Story
In the upcoming Rise of Iron expansion, players will finally get to learn a bit of the lore behind Lord Saladin, the Destiny dude who hosts the Iron Banner PVP event every month. In the new story missions, Guardians will learn about the Iron Lords, a group of fighters who have been battling with the Fallen way before the Guardians ever came into existence. However, the Iron Lords were destroyed when the Fallen got their hands on a kind of nanotechnology called SIVA.
In order to wrestle back control from the aliens, the Guardians will have to become Iron Lords themselves. Rise of Iron will have players enter the Plaguelands – a new area on Earth – and take back the technology, and of course, kick some serious alien butt. This is the general story of the new campaign missions that will come with the expansion, and players can also expect new cutscenes and character interactions with their favorite NPCs. The Taken King did a great job of breathing some much-needed life and personality into existing characters, so here’s hoping that Rise of Iron continues that upward development trend.
New Hub, New Locations
In addition to the new story stuff, players will also have access to a brand new hub called Felwinter Peak. This one is located on Earth, and will act as a new base of operations where players can trade in their engrams, take on new quests, and stock up on whatever they need. Similar to the Reef that was introduced in House of Wolves, Felwinter Peak will be the third social hub available to Destiny players.
As mentioned previously, the Plaguelands is a new area on Earth that was previously off-limits to players. The Plaguelands are located near the Cosmodrome, and players will be able to fight the Fallen and other enemy variants there. The SIVA nanotechnology has completely ravaged the land, so you can expect to see some crazy stuff here – lava floors, huge alien towers, and more. Think of it as the new Dreadnaught area that was first introduced on Saturn with the Taken King expansion. There will also be blizzards and snowfalls on Earth, as well as wolves, but Bungie has sadly confirmed that players will not be able to interact with the wolves.
More Gear
Of course, with every Destiny expansion, there will be new gear to collect, and Rise of Iron is no different. Bungie has already confirmed that the Gjallarhorn will be making a triumphant return to the game. Players will be able to obtain the powerful and iconic rocket launcher through quest completion, but players who pre-order the expansion can get access to a special black-colored Iron Gjallarhorn. Y’know, just to show off your street cred.
The Trespasser exotic sidearm has also been revealed, and is already available in the game if you’ve downloaded the latest Rise of Iron patch. In addition to that, the maximum light level will be raised from the current 335 max, so players can expect to spend lots of time in this new expansion, collecting loot until they reach the highest number possible.
Strikes and Raids
Rise of Iron will bring a brand new strike and raid to Destiny. The new strike, called The Wretched Eye, will pit players against SIVA-infused Fallen in the Plaguelands. In addition to that, the expansion will also be remixing some of the older strikes to throw in a few new surprises for returning players. The Devil’s Lair, for example, is one of the firs strikes introduced in Destiny, and that one is getting quite the overhaul in terms of enemy encounters, music, and boss behavioral patterns.
Bungie hasn’t shared too many details about the new raid, Wrath of the Machine, just yet. However, they have hinted that the raid will be a lot less technical than King’s Fall. Instead of requiring players to memorize mechanics and patterns in order to beat raid bosses, Bungie has mentioned that beating the new Rise of Iron raid will be slightly more dependent on a player’s light level than their memorization of specific mechanics in a battle. Take that how you will.
When is it Out?
Destiny: Rise of Iron is set to be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on Sept. 20. Unfortunately, players on PS3 and Xbox 360 will not have access to the new content. For new players, purchasing Rise of Iron will give you access to a level boost item so that you can jump straight into the new content without having to grind up levels in the vanilla game and its previously released expansions.
For those who have not picked up Destiny and all of its previous expansions, Destiny: The Collection is due to release on the same day which will include all existing content to provide you with the complete Destiny experience.
So, will you be picking up the expansion once it drops tomorrow? Let us know in the comments down below.
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