Destiny 2: Lightfall

[Gorf King]

Yeah, it just means you don't get the game added for free to your EA Access sub, which many are; you actually have to buy the full game.

 

Edit: it is indeed unnecessarily complicated, and yet still not entirely clear when it comes to the key info. Hopefully the game itself won't be like that.

[Hexx]

Back to Destiny: So Faction Rallies and Trials are still dead then?

[Gorf King]

Yep. Comes as a surprise to me - I thought both would be back some time in December. I can't pretend I'm gutted or anything - certainly not when it comes to Trials, which I've never properly engaged in since D1 Y2 - but I can imagine some players being very disappointed. Funny to think what a draw D1 Trials was and how popular it was with streamers and the like, and how it's just disappeared with no real schedule for its rebirth (I could have sworn they implied it'd be back not all that long after the first season ended... might be wrong though).

 

If they're having problems redesigning it from its D2 Y1 failed state, I have the solution: just bring it back as a three-person Elimination match type. Basically, just give the game back the original Trials that was so popular. It's what they want. I've no idea why they ditched it in the first place, and even less idea why they don't just take the obvious solution now.

[Nate Dogg III]

21 minutes ago, Gorf King said:

If they're having problems redesigning it from its D2 Y1 failed state, I have the solution: just bring it back as a three-person Elimination match type. Basically, just give the game back the original Trials that was so popular. It's what they want. I've no idea why they ditched it in the first place, and even less idea why they don't just take the obvious solution now.

 

I think that's exactly what they will do, but not yet, because it doesn't sit right given the current narrative about changing things up and moving things forward rather than back. They spent most of this year giving people what they wanted with 6v6 and secondary weapons and stuff like that, but Forsaken is about redefining Destiny's present and future without just falling back on the past all the time.

 

So, yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of those Redacted activities scheduled for summer. That's always a more carefree time for Destiny, when they sort of go 'fuck it' and just unlock the toy cupboard. 'We tried lots of stuff internally with Trials, but nothing was as satisfying as that original 3v3 elimination, so here it is'. 

 

Faction Rallies were just boring, and I'm not sure there's a solution to it. It's a grind by design. The reward has to be available to everyone somehow, regardless of pledge, which means it's not even a grind with a worthwhile reward. Not sure how you design yourself out of that hole.

[K]

Faction Rallies were pretty much very boring, time-limited quests, so it seems like the pinnacle weapons fulfil the same role without the insane repetition and the pointless competitive element. 

[Gorf King]

Without wishing to make another glib 'do a Trials' post, I think, if anything, they should just revert factions back to what they once were in D1: a one-time allegiance with no time limit that you rank up like any other vendor, that gives you some weapons with rotating rolls on rank up, a bunch of attractive armour pieces and cosmetics like ships and shaders and stuff, and occasionally a quest when you hit rank x or y. Just make it largely cosmetic, and let people accrue reputation in any activity they like by equipping a class item or something.

 

I'm sure there are a few twists or improvements they could make to that basic model, but the time-limited faction rally has never been a success imo. Now we have all sorts of things to do on a limited schedule, like the Forges, Shattered Throne/Whisper/whatever follows, the other cyclical stuff, throwing time-limited faction rallies into that mix on top of IB seems a very bad idea. Unless they simply let you pledge allegiance and do whatever you like to accrue points - and if they're going to do that they might as well just remove the time limits, i.e. the rallies themselves.

[K]

The problem with that is that the factions themselves were a bit rubbish. I don't care about either New Monarchy or Future War Cult, and have only the vaguest attachment to Dead Orbit. If they were a bit more tied into the fiction or had more interesting beliefs or goals, then that would be different, but even in D1 they just felt like the remnants of a much earlier version of the game. There are all kinds of groups and collectives in the lore that it would be intriguing to ally yourself with, but three groups whose remit can be boiled down to 'space is good', 'kings are good' and 'war is good' is not that compelling a proposition.

[Gorf King]

This is all you need to know about compelling propositions:

 

[K]

FUUC

[Gorf King]

I reckon FWC will come out of the shadows of the grimoire and more firmly into play at some point.

