Warmind.

Its release coincided with patch version 2.0 for Destiny 2, which made fundamental changes to the core functionality for all players to mark the start of "Year Two" of the game's lifecycle. Through the development of Forsaken, Bungie sought to address criticisms from players and critics; many changes to the game were direct responses to this.

Gameplay

Main article: Destiny 2 § Gameplay

In comparison to the previous two expansions of Destiny 2, Forsaken features a "full campaign", four new multiplayer Strike missions (one of which is a PS4-exclusive), four new Crucible maps (including one PS4-exclusive), and a new mode which combines elements of Player versus Environment (PvE) with Player versus Player (PvP). A new competitive Crucible mode was added, called "Breakthrough"—two teams of four fight to attempt to capture a central point called a "Breaker"; the first team that captures the Breaker can then hack the opposing team's vault, all while the opposing team defends their vault from being hacked.

The expansion introduces a new faction of enemies, the Scorn—undead Fallen that have become their own race. Scorn enemies do not take cover and have the most aggressive artificial intelligence in the game. In addition, a more liberal sense to mission layout and player choice has been taken, with the initial six Barons being able to be taken out in any order the player chooses. The Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City, both located in the Reef, serve as new playable environments in Forsaken; latter environment is accessible after completing the main campaign of the expansion and completing a post-campaign mission. At the Dreaming City's Blind Well, players can use special charges of Light to summon Scorn, Hive or Taken enemies for public battles, each ending with a boss. All participants in Blind Well battles receive rewards. The charges of Light correspond to three difficulty levels; an optional, yet highly difficult, fourth level can be triggered at the end of the third tier of difficulty. A new raid mission, "Last Wish", was opened on September 14, 2018; unlike previous raids, there is no Prestige version. Bungie has claimed that the raid has more bosses than any previous raid (including from the original game); the first completion of the raid triggered a three-week curse cycle in the Dreaming City, opening up new activities and missions for players to participate in. A new weapon type, a bow and arrow, was also added in the expansion. The EXP level cap was raised to 50 and the Power level cap was raised to 600.

Each of the three character classes feature three new supers for each of their subclasses, which are tied to a brand new third subclass branch. For Hunters, the new super for Gunslingers is "Blade Barrage", focusing on throwing a volley of flaming knives; "Spectral Blades" for Nightstalkers, allowing players to turn invisible and see through walls and attack with Void daggers; and "Whirlwind Guard" for Arcstriders, which allows players to block and reflect projectiles by spinning their Arc Staff. For Warlocks, the new super for Voidwalkers is "Nova Warp", allowing players to teleport around the battlefield and unleash a Void explosion; "Chaos Reach" for Stormcallers, which unleashes a beam of Arc energy that can be turned off at anytime to conserve Super energy; and "Well of Radiance" for Dawnblades, allowing players to create a healing and empowering aura for players to stand in. Finally, for Titans, the new super for Strikers is "Thundercrash", allowing players to launch into the air and slam onto the ground; "Burning Maul" for Sunbreakers, which players wield a large flaming hammer that can unleash flaming tornadoes; and "Banner Shield" for Sentinels, allowing players to use their Sentinel Shield to unleash a protective barrier that players can also shoot their weapons through. Each new subclass branch, along with their new supers, can be unlocked by obtaining an item called a "Seed of Light", in which three are available for each character; the first Seed of Light is obtainable through playing the campaign of Forsaken, while the other two can be obtained by playing through high-level, endgame activities.

