As part of The Taken King Crucible preview event currently going on, Mayhem Clash is now a live game mode! Mayhem Clash, along with Rift and the rest of the preview playlists will continue until the Weekly Reset at 2 AM PST on Tuesday 9/15, at which point The Taken King will go live and anyone who hasn't purchased it will no longer be able to play these game modes.
Mayhem Clash, as it sounds, is a hectic variant of the traditional Clash playlist. In this 6v6 playlist, Heavy ammo spawns far more frequently, and like in the early days of Destiny, when you kill someone who has Heavy ammo, you get to pick it up. But that's not what makes Mayhem special. What makes it special is that all ability cool downs - grenades, melees and even supers - are drastically reduced. This means that you will get your Super will charge much earlier and much more frequently. You shouldn't have a hard time at all getting your first super off within your first life, especially if you have a high intellect build.
After playing more than my fair share of Mayhem Clash yesterday and today, I think it's safe to say that it is an awesome game mode. Unlike Rift, which is objective-based and really not all that much fun without a few friends, Mayhem Clash is fun even while solo-queuing.
Unlike Bungie's previous games from the Halo series, Destiny is really quite lacking when it comes to creative and, more importantly, fun game modes for multiplayer. In the Halo series, there were dozens of fun and just outright crazy game modes to choose from. Not only were these game modes a great chance of pace from tradtional game modes, but they were also a great way to blow off some steam and just relax.
That's one reason why Mayhem Clash is so much fun. Yes, the game still keeps track of scores and yes there can be times where it's frustrating. But in general, Mayhem Clash is a lot more laid back and just a lot more fun and energetic than Destiny's other playlists. It's a great change of pace, and I hope sometime in the future that Bungie releases more game modes like this.
'So what are some tips for Mayhem Clash?' you might be wondering. Well, just from general observation, it seems as though the three dominant supers are Golden Gun, Fist of Havoc, and Nova Bomb. Not only do these supers have great range (in the case of GG and NB), but they also have tremendous and instantaneous stopping power. Arc Blade and Radiance, while they can be useful if you know what you're doing, especially when paired with other people of the same subclass, are at an inherent disadvantage because in general its just much harder to get a kill with these supers. It's very easy for an Arc Blader to get shut down as they're making their way over to their target to melee them. As for Defender, well, that's not useful at getting kills, but if you want to lay out some bait by spawning a bubble, then spamming Suppressor grenades and getting kills with weapons, it is a perfectly valid strategy. This can be pretty deadly and effective if you know what you're doing, but be warned, this is extremely annoying to other players so expect a dosage of teabagging, dancing, and hate mail.
Other than that, my only advice is to not take the game mode too seriously. Just sit back, relax, blow off some steam, and enjoy the Mayhem.
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Showing posts with label subclasses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label subclasses. Show all posts
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Destiny - Patch 2.0 Analysis
Greetings Guardians! The Patch 2.0 has finally arrived, after several months of hype and teasing from Bungie. So let's just dig right in and get to the analyzing. You can view the official patch notes on the Bungie website.
Player Character
The base level of Players has been increased from 20 to 34 and the Light and Level system are now completely separate. This means that there will be no more "Forever 29" or "Forever 31" because now we leave up based on XP which can be earned from various activities, so now our level is a more appropriate reflection of the amount of time and effort we put into the game.
Light isn't going away entirely, and it's still an important, even more important aspect of Destiny. Light is now calculated by the average of all of our gear's Attack and Defense values. This means that weapons now contribute to our overall Light. Ghost shells, class items and Artifacts (a new item) now contribute to our Light as well.
Speaking of Attack and Defense values, those have been modified a bit as well. Attack Power on all weapons has been renormalized, so all of those 365 weapons will no be 170 attack. This isn't a nerf, it's just a reworking of the way the system is structured, so don't worry. Defense values on armor are now on the same scale as well. In addition to this, Ability damage and Health are being calculated based on Light, with Weapon damage being effected by both Light and Attack values.