 

Quote

RECORD 343-CHASM-7887

Subject twenty-two. Admitted to the Inner Circle at 24:00. A promising postulant - I regret to say he performed poorly. He was administered the standard medication but refused to enter the Device. 

Aren't people unpredictable? I suppose there'd be no point if they weren't, would there? 

He knows to keep silent. 

END RECORD 

RECORD 343-CHASM-7888

Subject twenty-three entered the Device at 11:00. A clever girl from the Core District; an artist, before she joined the War Cult. 

At 11:03 she reported a sensation of floating. At 11:06, a sensation of lights within the darkness of the Device. Between 11:06 and 11:32 she reported these lights variously as white, golden, and blood-red. At 11:32 she reported a sensation of someone taking her hand; a stranger, but also herself. Twelve subjects have reported similar experiences. At 11:33 she reported the sensation we have called "The Opening Of The Veil." The Device recorded temporal displacement of her consciousness to the order of six degrees. At seven she began screaming. Brainscans near-death. Removed from the Device at 11:34. 

She believes without question that the Device granted her a vision of the future, and that it was one of utter Darkness. She thanked me for this enlightenment. She says it will make her stronger.

Little Ghost, there in the corner of the Sanctum - I see you blinking. Are you listening? Are y -

END RECORD

RECORD 343-CHASM-7889
the Device at 12:22 and immediately the Device reported displacement of his consciousness. Visions of war and the City in flames. Subject twenty-nine worked the supply channels on the Slip before he joined the War Cult. By 12:27 he was babbling and by
END RECORD

RECORD 343-CHASM-7890
We have applied certain refinements to the Device. Novarro found records of a prototype of the Device at a Golden Age laboratory in Tibet, and Hari's team retrieved what was left of it. We are the first to see it operational in who knows how long.
Too many subjects come back damaged. Mad. We are grasping at straws. 
What do you think, little Ghost?
END RECORD

RECORD 343-CHASM-7891

Forty-seven human subjects; eleven report timelines in which the Darkness has already prevailed, thirteen report timelines in which the City has fallen. Twenty-three babbled madness. Hopeless. Trapped.

No wonder the Device was abandoned. The human mind is too weak for it. Too weak to look into the Future, or to understand what it sees. 

What the situation calls for, little Ghost, is a better sort of witness. 

We found you in pieces in Siberia, and repaired you as well as we could. 

What do you say? Are you well enough to travel?

END RECORD

 

I reckon what might happen is that we manage to recreate the Device from the remnants of ancient technology we find on Mars, and when we activate and step into it we see those same white, golden and blood red lights before our eyes as subject twenty-three did in the Golden Age, and then we...

 

Spoiler

 

 

END RECORD

 

 

[Mafro]

I'm still not sold on the annual pass stuff mainly because of the complete lack of strikes and story content. That video was still way too vague as usual as to what it actually contains. What are those forge things? Are they actual missions or what?

[Gorf King]

No real detail, although fairly obviously each will involve one or more combat missions. And probably - hopefully - some other stuff too.

 

I'm prepared for a let down, but I'm quite enjoying it all being veiled in fog - obviously a deliberate choice on Bungie's part (they revealed details of and, yes, hyped previous DLC far too much imo) - and I'm trusting that the direction of travel we've seen in Forsaken will generally continue in these new releases. So it's a matter of going with your gut feeling at this point. Just hold on for a week or two after release and read reactions if you're less sure. I'm sure they'll appear here and elsewhere pretty thick and fast.

[Mr Ben]

The forges are matchmade multiplayer modes like the Blind Well, but with actual matchmaking. They reward BA weapons and gear (theres also an exotic ship from one of the forges that looks quite nice).

 

There is story stuff in it, but I wont say anymore than that.

[Gorf King]

Some people have been reading/watching spoilery stuff I'm sure, so if people want some of that it'll be out there if you want to look for it. I'm going dark for a bit now, I think. I don't want to know any more than I already do.

[K]

Are the forges PvE or PvP?

[Gorf King]

PvE. Well, unless they've put some sort of Gambitesque twist in there. Don't think so though.

[Nobuo's Organ]

65%, shyeah right

 

 

Why bother with anything other than the number of matches on this pursuit?