The new mode that combines PvE and PvP is called Gambit, a best-of-three rounds mode featuring the Drifter as its non-player character (NPC). A 24-hour free trial of the mode was made available to all players on September 1, 2018, three days prior to the launch of Forsaken. In this mode, two teams of four players compete against each other by defeating PvE enemies. Enemies, when defeated, drop motes which players can pick up and deposit in a bank in the center of the arena. Depositing 5, 10, or 15 motes sends small, medium, or large enemy blockers, respectively, to the opposing team's arena and locks their bank; the opposing team must defeat the blockers in order to reactivate their bank. Every 25 motes deposited opens a portal where one team member can invade the other team's arena. Motes are permanently lost if a player is defeated by a PvE enemy or an invading member of the opposing team. After depositing 75 motes, a boss called a Primeval will spawn in the middle of the arena; if a team member is defeated by an invading member of the opposing team, the Primeval regains health. The first team that defeats their Primeval wins the round. Gambit also features a progressive-based ranking system similar to the Crucible's Valor and Glory ranks called "Infamy"; however, each progression rank is separated into three tiers, with each rank requiring more Infamy points.

Plot

Forsaken focuses on Prince Uldren Sov, who, along with his sister, Queen Mara Sov, were thought to have died at the onset of the Taken War three years prior. Uldren is in search of his lost sister, believing her to still be alive. The Guardian and Cayde-6 travel to the Reef, where they aid Petra Venj in securing a breakout from the Prison of Elders by an enemy called the Scorn, which are undead Fallen that have become their own separate race. However, during the assault, Petra discovers that someone else had released the prisoners and escaped (revealed in supplemental lore to be Variks, the Loyal). Cayde goes to find them, only to be attacked by the Scorn, have his Ghost destroyed by the Baron Pirrha (The Rifleman), and be severely wounded by fellow Baron Reksis Vahn (The Hangman). The Guardian and Petra attempt to rescue Cayde, but Uldren murders Cayde with his own handgun before fleeing; as Cayde's Ghost was destroyed, he is unable to be revived.

The Guardian takes Cayde's body back to the Tower, where Ikora Rey holds a funeral for the fallen Vanguard. Ikora wishes to pursue vengeance against Uldren, but Commander Zavala refuses to go to war in order to protect the Traveler and the Last City. Without the support of the remaining Vanguard and only a small lead from Ikora, the Guardian sets out alone to hunt down Uldren and avenge Cayde, tracking him, his Barons, and the Scorn to the Tangled Shore, a lawless wasteland in the Reef. After a confrontation with Fikrul (The Fanatic), The Guardian is contacted by Petra, who introduces them to The Spider, the leader of a Fallen crime syndicate, and establishes an alliance. With help from Spider and Petra, the Guardian sets out to eliminate the eight Scorn Barons, one by one. Meanwhile, Uldren, who was corrupted by the Darkness after the Battle of Saturn, is apparently guided by visions of Mara to free her, and takes a shard of the Traveler from the European Dead Zone.

The Guardian eliminates six of the eight Barons. They destroy Hiraks (The Mindbender) and his Hive throne world; stop Araskes (The Trickster) and her plan to sabotage engrams for the tower; prevent Kaniks (The Mad Bomber) from blowing up the Tangled Shore; kill Yaviks (The Rider) and her gang; and then eliminate the aforementioned Reksis Vahn and Pirrha. Following the death of the sixth Baron, the Guardian is contacted by Petra, who informs them that Uldren is headed for the Awoken Watchtower in the Tangled Shore. After defeating the seventh Baron, Elykris (The Machinist), with help from the Spider, the Guardian, aided by Spider's crime syndicate and Petra, assaults the Awoken Watchtower and eliminates the eighth and final Baron, Fikrul (though through additional dialogue it is implied the Fanatic is immortal). The Guardian makes their way through the Watchtower, as well as the Ascendant Realm in search of Uldren, who offers the shard and his own Darkness to open a gateway to the Ascendant Realm. Instead of Mara, however, Uldren is devoured by a grotesque creature called the Voice of Riven. The Guardian slays the abomination, releasing a weakened Uldren. They retrieve Cayde's gun, and soon after, Petra arrives, with Uldren adamantly declaring that everything he did was for his sister. The Guardian and Petra then point their weapons at Uldren and the screen cuts to black, as gunshots are heard. The Guardian then returns to the tower, their mission complete. Multiple characters either encourage or disapprove of the Guardian's actions, with The Drifter stating that they are "just what he needs for Gambit", and Zavala forewarning of the consequences of their revenge.