Classes
Yes, that's right. Bungie is finally addressing class balance with Update 2.0! Although the changes here aren't many, there's a few that will have a pretty huge effect on overall gameplay, especially in the Crucible.
There's a few general, all-around changes to class structure. To start with, Intellect, Strength and Discipline now only affect abilities in set increments and the exact duration of their effect is now conveniently displayed. This will make it much easier to customize our class builds exactly the way we want them. Recovery stat times have also been slightly renormalized to make a "more compelling character stats choice." All Pulse grenades now have a univeral range of 8 meters, which is a slight buff for the Thermal and Void versions, and a slight nerf for Arc, with fuse times also being reduced universally.
There's also been some slight tweaking to specific subclasses. For Defender, Ward of Dawn has been tweaked so that Razor's Edge (Arc Blade) and Shockwave (Fist of Havoc) can no longer penetrate the bubble. This is a nice change and will make Defender more viable in PvP.
Gunslinger Golden Gun damage has been increased to 360 (from 350) to "consistently kill opponents in the crucible." Not sure what that is about... Of all the subclasses, Bladedancer received the most tweaks, with its cap on maximum Orbs of Light increased to 6 and a slight nerf to Blink. The ability activation delay for Blink has been increased from 0.26 to 0.33 seconds and the visuals have been changed to better indicate the direction of the blink. This should make tactics like Blink shotgunning slightly less effective. Blink Strike also does Arc damage (this was a glitch, I believe) and Flux Grenade now tracks less aggressively. Arc Bolt grenade also had its range decreased by 11% to 8 meters and had its damage reduced by 25% to 75. Over all, these changes should eliminate some of the grievances that a lot of players have with Bladedancer.
There is a general nerf specific to both Warlock subclasses that deals with the Ram exotic helmet. The Armor Bonus perk now gives 3 armor instead of 5. This should mitigate the power of this exotic quite a bit, but it remains to be seen just how much this will effect it. As for Sunsinger, there is a fix to Orb generation, which will have some effects in PvP, but in terms of damage, perks, or anything else, nothing was changed.
Weapon Tuning
Perhaps one of the more significant changes implemented in this patch is the massive Weapon tuning, which affects nearly all weapon types in the game and multiple Exotic weapons directly. There is also a long list of weapon perks that have been readjusted. One of the most-anticipated changes with this retuning is the universal buff for Auto Rifles. I will be doing a completely separate article on this later, so for now, please refer to the official break down.
Exotic Armor
There have been several changes to Exotic armor pieces. In general, many (but not all) Exotic armor pieces will recolor with the use of a shader. This is a very welcome change, as now we will no longer have to let our Exotics dictate which shaders we use. An Insurmountable Skullfort now gives an additional Melee charge for Storm Fist and Sun Strike (from Sunbreaker). This will eventually apply to Defender Melee, but it is currently glitched. Spine of Young Ahamkara gains a second Grenade charge for Tripmine and now has an increase on its bonus Tripmine duration perk. And finally, Heart of Praxic Fire now grants bonus agility when in Radiance. Those are all of the changes for Exotic Armor pieces for now. There will be more in the future with reworked Year 2 Exotics.
More coming, check back later...
Player Character
The base level of Players has been increased from 20 to 34 and the Light and Level system are now completely separate. This means that there will be no more "Forever 29" or "Forever 31" because now we leave up based on XP which can be earned from various activities, so now our level is a more appropriate reflection of the amount of time and effort we put into the game.
Light isn't going away entirely, and it's still an important, even more important aspect of Destiny. Light is now calculated by the average of all of our gear's Attack and Defense values. This means that weapons now contribute to our overall Light. Ghost shells, class items and Artifacts (a new item) now contribute to our Light as well.
Speaking of Attack and Defense values, those have been modified a bit as well. Attack Power on all weapons has been renormalized, so all of those 365 weapons will no be 170 attack. This isn't a nerf, it's just a reworking of the way the system is structured, so don't worry. Defense values on armor are now on the same scale as well. In addition to this, Ability damage and Health are being calculated based on Light, with Weapon damage being effected by both Light and Attack values.
