The Dreadnaught has returned. The fabled Hive ship and Throne World to Oryx himself is once again a threat to humanity. It’s under the shadow of this ominous return that Guardians will begin their adventures when Destiny 2: Heresy, the game’s third Episode and final epilogue of the Light and Darkness Saga, launches on February 4. Today, the Destiny team hosted a livestream featuring an in-depth look at what players can expect from Heresy, including exclusive interviews with developers and live gameplay from the Episode.
Today we’re covering some of the highlights of Heresy that were featured in today’s show. For even more, check out the livestream recap here.
A menacing return
Orbiting the planet Saturn amidst its massive rings, the Dreadnaught never really left the lore of Destiny, serving both as an ominous reminder of Guardians’ previous conflict with Oryx in The Taken King expansion and, later, as a staging ground for the forces of Xivu Arath. With Heresy, the Hive ship will once again return to the forefront.
“What’s significant about the Dreadnaught’s return for Heresy is that it’s going to be changing, and we’re going to be fighting through it in ways we’ve yet to experience,” said Destiny 2 Narrative Architect Nikko Stevens. “The Dreadnaught has reawakened for the first time in almost a decade, spurring the Vanguard and Guardians across the system to take notice. We finally get to see what has become of the Dreadnaught years after Oryx was felled and its halls were left to corrode, without a Navigator.”
Into The Nether
During Heresy, Guardians take the fight into the Dreadnaught itself in a new activity known as The Nether. With an action-packed mix of exploration, combat, as well as gameplay modifiers and escalating difficulty (not to mention some excellent rewards), The Nether promises to keep players on their toes each time they board.
“There is a constant surge of Taken forces and corruptive power spilling from the Dreadnaught in Heresy,” said Stevens. “The outpouring of corruption is like an acerbic current that pushes back against Guardian forces attempting to board the Dreadnaught. This is where The Nether comes in.”
With a combination of area patrols, multiple bubbles full of challenging enemies, each culminating in heroic boss fights, and all set in the haunted corridors of a metamorphosed Dreadnaught, The Nether activity will find Guardians besieging the sprawling ship to disable its weaponry and prevent the Taken corruption from spreading. With lessons learned from previous rogue-lite experiments in Destiny 2 such as The Coil from Season of the Wish and Deep Dives from Season of the Deep, Guardians can also look forward to a constantly varied experience. For example, after completing a bubble, the Power level of enemies increase. In addition, the activity introduces a new twist to the combat formula in the form of boons that directly affect gameplay.
Three types of boons will be available for players to collect: minor, major, and corrupted. Minor boons offer boosts to stats and will stack upon collection. Major boons are acquired by completing a bubble, and though they won’t stack, they offer gameplay-altering benefits such as building up Static Charge stacks by sprinting, ultimately allowing you to unleash a powerful thunderbolt by firing your weapon. Corrupted boons also offer a significant gameplay boost, but also a downside as well. For example, one corrupted boon increases the damage done to targets while also increasing damage taken from sources.
“We’ve also experimented with player modifiers, with increased health pools, no regenerating of health, low ammo drops and revive tokens, and a modification on healing in the sandbox over the course of play,” said Destiny 2 Senior Designer Ryan Harris, adding that build crafting is a key to success in the Nether activity. “Players should look to build their loadouts geared for survivability as the game mode modifiers increase health pools of players significantly while also stopping all health regen.”
Alongside the new narrative twists as well as new gear and updates, today’s livestream also introduced the newly announced collaboration between Bungie and Lucasfilm Games to bring Star Wars-inspired gear and accessories to Destiny 2. Available with the launch of Heresy are three new armor ornaments (one per Guardian class), each inspired by the soldiers of the Galactic Empire, in addition to a number of Star Wars-inspired accessories.
With three Acts coming this Episode, Heresy still has plenty of fun left in the coming months, with new activities, amazing gear to collect, and much more. Heresy is also just the start of a great 2025 for Destiny 2, so be on the lookout for more!
Destiny 2: Heresy launches on February 4.