With Uldren dead and Cayde avenged, the Guardian speaks to Petra and is presented with a broken Awoken talisman. They set out to repair it with Light and Dark energies, and after doing so, they meet her at the Awoken Watchtower again. The Guardian follows her into the Awoken homeland, the Dreaming City, where Petra attempts to contact Mara Sov using an Awoken device known as the Oracle. The Guardian and Petra repair the device and establish contact with the Queen, who has been in a mysterious realm of her own creation following her confrontation with Oryx. She reveals that the Taken corruption in the Dreaming City, as well as Uldren's corruption, were caused by Riven of a Thousand Voices, a powerful dragon-like creature called an Ahamkara that can grant wishes similar to a genie, and the last of her kind, who was voluntarily taken by Oryx during the Taken War. The Queen then opens the Dreaming City to Guardians in hopes of ending the Taken threat by killing Riven. A fireteam of Guardians assembled by Petra make their way through the Keep of Voices in the Dreaming City, freeing two Awoken Techeuns, Kalli, the Corrupted, and Shuro Chi, the Corrupted, from their Taken corruption. They advance further and kill Morgeth, the Spirekeeper, and unlock a maximum-security Awoken vault before facing Riven herself. After killing her, the Guardians take Riven's heart out of the keep to be purified by Shuro Chi and Kalli, unwittingly unleashing the Taken curse upon the Dreaming City in the process.

Following the corruption of the Dreaming City caused by Riven's last wish, the Guardian continues to work with Petra against Scorn, Hive and Taken forces over the course of three weeks. On the third week of the curse, a fireteam of Guardians enter Eleusinia, the Throne World of Mara Sov, in order to end the curse. They fight their way through and find Dûl Incaru, the Eternal Return, a powerful Hive Wizard and daughter of Savathûn, a Hive god and sister to Oryx and the entity responsible for making Riven's last wish. The Guardians defeat Dûl Incaru and seemingly end the Taken curse. However, the curse reverts the Dreaming City to the state it was in after Riven was killed, indicating that the Dreaming City is caught in a time-loop.

Black Armory

Following the events of Forsaken, the Guardian is given a mysterious seal by The Spider, leading them to a hidden section of the Tower known as the Annex. Here the Guardian meets Ada-1, an Exo who is the curator of the Black Armory, a weapon foundry that was founded during the late Golden Age, known for creating valuable and high quality weapons. Despite the initial hostility from Ada, the Guardian eventually earns her trust and wares, slowly piecing together the identity of the Black Armory's mysterious assailant who has been stealing the Lost Forges—used by the Black Armory to craft their weapons—for themselves. After discovering three of the forges—Volundr in the European Dead Zone, and Gofannon and Izanami on Nessus—the Guardian discovers that the mystery assailant is a Fallen captain named Siviks, Lost to None, the forsaken brother of The Spider. Siviks, seeking to plunder the Black Armory vault in the Last City, dispatches an invasion force led by Insurrection Prime, Kell's Scourge, a Prime Servitor built into an immense bipedal war machine. A fireteam of Guardians confront and destroy the machine at a desolate section of the city housing the vault, which later prompts the revelation of the last Forge, Bergusia, and its location in the European Dead Zone. Upon discovering and igniting the Bergusia Forge, the Guardian is able to unlock a mysterious box, containing a unique weapon frame, the likes of which Ada claims to have never seen. After a lengthy quest involving returning to the Dreaming City and once more igniting the Bergusia Forge, the Guardian returns to Ada and forges "Izanagi's Burden", the same weapon used by Ada centuries prior to take vengeance on the founders' murderers. One last time, the Guardian returns to the Bergusia Forge and confronts Siviks, killing him and returning a device known as the Obsidian Accelerator to her, restoring her lost memory and rebuilding the Black Armory once and for all.