Classes
Yes, that's right. Bungie is finally addressing class balance with Update 2.0! Although the changes here aren't many, there's a few that will have a pretty huge effect on overall gameplay, especially in the Crucible.
There's a few general, all-around changes to class structure. To start with, Intellect, Strength and Discipline now only affect abilities in set increments and the exact duration of their effect is now conveniently displayed. This will make it much easier to customize our class builds exactly the way we want them. Recovery stat times have also been slightly renormalized to make a "more compelling character stats choice." All Pulse grenades now have a univeral range of 8 meters, which is a slight buff for the Thermal and Void versions, and a slight nerf for Arc, with fuse times also being reduced universally.
There's also been some slight tweaking to specific subclasses. For Defender, Ward of Dawn has been tweaked so that Razor's Edge (Arc Blade) and Shockwave (Fist of Havoc) can no longer penetrate the bubble. This is a nice change and will make Defender more viable in PvP.
Gunslinger Golden Gun damage has been increased to 360 (from 350) to "consistently kill opponents in the crucible." Not sure what that is about... Of all the subclasses, Bladedancer received the most tweaks, with its cap on maximum Orbs of Light increased to 6 and a slight nerf to Blink. The ability activation delay for Blink has been increased from 0.26 to 0.33 seconds and the visuals have been changed to better indicate the direction of the blink. This should make tactics like Blink shotgunning slightly less effective. Blink Strike also does Arc damage (this was a glitch, I believe) and Flux Grenade now tracks less aggressively. Arc Bolt grenade also had its range decreased by 11% to 8 meters and had its damage reduced by 25% to 75. Over all, these changes should eliminate some of the grievances that a lot of players have with Bladedancer.
There is a general nerf specific to both Warlock subclasses that deals with the Ram exotic helmet. The Armor Bonus perk now gives 3 armor instead of 5. This should mitigate the power of this exotic quite a bit, but it remains to be seen just how much this will effect it. As for Sunsinger, there is a fix to Orb generation, which will have some effects in PvP, but in terms of damage, perks, or anything else, nothing was changed.
Weapon Tuning
Perhaps one of the more significant changes implemented in this patch is the massive Weapon tuning, which affects nearly all weapon types in the game and multiple Exotic weapons directly. There is also a long list of weapon perks that have been readjusted. One of the most-anticipated changes with this retuning is the universal buff for Auto Rifles. I will be doing a completely separate article on this later, so for now, please refer to the official break down.
Exotic Armor
There have been several changes to Exotic armor pieces. In general, many (but not all) Exotic armor pieces will recolor with the use of a shader. This is a very welcome change, as now we will no longer have to let our Exotics dictate which shaders we use. An Insurmountable Skullfort now gives an additional Melee charge for Storm Fist and Sun Strike (from Sunbreaker). This will eventually apply to Defender Melee, but it is currently glitched. Spine of Young Ahamkara gains a second Grenade charge for Tripmine and now has an increase on its bonus Tripmine duration perk. And finally, Heart of Praxic Fire now grants bonus agility when in Radiance. Those are all of the changes for Exotic Armor pieces for now. There will be more in the future with reworked Year 2 Exotics.
More coming, check back later...
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Destiny: The Taken King - All About the New Subclasses and Supers
As I'm sure you're aware, Bungie officially revealed the Taken King expansion yesterday with an official E3 trailer. In the trailer, we got some glimpses into the three new subclasses that will be coming with the Expansion. Shortly afterwards, Bungie updated their website to include information about the Expansion, which includes a brief look at each of the new subclasses. Finally, earlier today Bungie released a ViDoc about the Taken King that has even more information. I've compiled all the information we know, combined with some of my own speculations, to give a comprehensive overview of the new subclasses and their supers. I will be updating this post as more information is revealed. So let's just get to it.
Hunter
Nightstalker
"Draw from the Void. Light the way.”
All Hunters master the frontier, but none claim territory quite like a Nightstalker. Shadowshot binding may seem more merciful than gun or blade… until the feeding frenzy begins.
