Author: Trafficblast

Destiny 2: Forsaken’s Raid, Last Wish, finally came online recently, 10 days after launch. Despite the wait, it still took teams quite a bit of time to complete it–nearly a full day, which is long by Raid standards. But with a World’s First being named, all players have received new content. It appears defeating the Raid boss, Riven, was part of its objective, releasing a curse. Fortunately, that means new things to do–there are additional bounties, a new Gambit map, and a new Strike. You can check out the new Strike in its entirety above; it’s accessed from the Dreaming City and carries a Power level recommendation of 500.

Bungie has announced details regarding the return of Iron Banner in Destiny 2. The multiplayer mode starts September 18 at 10 AM PDT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST and resets with new challenges and rewards on September 25. There are a few changes this time around you’ll have to watch out for.

The biggest change in Iron Banner is that Power level now matters. On Bungie’s website, this new Iron Banner is described as “an arms race” between you and the other players you’ll be facing off against, so you’ll need to equip your most powerful weapons and gear to hold your own and earn the new rewards. Iron Banner will also offer seven weekly bounties from now on, with each mission having a chance of yielding an Iron Banner-themed reward. Each week, two of the bounties will have a chance of dropping Powerful rewards to improve your Power level if you’re struggling with the competitive multiplayer component.

Lord Saladin is also back with five new pieces of armor and two new weapons for purchase, which reset with each new Iron Banner event. Each of the seven items that Lord Saladin sells are associated to one of the seven bounties, and you’ll have to complete an item’s corresponding bounty mission to unlock its availability for purchase. This way, if the item you want doesn’t drop, you can just buy it after the mission is over.

A reprised Crucible map launches with the return of Iron Banner. The map will be available for all in the Crucible playlist, but players who own the Forsaken expansion will get access to the map in private matches.

Forsaken is Destiny 2’s most recent expansion, which offers new story missions, strikes, and a Raid. In our in-progress-review, we gave Forsaken an 8/10, commenting on how the expansion is making us enjoy Destiny 2 again. We’ll update our review with a final score after completing Forsaken’s Raid–and tried the new content that beating it unlocks.

Destiny 2 is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

For some players, a new Raid in Destiny 2 is a non-event–the release of an activity that’s only for hardcore players. For others, it essentially is the game. Wherever you may stand on the matter, the recent launch of Forsaken’s Raid, Last Wish, is significant. While it took nearly a full day for the first team to complete it, that milestone marked the release of new content for all Forsaken players.

After Team Redeem were awarded the title of world’s first team to beat Last Wish, a number of changes happened for everyone. When first logging in after its completion, players now receive a notification (pictured below) titled Curse Unleashed. It states, “A team of six Guardians entered the heart of the Dreaming City and slew Riven of a Thousand Voices. They had no way of knowing that was exactly what Riven wanted…”

When you next head to the Dreaming City, you’ll also receive a brief cinematic with Petra offering up a similar, ominous sentiment (and she’ll be upset when you speak with her). It’s bad news from a story standpoint, but it’s actually great for players. In the Dreaming City, players can now find a brand-new Strike called The Corrupted that’s been unlocked;. It carries a recommended Power level of 500 and is described in-game as such: “Hunt down one of Queen Mara’s most trusted advisors and free her from Taken possession.” You can watch the full Strike above.

That’s not all; for those who want to spice up the competitive side of the game, Gambit has gained a new map. This is now a part of the regular rotation; you can see it along with the Strike in the gallery above.

Additionally, The Drifter offers an additional weekly bounty. At least for the first post-Raid week, this is called On the Grind, and it requires you to earn points by doing various things in Gambit–secure kills, defeat enemy Guardians, and bank Motes. Complete that within a week of purchasing it, and you’ll earn Infamy points and, more importantly, a piece of Powerful gear.

Additionally, you can find a new weekly bounty offered by Petra in the Dreaming City. Broken Courier tasks you with completing a mission of the same name. Like the Gambit bounty, the reward here is Powerful gear, making it an essential task for those seeking to raise their Power level. This mission seems to lead to something else, though just what is unclear

It remains to be seen if further changes and additions could still be introduced, but we do know Bungie has extensive plans to continue rolling out new content over the next year. That will include free and paid content, ensuring everyone (or at least those who own the DLC) continue to have reason to check back in with the game. Next up: Iron Banner’s return on September 18.