Today marked the first in four live reveals planned by Bungie for their upcoming Destiny expansion House of Wolves. In this Twitch streamed event, Community manager Deej, along with Christopher Harret and Gothalion, walked fans through a new social space. The Reef, home to the mysterious The Awoken, is a place filled with mystery. Luckily today some of those mysteries were solved, as we were introduced to new vendors, shown new weapons and armor, and also some of the activities players can expect to partake in starting May 19th.
VENDORS
The first part of this virtual guided tour brought us to our new friends among the Reef. Petra Venge, the Queens most loyal emissary, has made a striking return. Aside from having a new appearance (and badass eyepatch), she also possesses new wares for guardians who rank up their reputation with the Queen. While some shaders have made a comeback such as Rosegold, a bevy of new ones are available as well. While were not shown the Queens armor set, or weapons, we were informed there will be a set for the Queen, and corresponding weapons.
Petra also supplies loyal guardians with wanted bounties, similar but not exact copy/paste versions of Queens Bounty reefs. Aside from new shaders, Petra also has a few brand new ships for players to choose from, including those flown by the Awoken.
Our next great encounter was with a new face entirely. Variks is a member of an Ancient Fallen house, the House of Judgment. These Fallen are no friends of the Kells who have betrayed the queen, and have aligned themselves with her. By ranking up your House of Judgement rep, you can unlock the ability to purchase exclusive armor, bonds, weapons, ships, and shaders. His weapon stock also shows Bungies commitment to making NEW weapons, not reskins of old ones. The respect of Variks can be earned in the Prison of Elders.
Another new face among the Reef is Brother Vance, a disciple of Osiris. By visiting him, players can unlock consumable buffs for the Trials of Osiris, which are said to run from Friday to Tuesday, every week. Bungie seemed particularly secretive about this vendor and would not highlight his stock for further details. You can expect more about the Trials of Osiris on April 29th.
UPGRADE PATHS
All of this talk of the new social space begs the question, “Will we ever go back to the Tower?”. After a short trip back to our familiar home, Deej introduced a much awaited feature that will come with House of Wolves. Players will now be able to upgrade all past weaponry, and all past legendary gear. This is done by simply filling one upgrade bubble, not by a total respec like in The Dark Below. Players must accumulate a currency known as Etheric Light by completing end game content, in order to upgrade their old gear. Old favorites such as Vex Mythoclast, Fatebringer, and yes even Gjallarhorn can all be upgraded to the new 365 threshold. In fact, all of your old legendaries and exotics can be, lending to a vast amount of player diversity.
In other good news about your weapons, players can also reforge at will at the local arms vendor on the Tower or Reef. There seemed to be no limit to how many times you can do this, for a price of course. Players can now reroll the perks and stats of their weapons without waiting for the Iron Banner. Also, players can upgrade ALL old exotics without needing Xur!
NEW GEAR
Leveling up your faction rep will once again be relevant as Future War Cult, New Monarchy, and Dead Orbit now have new gear and weaponry available for purchase. The Vanguard and Crucible Vendors also are sporting some new wares.
And finally, another interesting new feature will be the ability to trade your old ascendant materials, for newer, more relevant materials. Players can swap their old materials for glimmer or for upgraded forms in order to upgrade all their new weapons and gear.
All of these features shown today will be available to all guardians, even if you do not buy House of Wolves. Make sure to tune in during the following weeks for more details from Bungie!