Select Abilities:
Warlock
Stormcaller
Titan
Sunbreaker
"Forge the fury of undying suns."
Incendiary siege engines of war, Sunbreaker Titans hammer and shatter their enemy’s ranks from afar, raining cleansing fire down upon fortified defensive positions.
Select Abilities:
Sunbreaker is the new Solar Titan subclass. This is probably the most controversial class right now. Titans desperately need a good, close quarters PvP subclass (since after all, they are supposed to be the CQC class) and it is not entirely clear right now if this will live up to that. In terms of abilities, what we know so far seems to suggest that it might be a step in the right direction. Sunstrike, the melee ability, sounds as though it may burn enemies who are hit on impact. Whether there will be other perks to give the user an overshield (like a Sunsinger) or any other bonuses is currently unknown. The amount of range it has is also currently unknown. Thermite Grenade sounds like a very deadly grenade, but we have yet to see it in action.
Of course, the most important part of this class is the Super, Hammer of Sol. From what we've seen so far, it has a call-in animation like all of the other new Supers. The Super seems highly reminiscent of Arc Blade and shares what appears to be some similar features. To start with, you seem to be able to rapidly slash in a specific direction, much like Arc Blade. From the E3 trailer we can see that the Hammer of Sol can be both thrown and used as a melee. It is not currently known whether these are two abilities that must be used interchangeably (e.g. two hammer throws or four hammer melees) or if these are different abilities that are set to different buttons (like Arc Blades various right trigger abilities). It is also unknown whether or not a Titan will get damage resistance while using this Super. Only time will tell. One of the classes perks, Fire Keeper is a boost to Hammer of Sol, but this only works near a Sunspot, and currently we have no information on what exactly that is.
Hunter
Nightstalker
"Draw from the Void. Light the way.”
All Hunters master the frontier, but none claim territory quite like a Nightstalker. Shadowshot binding may seem more merciful than gun or blade… until the feeding frenzy begins.
Select Abilities:
Super: Shadowshot:
Tether a large group of foes to a Void Anchor, slowing and suppressing them for your Fireteam.
Voidwall Grenade:
Grenade explosion creates a horizontal wall of burning Void Light.
Smoke:
Throw Smoke to slow and disorient those within its cloud.
Shadestep:
Gain an evade to avoid damage.
Nightstalker is the new Void Hunter subclass. This class will finally bring a support subclass to the Hunter, which has previously been missing. This will be the first subclass besides Defender to feature support and utility grenades. The Smoke grenade should be especially useful as a support and tactical grenade, especially in PvP environments. Shadestep is also a unique ability, and means that Nightstalker will be the second Hunter subclass to gain a tactical evade (the other being Blink), making Hunt the only class with such abilities.
The super ability for this class is called Shadowshot. This super is support oriented and appears to be especially useful in both PvE and PvP. It seems as though it has a call-in animation, but some clips seem to disprove that. This super allows the user to fire a bow at nearby enemies. The result shot does both damage, tethers enemies so they can't move and suppresses them. It is unclear at this point if this super only allows for one shot, as there is a clip where it appears as though it allows for at least two shots. Regardless of the number of shots, it looks highly effective and its definitely an interesting new addition to the existing supers.
Nightstalker is the new Void Hunter subclass. This class will finally bring a support subclass to the Hunter, which has previously been missing. This will be the first subclass besides Defender to feature support and utility grenades. The Smoke grenade should be especially useful as a support and tactical grenade, especially in PvP environments. Shadestep is also a unique ability, and means that Nightstalker will be the second Hunter subclass to gain a tactical evade (the other being Blink), making Hunt the only class with such abilities.
The super ability for this class is called Shadowshot. This super is support oriented and appears to be especially useful in both PvE and PvP. It seems as though it has a call-in animation, but some clips seem to disprove that. This super allows the user to fire a bow at nearby enemies. The result shot does both damage, tethers enemies so they can't move and suppresses them. It is unclear at this point if this super only allows for one shot, as there is a clip where it appears as though it allows for at least two shots. Regardless of the number of shots, it looks highly effective and its definitely an interesting new addition to the existing supers.