[Qazimod]

I've already hit the Loaded Question quest pretty hard. Plan A: open the strike playlist, let the others race through the thing whilst skipping a bunch of stuff, and slowly follow behind as your guardian picks off enemies with an arc fusion rifle.  Plan B: start a solo Nightfall with the sole purpose of increasing your kill count; see plan A but there's no risk of a "joining allies!" warp. Also things like Hollowed Lair begin in "public" areas where enemies aren't insanely strong but still count towards your arc fusion rifle kills.  

 

I imagine I'll get the kill count goals done relatively quickly and then realise that I've only done about three strikes...

[Gorf King]

TWAB

 

Raid is 640

 

Quote

 

When we revealed the Annual Pass earlier this year, we mentioned the inclusion of new Raid Lairs. In Season of the Forge’s reveal earlier this week, we said it contains a Raid, not a Raid Lair, a concept we had introduced last year. Lairs were extensions of an existing Raid setting. Black Armory’s “Scourge of the Past” doesn’t fit that definition. It takes place in a new setting, tells its own story, and isn’t related to the events of the Dreaming City. Destiny Raids have come in many shapes and sizes, from “Crota’s End” to “Last Wish”, and “Scourge of the Past” falls within that spectrum. 

 

 

Scourge will release on Friday, December 7 at 9 AM. Its recommended Power is 640, but there is no minimum Power requirement. Any Guardian who owns the Annual Pass can drop into the space and explore. Good luck! 

 

 

'Veteran' cosmetic rewards
 

Quote

 

As promised in October, those of you who played Destiny 2: Forsaken before October 16 will receive Veterans of the Hunt rewards. This includes a unique emblem, shader, and two emotes. Our original goal was to release these in early December. Minor issues were discovered near the end of development for Update 2.1.1, leading to a short delay. We are currently planning to distribute these packages in Destiny 2 Update 2.1.3, which is tentatively planned to release on December 18.

 

 

 

Update/downtime

 

Quote

 

Destiny 2 Update 2.1.1.1

 

Next Tuesday, December 4, Destiny 2 Update 2.1.1.1 will become available to players. This update marks the opening of the Black Armory for players who own the Destiny 2: Forsaken Annual Pass.

 

All Destiny 2 players will need to download and install this update when it is available. Please see below for the Update 2.1.1.1 deployment timeline for Tuesday, December 4.

• 8:30 AM PST (1630 UTC): Destiny 2 maintenance is scheduled to begin. Some Bungie.net and API features will be taken offline.
• 8:45 AM PST (1645 UTC): Destiny 2 will be taken offline, and all players will be returned to the title screen.
• 9:00 AM PST (1700 UTC): Destiny 2 maintenance is expected to conclude, and Update 2.1.1.1 will begin rolling out across all platforms and regions.
• 9:15 AM PST (1715 UTC): All Bungie.net and API features are expected to resume.

 

 

[Mr Ben]

[Oz]

Anyone else get the feeling that lag in crucible is way more frequent and noticeable? It is back at destiny one levels of weirdness. Wondering if it is just my internet that is acting up.

[Jigsaw Monkey]

Had a couple of dodgy games of Gambit yesterday.  Things like motes not being collected properly and a couple of disconnects which is very unusual for me.

 

I put it down to the pending update release next week.

[Oz]

also matchmaking is taking ages.... game is being weird.... 

[Mr Ben]

Combination of inter-season wierdness, and I also think there arent that many people playing pvp/gambit hence the players you do get tend to have really bad latency.

[Hexx]

Meatball obtained!

[Jigsaw Monkey]

22 minutes ago, Hexx said:

Meatball obtained!

 

Quest dropped for me this evening too!

 

Only seen it once before but didn’t win the round at the time. 

[Mr Ben]

New trailer (from facebook, so apologies for it being so large) - shows some of the new legendary weapons as well as the exotics we already know about from the vidoc, along with a date for the exotic quest for Shin's signature weapon:

[Gorf King]

One wot fits onscreen:

 

 

[Mafro]

I'm gonna hold off buying Black Armoury for now until I see how bad the no-lifer/streamer pandering is. Smash Bros will be getting all of my attention this week anyway.

[Gorf King]

Update is down. 1 GB on PS4.