Launching back in September, Destiny was Bungie’s grand return to the gaming industry after leaving the Halo franchise behind. Offering something very new for gamers with a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter, Destiny had mixed reception amongst the gaming community. Some gamers instantly became addicted and still play to this day while many others got their fill of the game rather quickly after maxing out in level and haven’t played in awhile.
Originally coming out at a time where there was little competition blockbuster game wise, Destiny pushed insane early sales, but in recent months has seen the release of many other major games that could take away from its market, including Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Now, exactly three months to the day of the game’s original release, Bungie is releasing the game’s first expansion with The Dark Below.
Destiny has not been stagnant in the least since release, with new raids and special events popping up every so often. However, The Dark Below sounds like it could be just the thing to bring gamers back to Destiny once again for an abundance of reasons, which is why we are going to give a rundown of the expansion DLC for those that may not know just what The Dark Below entails, especially with the entry fee of $19.99.
First of all, perhaps the most important addition for many gamers will be the increased level cap. In the base Destiny game, gamers could only level up normally to 20. However, they could then move up 10 more levels to the max of 30 through the use of light armor. The Dark Below takes it a little further, by offering new armor that will allow the max level to go up to 32, by equipping the correct armor.
In addition, The Dark Below will also be introducing a brand new vendor known as Eris Morn, who you will be able to find in The Tower. With this new vendor comes the ability to access exclusive bounties, quests, and rewards. Eris Morn specifically will introduce you to three new story missions that you can play.
This new expansion does not venture beyond the planets found in Destiny already, but the three completely new story missions are set between the Earth and Moon, specifically two in Old Russia and one in the Ocean of Storms. The story itself involves the villainous Crota, who plays an important role across a few different game modes.
Crota takes center stage in the one Strike that is available on all consoles, fittingly known as Will of Crota. This Strike is only a Level 10, so gamers who haven’t maxed out their players can join in on the fun this time. Gamers on PlayStation platforms will have even more reason to come back, as they will also get The Undying Mind Raid, which is exclusive at least through Fall 2015 to the PlayStation platform.
After dealing with Crota in a Strike that is possible to tackle at lower levels, the brand new Raid in The Dark Below will be near impossible for those that are underleveled. Coming in at Level 30, the Crota’s End raid is bound to be a massive struggle to survive for gamers as they finally take down Crota. Initially reported as starting at Level 28, it is said now that it will be Level 30 as a start, with the Hard version coming later. For comparative purposes, The Vault of Glass Raid only begins at Level 26 and only hits Level 30 on Hard.
For anyone that had a problem with the disjointed story of Destiny, it at least sounds like Bungie has been listening with The Dark Below expansion. The Crota story seems to span not only the story missions, but also the Strike and Raid, which should provide gamers with the best story that Destiny has offered thus far.
For those that are only into playing Destiny for the competitive multiplayer, The Dark Below doesn’t forget about you either. This expansion adds three brand new exclusive maps for the Crucible, known as The Cauldron, Skyshock, and Pantheon.
Lastly, The Dark Below expansion adds some new gear and weapons, including the brand new Dragon’s Breath rocket launcher. Weapons like this will be exclusive to those that purchase the expansion, but the great news is that other new legendary items will be purchasable in The Tower by anybody that has the game and has gotten the update, which will be needed to play anyways.
This is not a full rundown of everything that is included in Destiny’s The Dark Below expansion, but it should give you a good idea of the main ingredients that are making up the first major DLC for the game. The MMO genre has always thrived on expansions and it is intriguing to see the FPS genre get a taste here and there is no doubt that Bungie is providing plenty of new content for those that may have left the game to come back and play again, even if for just a short time.