Warlock
Stormcaller
“Harmony within, hurricane without.”
Stormcallers directly manipulate Arc energy, focusing body and mind to
channel and chain the lightning. Their enemies are given fair warning—
flee from battle, or face the storm.
Select Abilities:
Super: Stormtrance:
Chain Arc Lightning from your hands.
Storm Grenade:
This grenade calls down a localized lightning storm.
Thunderstrike:
Deliver an electrocuting melee strike at extended range.
Perpetual Charge:
Getting a grenade kill recharges your melee. Getting a melee kill recharges your grenade.
The new Stormcaller subclass is the highly anticipated Arc Warlock subclass. This basically gives any Warlock the ability to turn into their own Sith Lord from Star Wars. This is another damage-oriented subclass for the Warlock (which now makes the Warlock the only class with three of those) and seems to be fairly powerful (though hopefully still balanced). The Storm Grenade sounds pretty impressive, though I'm not sure we've seen that in action yet, and it will be interesting to see if it is still able to function properly in enclosed spaces, or if Bungie plans on introducing outdoor-only grenades. The Thunderstrike melee ability also sounds very interesting. I think it is safe to assume that it may have an Arc DoT, and hopefully its "extended" range isn't too drastic.
But enough with that, the Super is all we care about. This is where this subclass really shines, in my opinion. Stormtrance has a call-in animation that bathes the Warlock in bolts of lightning. After the Super is activated, you will be able to hover across the ground in any direction and release bolts of lightning at nearby enemies. You can hold the burst of lightning in durations of your choosing, shocking your enemies as little or as much as you like. The Super energy bar works similar to that of Arc Blade. While shooting your enemies with lightning, the bar decreases and when you're not, the bar still decreases, but at a slower rate.
The new Stormcaller subclass is the highly anticipated Arc Warlock subclass. This basically gives any Warlock the ability to turn into their own Sith Lord from Star Wars. This is another damage-oriented subclass for the Warlock (which now makes the Warlock the only class with three of those) and seems to be fairly powerful (though hopefully still balanced). The Storm Grenade sounds pretty impressive, though I'm not sure we've seen that in action yet, and it will be interesting to see if it is still able to function properly in enclosed spaces, or if Bungie plans on introducing outdoor-only grenades. The Thunderstrike melee ability also sounds very interesting. I think it is safe to assume that it may have an Arc DoT, and hopefully its "extended" range isn't too drastic.
But enough with that, the Super is all we care about. This is where this subclass really shines, in my opinion. Stormtrance has a call-in animation that bathes the Warlock in bolts of lightning. After the Super is activated, you will be able to hover across the ground in any direction and release bolts of lightning at nearby enemies. You can hold the burst of lightning in durations of your choosing, shocking your enemies as little or as much as you like. The Super energy bar works similar to that of Arc Blade. While shooting your enemies with lightning, the bar decreases and when you're not, the bar still decreases, but at a slower rate.
Titan
Sunbreaker
"Forge the fury of undying suns."
Incendiary siege engines of war, Sunbreaker Titans hammer and shatter their enemy’s ranks from afar, raining cleansing fire down upon fortified defensive positions.
Select Abilities:
Super: Hammer of Sol:
Summon a flaming hammer and wreak destruction down upon your enemies.
Thermite Grenade:
Grenade explosion sends a line of fire toward your target.
Sunstrike:
Ignite your enemies with a heavy solar strike.
Fire Keeper:
Hammer of Sol lasts longer and you gain an overshield while standing near a Sunspot.
Sunbreaker is the new Solar Titan subclass. This is probably the most controversial class right now. Titans desperately need a good, close quarters PvP subclass (since after all, they are supposed to be the CQC class) and it is not entirely clear right now if this will live up to that. In terms of abilities, what we know so far seems to suggest that it might be a step in the right direction. Sunstrike, the melee ability, sounds as though it may burn enemies who are hit on impact. Whether there will be other perks to give the user an overshield (like a Sunsinger) or any other bonuses is currently unknown. The amount of range it has is also currently unknown. Thermite Grenade sounds like a very deadly grenade, but we have yet to see it in action.