Season of the Drifter

Shortly after the events of Black Armory, the Guardian is summoned by the Drifter, who has moved down to the Annex. The Drifter invites the Guardians to participate in his new activity called Gambit Prime; he also invites the Guardian to visit his ship, the Derelict, after completing a few matches. The Guardian, upon exploring the Derelict, discovers that the mysterious haul tied to the back of the ship that, upon entering, leads into the realm of the Nine in unknown space. The Guardian fights waves upon waves of Taken inside the haul, including powerful Taken facsimiles of Nokris and Oryx. The Guardian also meets the Emissary of the Nine inside the haul, who reveals to the Guardian that it was the Nine who gifted the Drifter with the haul itself, and that the Taken and Primevals that the Drifter uses in Gambit originate from there, created by the Darkness and the Drifter's force of will. The Drifter finds out about this and advises the Guardian to not trust the Nine and to stop investigating the Emissary; he reveals that the Emissary was an Awoken named Orin who was close to Mara Sov before dying and being resurrected as a Guardian, and that she sought the Nine to gain power and was subsequently transformed into the Emissary.

During these events, the Guardian is contacted by a Praxic Warlock named Aunor, who strongly advises the Guardian to not trust the Drifter—Aunor has been investigating the Drifter due to his connection with the Shadows of Yor, a group of renegade Guardians known as Dredgens who idolize Dredgen Yor, a former Guardian who had been corrupted by the Hive and the Darkness and killed by a legendary Gunslinger Hunter named Shin Malphur, and that the Drifter has been training Guardians to become Dredgens themselves through Gambit and Gambit Prime; Aunor has made several attempts to persuade the Vanguard to expel the Drifter from the Tower by any means necessary. The Drifter contacts the Guardian and asks where the Guardian's loyalties lie—whether if the Guardian remains loyal to the Vanguard or if the Guardian fully trusts the Drifter. Regardless of the decision made by the player, the Guardian learns more about the Drifter and his past through a series of recordings scattered throughout the European Dead Zone. In the recordings, it is revealed that the Drifter was resurrected by a Ghost during the Dark Age of humanity, becoming one of the first Guardians known as the "Risen", and he did not trust the Traveler's Light. After several years trying to survive and live a normal life in peace and getting into several conflicts with other Risen, including the Warlords and the Iron Lords, the Drifter leaves the Solar System during the onset of the City Age with a crew in search of a power "greater than Light". It was also revealed in the recordings that the Drifter was also part of the Shadows of Yor for a short time until he had a falling out with a fellow Shadow and a testy confrontation with Shin Malphur; the Drifter also warns of an impending second Collapse, and that the Reckoning activity in the Derelict's haul was created to prepare Guardians for the looming apocalypse.

Release

Forsaken is available as paid downloadable content (DLC) to owners of Destiny 2 and its two existing expansions, Curse of Osiris and Warmind, and is priced at US$40—double the price of the previous two expansions individually. Forsaken is also available as part of a new SKU of Destiny 2 known as the Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection, which features the game and all downloadable content up to and including Forsaken. A Digital Deluxe Edition is also available and includes extra DLC, such as a legendary set of armor. Per an ongoing exclusivity agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment, certain content in Forsaken is exclusive to the PlayStation 4 platform until fall 2019. This content includes a Strike, a gear set for each class, a ship, and an Exotic weapon. Furthermore, players who purchase Forsaken receive an item that boosts one character to the minimum level needed to play Forsaken's content.

Post-release content

See also: Destiny 2 post-release content

Upon release of Forsaken, Bungie also released an Annual Pass that players can purchase either bundled with or separate from Forsaken. The Annual Pass includes three pieces of premium downloadable content to be released in Winter 2018 and Spring and Summer of 2019 each filled with new activities, gear, lore, and a power increase within each new expansion. Black Armory, also known as Season of the Forge, released on December 4, 2018, followed bySeason of the Drifter on March 5, 2019; they will be followed by Season of Opulence starting on June 2019. Content in these content drops include new endgame challenges, new weapons, armor and "vanity rewards" to collect, new and returning Exotics, new pinnacle activities, new triumph records to collect, and new lore to discover. Additionally, Black Armory and Season of Opulence will each include a new raid. The "Festival of the Lost" Halloween event from the original game ran from October 16 to November 6, culminating in a 3-week murder mystery quest that rewarded players with a returning Destiny exotic, Thunderlord.

