With the release of The Dark Below and its update next week coinciding with the three-month anniversary of Destiny, it was a busy Bungie Weekly Update, and Bungie Community Manager David Dague (DeeJ) covered a variety of topics.
First up, DeeJ cleared up any confusion about the upcoming upgrades by replying to fan questions:
- “I can only upgrade one existing Exotic a week?”
- No, Xûr will have many of them in stock.
- “Is Xûr the only way to obtain new Exotics?”
- No. They’ll drop as part of new loot tables.
- “So I have to buy new content to keep up?”
- No. All players will have options to progress.
- “Is the upgrade automatic?”
- No. You’ll choose where you invest the effort.
- “Does this make all my gear worthless?”
- No! I’ll be holding onto my Dead Orbit Heavy.
For further clarification, he listed some facts about the new economy in 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
DeeJ added, “In the months to come, your quest to become more powerful will have more avenues that lead to satisfaction. The last thing we wanted was for you to look at your favorite gun or helmet and decide that it had become obsolete.”
Next up, he revealed some of the issues that popped up as a result of the recent update, as well as what they’re doing to fix them:
Pocket Infinity
- Charges too quickly after the first shot
- Fix in progress, to be released in a future update
Daily Event Reward Packages
- No longer delivered by the Postmaster after a Public Event
- Will be fixed automatically in The Dark Below update
- All players will receive the fix when Expansion I goes live
The Crucible is receiving quite a few changes throughout the remainder of 2014, including new playlists and the return of Iron Banner on December 16. Design Lead Lars Bakken explained:
Slaughter Rules
- Live right now!
- In the event of a massacre, all parties are returned to orbit at the conclusion of the match
- Team-based playlists: If one team is grossly under-performing, the session is dissolved in favor of matchmaking
- Rumble playlist: If three or more players are grossly under-performing, the session is dissolved in favor of matchmaking
Public Playlists
- Limited-time playlists (Salvage and Combined Arms) will be available to all players
- Bastion and First Light have moved out of Control and Clash to Combined Arms
Premium Playlists
- New Playlists will let you play new content right away
- Playlists will require The Dark Below to enter
- Each week, we’ll have two additional Premium Playlists: Week One will be Clash and Rumble on new maps; Rotators will change each week; New experimental modes to be included!
Iron Banner
- Lord Saladin returns to the Tower on December 16
- He’ll reset Event Standings – like a new season
- Level 31 inventory can be earned by winners
- The Dark Below will not be required to compete
Finally, while Deej didn’t reveal everything about the new Crota’s End Raid, he did talk about what you’ll need to access it:
- The Dark Below
- A Fireteam sorted for battle
- A Level 30 Guardian to lead them
- Cunning, bravery, and survival instincts
He added, “The race begins on December 9 at 1am PT/4am ET. You will not need to complete the other Missions, Quests, Bounties, or Strikes first. The Raid will beckon at Zero Hour.”
Do you think Slaughter Rules is a good addition to Destiny?
[Source: Bungie]