Of course, the most important part of this class is the Super, Hammer of Sol. From what we've seen so far, it has a call-in animation like all of the other new Supers. The Super seems highly reminiscent of Arc Blade and shares what appears to be some similar features. To start with, you seem to be able to rapidly slash in a specific direction, much like Arc Blade. From the E3 trailer we can see that the Hammer of Sol can be both thrown and used as a melee. It is not currently known whether these are two abilities that must be used interchangeably (e.g. two hammer throws or four hammer melees) or if these are different abilities that are set to different buttons (like Arc Blades various right trigger abilities). It is also unknown whether or not a Titan will get damage resistance while using this Super. Only time will tell. One of the classes perks, Fire Keeper is a boost to Hammer of Sol, but this only works near a Sunspot, and currently we have no information on what exactly that is.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Destiny: The Taken King - E3 Reveal Trailer Recap (Destiny News)
Just a little over an hour ago, the first ever trailer for Destiny's next Expansion, The Taken King, was revealed at the Sony E3 2015 press conference. So what all did it show? Well, see for yourself:
The Taken King revolves around Oryx, the Hive god and father of Crota, who wants to seek revenge after the Guardians killed his son. Oryx is now building a dark army, which appears to include both Hive and Cabal to hunt the Guardians down.
So let's talk about what we saw.
First off, locations. As far as I can tell, there is not a single location in this trailer that we have seen before, and that is extremely exciting. All of the locations appear to be associated with either the Hive or the Cabal, with the exception of what appears to be a new location or two on Mercury (they don't look like the Lighthouse, to me). One location that is featured more than a few times is Phobos, one of Mars' moons that is currently only featured as a Crucible map (Black Shield). While we don't know yet whether these clips are from missions, strikes or even just another Crucible map, it is certain that we will be seeing more of Phobos with this expansion.
Another location that is featured very prominently in this trailer is what is most likely the interior and exterior of a Hive ship near Saturn. According to a photo leak towards the beginning of this year, this expansion was scheduled to have a Hive ship as a new playable location, so this was expected, but the shear scale and brilliant execution of it is fantastic. There's even a location that appears to be highly reminiscent of this piece of concept art that was released prior to Destiny's launch. It's great to see such a cool area finally brought to life in the game. According to that same leaked photo from the beginning of the year, we are also supposed to be receiving a new Patrol and a new public event. It is not yet known whether these will take place on Phobos or in this new Hive ship. At this point, with as little information as we have, we can only speculate and both locations seem equally likely in my opinion.
Now, onto those enemies. According to info just added to the Bungie website, "Oryx wields the ability to control a twisted army of vile corruptions known as the Taken" and these Taken will most likely make up a majority of the enemies that we see throughout this Expansion. This explains why there are a number of enemies seen, including both Cabal and Fallen. These Taken are consumed and possessed by the Darkness and twisted into service of the King.
There's a couple notable enemies in this trailer. The first is a large Cabal plated in red armor. This Cabal is equipped with a jet pack (including wings) and appears to aggressively punch the ground near players. There's also a large axe wielding enemy. I'm not sure what to make of this. It looks large like a Cabal, but it is wearing armor that appears much more Hive in origin. Given the story, I guess it is possible that these are Cabal that have been recruited (and equipped) by Oryx to aid in his quest for revenge.
Lastly, there's two enemies that are new to this Expansion. They look fairly similar and one goes by so quickly that you probably thought they were just two separate clips of the same enemy. The first enemy appears at 0:44 and 1:37 in the trailer. This enemy appears to be a new variant of a Wizard, expect this one has large bat-like wings and a head that's similar to something like a hammerhead shark. This one appears to shoot and act like all other Wizards. The second Hive enemy appears at the end of the trailer, and is presumably Oryx. He appears similar in some respects to the new Wizard, having the same wings and head. However, he has a body (and legs) similar to a Knight and even bares a very large blade. Giving the similarities between these two enemies, it is possible that the Wizard is simply the mother of the Oryx's spawn (just like how Omnigul is the mother of Crota's spawn). Regardless, the presence of two new enemies such as these is very exciting and I really can't wait to see how they are used through the story missions and the strikes provided in The Taken King.
