Bungie Weekly Update: Destiny End Game

ElRenmazuo

http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---09052014/en/News/News?aid=12096

This is not the way the game ends.

Of course we’re not going to spoil the dramatic conclusion of Destiny here. However, there’s been a lot of chatter in the places where chatter happens about what awaits you after the end of the tale we’re telling in Destiny.

When our story ends, yours will begin. Check out the conversation below. It features questions harvested from the universal mind and answers that are a blend of the insights provided by Bungie designers Luke Smith and Tyson Green.

 

Q. Overall, what’s the goal of end game content in Destiny?

 

We want to give players and the community challenges to work on individually, and together. Each player’s goal is to gear up, become more powerful, and face even greater challenges for a chance at the most powerful and awe-inspiring rewards Destiny has to offer. 

Our goal is to curate a living world with activities for every mood. Whether you’re craving high intensity cooperative gameplay, shooting other players in the face in a variety of modes, or scouring the planets for precious resources and hunting for Public Events, we want Destiny to meet whatever mood you’re in. 

 

Q. What can players expect after they achieve Level 20?

 

Destiny really begins at Level 20. Afterwards, each player’s power is displayed as their Light Level – this is the yellow number in their nameplate post-20 in the Tower. The way to increase that Level? Get better gear.  Strikes and Crucible matches can award powerful gear and currencies which you’ll use to buy Legendary (purple) gear from the Tower. Players can choose to champion one of our three Factions (New Monarchy, Dead Orbit, or Future War Cult) in both cooperative and competitive activities. This allows them to rank up and purchase gear from a particular Faction.

 

Which Faction you champion is related to what kind of build you’re focusing on. If you’re Warlock looking to focus on Discipline and Strength, you’ll be looking at the Dead Orbit Legendary Set and coveting it. If you’re looking for a great Legendary Hand Cannon you might champion the Vanguard, or maybe the Future War Cult, depending on which piece tempts you most.

 

Additionally, post-Level 20, players will unlock the Heroic mode progressions for Daily Heroic Story Chapters and Weekly Heroic Strikes. For example, in the Weekly Heroic Strikes, there are three recommended Light Levels and the first one, 22, will feature two modifiers. 

 

Q. Tell us more about these Heroic Strikes!

 

A weekly rotation of very challenging Heroic Strikes (and the pinnacle Nightfall Strike) use high-level enemies and global modifiers to create challenges that require skill, gear, and sometimes creative character builds to beat.

 

Modifiers are one of the ways we tweak content we’ve already built. The first modifier is called “Heroic.” Heroic leverages the more difficult version of the encounters, but the second modifier is where we really start to challenge players. Take a modifier like Arc Burn – which increases all damage dealt by Arc Damage by 300%. If you’re a Bladedancer Hunter, you’re about to be an even more destructive force, and everyone else in your Fireteam is going to be scrambling for Arc weapons. But, if the enemies you’re facing also use Arc weapons, they will cut through you like paper.

 

We give a very similar treatment to the Daily Heroic Story Chapter, which are featured on a daily basis with bonus rewards. 

 

 

Q. What about Bounties?

 

Xander 99-40, a Vendor in the Tower, will also offer Daily Bounties that send you into a variety of activities in exchange for experience and reputation rewards. These Bounties will provide Faction Reputation, either for the Vanguard or whichever Faction you’re championing, in addition to a bunch of XP.

 

Post-Level 20, XP is still super important to players. You are going to be seeking as much XP as possible to level weapons and armor, complete your first Subclass and make your way through the second. Bounties and the Daily and Weekly Activities are important sources of these bursts of XP.  

 

Q. Was the Iron Banner I experienced in the Beta indicative of what I’ll experience in the full game?

 

In the full game, Iron Banner is a longer lasting event that will give players more time to engage in it.

 

Q. Beyond Iron Banner, are there other events in the game?

 

There are!

 

Q. How does high level weapons, armor, and abilities change how I experience the overall sandbox?

 

Some Exotics provide unique modifiers that might change which abilities you focus on, creating new ways to be effective in cooperative and competitive play. It’s all about options and personal optimization. 

 

As players make their way through Destiny they are going to find out what types of weapons, talents and stats they prefer when gearing their Guardian. Thinking about it in terms of Arsenal and Builds is a simple way to start to explore Destiny’s depth.

 

An Arsenal example: A Pulse Rifle player may find that he wants to find a Pulse Rifle with a talent combination like Full Auto (converts the weapon to a fully automatic), but he wants Field Scout (which extends the mag and the clip to the weapons max), so he’s going to have to hunt for a weapon sates his desires.

 

Now, Builds: Builds continue to progress long after players have completed the last Story mission. A bunch of the synergies found within a given build don’t come online till late in this build – like the Fireborn Sunsinger doesn’t actually earn the Self-Resurrection power till very late in his progression.

 

There are also synergies outside of the builds in the form of both Armor Talents and Exotic Armor. Armor Talents allow players to align their arsenal and their build to create powerful synergies.

 

For example, a Titan might try and find weapons with Grenadier (kills with this weapon reduce the cooldown of your grenades), and marry it with a bunch of Armor Talents which also accelerate grenade cooldowns. This Titan would probably also be looking for a lot of high Discipline armor as the Discipline lowers the cooldown for grenades. 

 

Q. When should I expect to give the Vault of Glass a run?

 

The Vault of Glass can be broken into beginning on September 16th, assuming you’ve achieved level 25. This allows all of our players a week to dive into the world, start to make their Guardians and prepare for what lies behind a giant door on Venus. 

 

Q. What are some other ways you plan on continuing to support Destiny, beyond content? Do you have any support/sustain plans in the works?

 

Our first few weeks are already set aside to be reactive to what the community teaches us. After that, we have plans and plans, but all of the details will depend on what we learn in the next two weeks.

 

There are many evolutions ahead of you, Guardian. Many ends and plenty of beginnings. Be brave.

kabitoshin

This sounds alot like Diablo 3, but as a FPS. Not saying that as a bad thing cause I really like that loot chase, everytime I see a green beam of light I race to it.