Season of the Forge

Season of the Forge, also known as Black Armory, was released on December 4, 2018 as the first content drop for the Annual Pass. The expansion revolved around the exploits of Ada-1, a female Exo who has been left in charge of a Golden Age weapon foundry known as the Black Armory. The story was much more loose and lore-driven than that of Forsaken, with the player piecing together the story of the Armory via weapon lore tabs and minor quests given by Ada-1. The main new activities are the Lost Forges, which once belonged to the Black Armory but have since become forgotten to the folds of history, with a new raid, "Scourge of the Past", which takes place in the Last City. Players may also "forge" new weapons by completing their respective frames, with three being able to be purchased every week from Ada-1, and then participating in a Lost Forge activity after completing certain objectives for each weapon frame. In addition, the Power level cap was increased to 650, and four new exotic weapons were introduced, with one returning from the first game. The new exotic weapons are Le Monarque (a poisoning combat bow), Jötunn (a handheld fusion rifle that shoots tracking fireballs), Izanagi's Burden (a sniper rifle that can fuse up to four shots into one powerful one), and Anarchy (a Fallen grenade launcher that creates an electrical grid), with the returning exotic being The Last Word (a hand cannon that has a faster fire rate and greater accuracy from the hip). The Dawning holiday season event also returned and lasted from December 11, 2018 to January 1, 2019, as well as the Valentine's Day-themed event Crimson Days that ran for one week from February 12 to 19, 2019.

Season of the Drifter

Released on March 5, 2019, Season of the Drifter (also known as Joker's Wild) is the second content drop for the Annual Pass and focuses on the Drifter and his connection with the Nine. It introduces a brand new Gambit mode called Gambit Prime (a more intensive, single round-based Gambit match, with some changes), as well as a new activity tied to it called "The Reckoning", a three-tier PvE horde mode that takes place inside the Drifter's mysterious ship and the realm of the Nine. The Reckoning's three tiers were released over the course of the season and awards new Gambit Prime role-specific gear with perks that can be used in Gambit Prime. The four Gambit Prime roles that are tied into the new gear are "Invader" (focusing on invading the opposing team's arena and stealing motes from their bank, color-coded red), "Sentry" (focusing on defeating blockers and invaders and defending their bank, color-coded yellow), "Collector" (specializing in collecting and banking motes, color-coded white), and "Reaper" (specializing in defeating enemies, color-coded green). Collecting a full set of gear tied to a particular role unlocks exclusive perks for that role. As well, the Power level cap was increased to 700; players who are below the recommended power level for the expansion's activities can obtain bounties from the Drifter to obtain gear that will quickly raise their power level up to 640. The expansion also adds two new Gambit maps and private Gambit matches; a nine-week quest called "Invitations of the Nine" that can be obtained from Xûr starting from March 15 that will unlock new story and lore focusing on the Nine; an allegiance quest that began on March 15 that allows players to either side with the Vanguard or with the Drifter; a new spring-themed event called "The Revelry" that will run from April 16 to May 6, 2019, with Eva Levante as the returning vendor for the event; as well as two exotic quests, one of which awards Thorn, a returning exotic hand cannon from the original game.

Season of Opulence

Set for release in June 2019, Season of Opulence (also known as Penumbra) will focus on the former Cabal emperor Calus (who was featured in the "Leviathan" raid and the "Eater of Worlds" and "Spire of Stars" raid lairs). The expansion will raise the Power level cap to 750, as well as introduce a new six-player matchmade activity, a new raid, an exotic quest, as well as two unannounced activities. The Solstice of Heroes summer event will also return.