And lastly, the thing that everyone wants to talk about, Supers. As we've been hearing for quite some time now, the Taken King will come with three new subclasses, one for each class. So let's just break it down by class.
The Hunter will be receiving the much anticipated Void class. It's super features and actual bow and arrow. From the multitude of clips shown in the trailer, this super appears to have a call-in animation similar to Golden Gun and Arc Blade. From this, I think it's safe to assume that the super may give multiple shots. The shots themselves appear to do an initial burst of damage and includes (or perhaps can include) additional void bolts that shoot out in all directions.
The Warlock will finally be receiving (the also much anticipated) Arc class. This subclass should make your inner Sith Lord very happy, as its super is (not surprisingly) the ability to shoot lightning bolts. Like the Void Hunter super, this super also has a call-in animation, which means its probably more than one burst. An interesting thing about the bursts is that it appears that you can sustain the burst for as little or as long as you like. Perhaps the longer you hold it, the more damage it does. You also appear to be able to glide from side to side while shooting the lighting, which is also pretty cool.
And finally, the Titan will be receiving the Solar class. This super features a flaming hammer, which covers the entire Titan in flames. You appear to be able to rapidly slash/move across the space like an Arc Blader. Just like the other two supers, this one has a call-in animation. What I find interesting about this super is that it appears to have multiple functions. In one clip, a hammer-wielding Titan appears to actually throw the hammer, causing large amounts of damage. In another clip, a Titan uses it to melee an approaching Cabal enemy. I don't know for certain whether the super will have two functions that can be used simulatneously (like Arc Blade with its various right trigger abilities) or if it will be one or the other (e.g. one hammer throw with massive splash damage or several melee attacks).
All of this will be ours to experience on September 15th of this year. And of course, there's also other things worth noting in this trailer, like the obvious appearance of at least a couple new cutscenes. Something I've been speculating on is who exactly is narrating the trailer. Is it possible that it's Osiris? If its actually a character within the game, its certainly not one we have seen (or heard) before. Whoever he is, it's likely that he will be the story agent for The Taken King, similar to Petra for House of Wolves.
It's still just the first day of E3, with three more still to come and another presentation by Bungie tomorrow with IGN at 2:40 PST. Undoubtedly we will find out at least a few more details during that presentation, and when those details come out I'll be sure to cover them.
Be sure to follow @DestCentralBlog on Twitter for updates!
The Taken King revolves around Oryx, the Hive god and father of Crota, who wants to seek revenge after the Guardians killed his son. Oryx is now building a dark army, which appears to include both Hive and Cabal to hunt the Guardians down.
So let's talk about what we saw.
First off, locations. As far as I can tell, there is not a single location in this trailer that we have seen before, and that is extremely exciting. All of the locations appear to be associated with either the Hive or the Cabal, with the exception of what appears to be a new location or two on Mercury (they don't look like the Lighthouse, to me). One location that is featured more than a few times is Phobos, one of Mars' moons that is currently only featured as a Crucible map (Black Shield). While we don't know yet whether these clips are from missions, strikes or even just another Crucible map, it is certain that we will be seeing more of Phobos with this expansion.
Another location that is featured very prominently in this trailer is what is most likely the interior and exterior of a Hive ship near Saturn. According to a photo leak towards the beginning of this year, this expansion was scheduled to have a Hive ship as a new playable location, so this was expected, but the shear scale and brilliant execution of it is fantastic. There's even a location that appears to be highly reminiscent of this piece of concept art that was released prior to Destiny's launch. It's great to see such a cool area finally brought to life in the game. According to that same leaked photo from the beginning of the year, we are also supposed to be receiving a new Patrol and a new public event. It is not yet known whether these will take place on Phobos or in this new Hive ship. At this point, with as little information as we have, we can only speculate and both locations seem equally likely in my opinion.
