Bungie is preparing to take back their fans with the upcoming major expansion for Destiny. Promising an overhaul of virtually every aspect of the base game, Devs are calling The Taken King a game within itself. Boasting a new storyline, quests, a raid, pvp modes and maps, weapons, armor, cinematics, and a complete UI overhaul, the world of Destiny is definitely about to be shaken up. In this whirlwind of news and announcements, keeping up can be a challenge. Dont worry, we’ve done all the work for you.
There’s a story now? Bungie has stated that a huge twist coming in TTK is that well, it actually has a coherent story. Oryx, The Taken King himself has been robbed of his son Crota by swordbearing Guardians. With his ghoulish army, he barrels into our solar system in search of revenge. Those who have been
disappointed by the story in previous DLC installments can find a new hope in the supercharged story taking place in TTK. Bungie promises not only full blown set pieces, but fully voiced, skippable cutscenes. It seems Bungie is moving past loading screen monologues that left gamers feeling like a cleanup crew, arriving too late for the action, and being told about it rather than living it.
Guardians will need to draw on ancient, forgotten powers to defeat The Taken King. Each player class will be receiving a new sub class, with its own skill tree, supers, and abilities. The Titan Sunbreaker will wield a hammer forged of solar energy, allowing you to storm the field of battle flinging your hammer and smashing your opponents. This will couple with a new grenade that will unleash a storm of fire upon your enemies. Warlocks can now channel their inner Emperor Palpatine as they blast arc energy from their fingertips. The stormcaller will also have it’s own new grenades that explode with the fury of a thunderstorm. Finally, Hunters can fall into the void with the new Shadowstalker class. This Void centric class will grant users a bow made entirely of dark matter energy, which can either be used to one shot an enemy, or ensnare them in a web of dark energy.
Don’t go alone! Prepare to say goodbye to your apathetic floating sidekick, Dinklebot. Amazing actor (and so-so voice actor) Peter Dinklage, will have all of his dialogue in Destiny wiped and replaced with the vocal styling of Nolan North. This change will not only include TTK, but also every DLC release and even the vanilla game. This is being done to avoid creating a segmented feeling between previous content releases and TTK, delivering a smooth and uniform experience. As much as we will miss Dinklebot, it is exciting to imagine a companion with a bit more… personality.
Not only will ghost have a new voice, but he will also have a few new shells as well. From Bungie’s many streams and trailers, it seems that ghosts will come in various rarity levels, colors, and feature a wide range of perks. As one of the most requested additions to Destiny by fans, this is definitely a welcome change. Shells will not only change your look, but can do things like highlighting nearby crafting mats, and even providing bonuses when facing certain enemy types.
All dressed up..When it comes to Destiny, the storyline is only as good as the loot we chase, and The Taken King promises us a bevy of new armor and weapons to lust after. Aside from re-skinning old gear, new armor seems to be completely retooled, from the cosmetic, down to the individual stats and perks. This time around, customization, and making characters feel truly unique has come to the fore. Not only can players level up their favorite gear to new max levels, but they can also re-roll individual stats and perks. This leads to an almost endless amount of player choice, and will avoid every player looking the same after Destiny’s end game content. There has even been speculation that elemental bonus’ will be applied to armor in The Taken King, adding even more of an RPG flair to the social shooter.
Feeling lucky, punk? In sad news, our prized weapons from year one of Destiny will stay frozen in time, unable to be upgraded. In good news, however, The Taken King will include more weapons than the vanilla game, and both DLC releases combined. With new weapons also come weapon manufacturers, as Destiny players will be introduced to three new weapon foundries. The first, Hakke (pronounced Hak-Kuh) creates a soldier’s weapon, no frills, no gimmicks, simply raw power. These weapons will be reliable, and are guaranteed to get the job done. Omolon will deliver experimental weaponry so volatile, that it borders on dangerous, even for the user. These armaments will feature energy based ammunition, liquid ammo displays, and truly unique build styles. Finally, Suros, the company behind the Suros Regime, is bringing even more weaponry to guardians. Promoting customization, Suros weapons will feature perk trees that allow Guardians to tailor their weapons to various combat situations.
In House of Wolves, fans saw the addition of the sidearm weapon type. These compact and fast hitting weapons were fun, but now we must move on to bigger and deadlier things. In The Taken King players will be able to wield gigantic swords and hack away at their enemies on the field of battle. These elementally charged melee weapons will take up your heavy slot. Along with this announcement, Bungie has also revealed that players can choose which weapon is shown holstered on their back. This small choice will allow players to create an even more unique Guardian.
