For Guardians, there are always new corners of the cosmos to explore, new stories to immerse themselves in, and new adventures to conquer. Today, the Bungie development team behind Destiny 2 gave the world a first look at what comes next: the epic start of a brand-new Destiny saga!
During the reveal event, Destiny 2 developers unveiled the Year of Prophecy, including a mix of deep dives and sneak peeks at the game’s next two expansions: The Edge of Fate, which will be released on July 15, and Renegades, which follows on December 2, with both available to pre-order now. The two campaigns will not only kick off the story of the all-new Fate Saga but launch alongside a variety of changes to core systems and gameplay mechanics aimed at refreshing how players experience the challenges — and rewards — the game has to offer.
While we can’t possibly cover everything with the space we have here, let’s hit some of the biggest highlights from today’s event, and give you a taste of what to expect in the year ahead for Destiny 2.
The Nine beckon
With the aptly named Fate Saga, Guardians will be asking themselves big questions about their place and role in the universe. Questions like: What is fate? What (or who) is out there, and are they planning for us to find them? These cosmic mysteries and more are at the heart of this new storyline and, with The Edge of Fate, returning players and new Guardians alike will be jumping onboard a new narrative; one that will reward longtime fans who are familiar with Destiny lore, while also serving as an ideal entry point for new players.
“Before the Traveler ever arrived in our solar system, there was already magic here,” said Destiny Assistant Game Director Robbie Stevens. “With the Fate Saga, we want to explore one of Destiny’s biggest mysteries: the foundations of our universe.”
That investigation starts with the Nine – enigmatic celestial beings that have existed… well, for a very, very long time. Destiny players have seen and heard hints about this pantheon of extradimensional beings but the mystery that lies behind them will be one of the primary drivers of the action in The Fate Saga.
Close to the Edge
In The Edge of Fate, Guardians will answer an invitation from a member of the Nine, leading them to a new destination at the edge of the solar system: the mysterious planetoid of Kepler. Shrouded in powerful dark matter, Kepler is a new kind of destination for Destiny players. “We took inspiration from experiences like Dreaming City, dungeons, Exotic missions, and Metroidvanias when creating The Edge of Fate,” said Destiny 2 Narrative Director Alison Luhrs. “At the heart of The Edge of Fate is player-driven discovery and exploration utilizing brand new destination abilities.”
These destination abilities will lend players powerful new capabilities they can activate to help solve puzzles or to use in combat. Matterspark is a prime example, allowing the Guardian the ability to transform into a ball of energy. “Transforming into Matterspark lets you squeeze through tight spaces, jump and dash through the environment, and become a rolling ball of death, shocking and jolting enemies who dare come across you,” said Stevens. Other examples include the Void-focused Relocator Cannon that allows you to teleport around the world, and Mattermorph which combines dark matter and Strand to allow the Guardian to manipulate the environment around them.
Beyond the new narrative, new characters (check out the reveal event replay for an introduction to the newest member of the Destiny character cast, Lodi), and the new destination and abilities, the Bungie team has been hard at work on innovating the core hobby of playing Destiny as well as responding to feedback from fans. A great example is the new Solo Ops playlist, the perfect mode for players who don’t have a lot of time and prefer to play alone.
Truly we’ve only scratched the surface of what Guardians can expect with The Edge of Fate and the Year of Prophecy. Watch the reveal event replay to get all the news on what we’ve covered here, alongside details on the new Portal feature, Power progression updates, activity customization, gear tiering, and much more.
To whet your appetite, Rite of the Nine – a prologue for The Edge of Fate – launches today in Destiny 2. This dungeon-themed event features new difficulty modes that will challenge veteran players and welcome Guardians who have never stepped foot in a dungeon or want to go solo in Explore mode. Brave the depths of the Rite and you can earn special Nine-themed Holofoil weapons.
Think of it as an appetizer to the main course ahead in The Edge of Fate and beyond. Happy feasting, Guardians.