Now, onto those enemies. According to info just added to the Bungie website, "Oryx wields the ability to control a twisted army of vile corruptions known as the Taken" and these Taken will most likely make up a majority of the enemies that we see throughout this Expansion. This explains why there are a number of enemies seen, including both Cabal and Fallen. These Taken are consumed and possessed by the Darkness and twisted into service of the King.
There's a couple notable enemies in this trailer. The first is a large Cabal plated in red armor. This Cabal is equipped with a jet pack (including wings) and appears to aggressively punch the ground near players. There's also a large axe wielding enemy. I'm not sure what to make of this. It looks large like a Cabal, but it is wearing armor that appears much more Hive in origin. Given the story, I guess it is possible that these are Cabal that have been recruited (and equipped) by Oryx to aid in his quest for revenge.
Lastly, there's two enemies that are new to this Expansion. They look fairly similar and one goes by so quickly that you probably thought they were just two separate clips of the same enemy. The first enemy appears at 0:44 and 1:37 in the trailer. This enemy appears to be a new variant of a Wizard, expect this one has large bat-like wings and a head that's similar to something like a hammerhead shark. This one appears to shoot and act like all other Wizards. The second Hive enemy appears at the end of the trailer, and is presumably Oryx. He appears similar in some respects to the new Wizard, having the same wings and head. However, he has a body (and legs) similar to a Knight and even bares a very large blade. Giving the similarities between these two enemies, it is possible that the Wizard is simply the mother of the Oryx's spawn (just like how Omnigul is the mother of Crota's spawn). Regardless, the presence of two new enemies such as these is very exciting and I really can't wait to see how they are used through the story missions and the strikes provided in The Taken King.
And lastly, the thing that everyone wants to talk about, Supers. As we've been hearing for quite some time now, the Taken King will come with three new subclasses, one for each class. So let's just break it down by class.
The Hunter will be receiving the much anticipated Void class. It's super features and actual bow and arrow. From the multitude of clips shown in the trailer, this super appears to have a call-in animation similar to Golden Gun and Arc Blade. From this, I think it's safe to assume that the super may give multiple shots. The shots themselves appear to do an initial burst of damage and includes (or perhaps can include) additional void bolts that shoot out in all directions.
The Warlock will finally be receiving (the also much anticipated) Arc class. This subclass should make your inner Sith Lord very happy, as its super is (not surprisingly) the ability to shoot lightning bolts. Like the Void Hunter super, this super also has a call-in animation, which means its probably more than one burst. An interesting thing about the bursts is that it appears that you can sustain the burst for as little or as long as you like. Perhaps the longer you hold it, the more damage it does. You also appear to be able to glide from side to side while shooting the lighting, which is also pretty cool.
And finally, the Titan will be receiving the Solar class. This super features a flaming hammer, which covers the entire Titan in flames. You appear to be able to rapidly slash/move across the space like an Arc Blader. Just like the other two supers, this one has a call-in animation. What I find interesting about this super is that it appears to have multiple functions. In one clip, a hammer-wielding Titan appears to actually throw the hammer, causing large amounts of damage. In another clip, a Titan uses it to melee an approaching Cabal enemy. I don't know for certain whether the super will have two functions that can be used simulatneously (like Arc Blade with its various right trigger abilities) or if it will be one or the other (e.g. one hammer throw with massive splash damage or several melee attacks).
All of this will be ours to experience on September 15th of this year. And of course, there's also other things worth noting in this trailer, like the obvious appearance of at least a couple new cutscenes. Something I've been speculating on is who exactly is narrating the trailer. Is it possible that it's Osiris? If its actually a character within the game, its certainly not one we have seen (or heard) before. Whoever he is, it's likely that he will be the story agent for The Taken King, similar to Petra for House of Wolves.
It's still just the first day of E3, with three more still to come and another presentation by Bungie tomorrow with IGN at 2:40 PST. Undoubtedly we will find out at least a few more details during that presentation, and when those details come out I'll be sure to cover them.
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