A brand new leveling system is also being introduced into the game, in which unwanted weapons can be broken down into parts, in order to level up your new weaponry. This change will make virtually every drop useful in some way, in an effort to help players bring their favorite weapons into the endgame, Bungie has stated it is possible to max out your favorite weapons using this new system. Using a new feature called Exotic blueprints, players can recreate any exotic weapon that has dropped in the past, meaning you can duplicate them across your chracters, or recover old exotics who fell victim to accidental dismantling. This system will also be used to bring your beloved old Exotics to the new max damage stat.
Exotics have not been forgotten in The Taken King, as SOME of our previous Exotic weapons can be upgraded to the new max level. Aside from those heavy hitting classics, there will be over 12 new exotic weapons. Players can expect a lot more than simple reskins, as these new weapons will completely change the balance of combat in Destiny. Weapons like the Sleeper Simulant, a new arc heavy Exotic, feature new perks like ricocheting blasts of energy that can hit up to 5 enemies! Not only will exotics be overhauled, but so will the manner in which Guardians hunt them down. For example, the aforementioned heavy arc weapon can only be found after assembling 50 lost artifacts of the golden age lost in the massive floating fortress, the Dreadnaught.
New playgrounds. In more about the Dreadnaught, Bungie has confirmed that this area will be substantial. Not only will story missions take place here, but full blown public events will take place within the Dreadnaught as well. Guardians will have to search through the dark, cursed halls in order to unlock the floating citadel’s secrets. The expansion’s raid will also take place within the Dreadnaught, all culminating in an all out battle with The Taken King himself. The final raid aims to instill a sense of wonder and mystery, while also challenging players. Bungie has said that much exploration will be needed to unlock all of the Dreadnaughts secrets.
Make some enemies. If PVP is more your style, eight new maps will be added in this massive expansion. Players can also look forward to two new game types. In Rift, players must capture a “spark” and carry it to the enemy team’s “rift”. This capture the flag-esque game mode adds a splash of flair, giving player the ability to slam dunk the spark into the enemy rift, killing any nearby enemies and granting a bonus score. Another promising game mode is called Mayhem, in this aptly named mode, player’s super abilities and grenades will recharge in less than a minute, allowing for all out chaos.
Daddy needs a new pair of greaves. In addition to changing how we interact with vendors, the currency we use will be streamlined as well. Rather than grinding for separate marks, both Crucible and Vanguard, Legendary marks will now be the reward for strikes, crucible gameplay, and other challenges. This change will 
allow a bit more freedom when it comes to what game mode players wish to invest their time in. No longer will PVP fans be forced to slog through strike playlists, and gone are the days where PVE players must face the slaughter of the crucible simply to purchase gear.
In order to add more replayable content, Bungie has also added daily missions and reputation with the Tower’s gunsmith. Players will be able to “borrow” new weapons for testing purposes, and complete challenges with said weapons, fulfilling daily bounties in order to gain more rep with the gunsmith. After gaining enough reputation, Guardians will have access to Armsday weapons, which will guarantee a random legendary weapon every Wednesday.
The gunsmith isn’t the only vendor with new tricks up their sleeve, as Xur has learned a new trick as well. Every weekend, the elusive vendor will bring a new buff called the three of coins. This new buff will bolster Guardians chances of getting a new Exotic from their next strike or raid encounter. Aside from earning loot through vendors, TTK will feature an upgraded loot drop system, which will lessen the chances of raids and strikes dropping gear and Exotics you already own.
Level up. The somewhat confusing leveling system from vanilla Destiny has been scrapped in The Taken King. Upon launch, your characters current level will be grandfathered in. This means that if you are level 30 to 34, your level will remain the same even though light and EXP have been separated in this new system. Light will no longer have an effect on you level, but will instead boost your defense stats and damage output. EXP will strictly be gained from gameplay. This fixes some of the woes caused by the previous system which tied level to gear. Players will no longer look the same after end game content, and those who do not participate in raids or high level PVP will now have a chance to max out their EXP.
Changing times. The in-game UI is also receiving a much needed facelift, and many other “quality of life” changes are being made. One such change is the all new quest page, in which players can track up to 32 quests at a time, and 16 bounty missions. These quests and bounties can be turned in directly from the quest page, which cuts out the tedious trip back to your quest giver. Cosmetic items such as shaders and emblems will be moved to an organized kiosk on the Tower, the games prime social space. This change will free up more space within players inventory, and especially their vault. Although, this relief on our vault space may not be needed, as The Taken King will more than DOUBLE our vault slots. Yes, you just read that correctly. Other RPG like elements, such as the ability to live track a certain number of quests right in your hud will also be added to the game.
The Taken King is proving to be a massive overhaul of the controversial social shooter. Whether you have passed on this game, or have remained a hardcore fan, there will be something for everyone. Bungie has even more in store, as every Wednesday up to the September 15th release, even more about TTK will be revealed on Twitch. As the 15th nears, make sure to check back for even more on Destiny: The Taken King.