Destiny 2’s first post-Forsaken seasonal event hits the game tomorrow, and it looks as though Bungie is aiming for it to live up to the expectations set by the game’s most recent expansion. In past years, Festival of the Lost has been characterized chiefly by a change of decor and an especially heavy emphasis on “treasures,” now known as “bright engrams.” That’s not to say that the event hasn’t also offered new things to do. The last event, held in 2016, offered some slightly adjusted strikes and a tweaked version of the Trials of Osiris pvp mode; known as “spooky trials,” this version of Trials removed radar, prevented teammates from reviving one another, and added creepy-crawly filter to ADS. It wasn’t a lot, but it was something, and it looks like Bungie aims to continue building upon this in this year’s version of the event.
As seen in the trailer above, special masks and emotes are still very much a part of Festival of the Lost, but their importance appears to be a bit less than in past events. This time around, emphasis appears to be on the “Haunted Forest” and a quest that’ll draw guardians into its darkest depths. It’s probably just the Vex exploring the darkest timeline, but there’s a chance something significant has happened. Perhaps the arrival of another worm or a Taken invasion?
In addition to this, guardians can take on new bounties, pursue new triumphs, and work towards the brand new “Horror Story” auto rifle. Even if one isn’t all that into the world changes brought about by this event, they’ll probably want to play in order to acquire this gun since it drops at up to 600 Power, comes fully masterworked, and has both the “Zen Moment” and “Rampage” perks. In other words, this weapon is a PvE beast!
Finally, guardians can also look forward to receiving Bright Engrams at double the normal rate. The Eververse will likely once again feature most of the coolest cosmetic pieces coming to this event, so it’s nice to see Bungie taking steps to strike a better balance between playing to earn them and having paying extra to get the stuff one wants. It would be better if the Eververse weren’t there at all, but this is at least a decent compromise.
Festival of the Lost begins October 15 and lasts through November 6.
