With the YearTwo update for Destiny releasing one week before the release of The Taken King, many changes have been set in place that will have a major impact on the future of Destiny. I personally feel that the update has added many features that the initial release of Destiny was lacking. I love that leveling can be done with XP alone, as wells as the new UI with quick access to bounties and quests. Check out the rest of the new features here.
The Taken King released on September 15th and I have been absolutely glued to my XBOX ONE since the launch. With the increased level cap of 40 there is plenty experience to gain and gear to grind for, and with the three new character sub-classes players will have their hands full. Hunters have a new sub-class called Nightstalker which summons a void bow that can tether baddies together so other Guardian can unload massive amounts of damage. Warlocks receive the Stormcaller sub-class which basically turns the character into Sith Lord blasting enemies with lightening clearing out enemies in bulk in an instant. Last but certainly not least, the Titan throws flaming hammers of doom with the Sunbreaker destroying everything in their path. All of the sub-classes are unlocked during The Taken King story quests depending on what character is chosen by the player. The main quests for the expansion took my Fireteam around five hours to complete. We definitely would have finished sooner had we not decided to wander around looking for loot and other goodies, but how could we not? Its Destiny!
When the first mission is selected players are met with a gorgeous cutscene introducing players to The Taken, a new enemy that players will be fighting throughout the expansion. After an epic space battle players are also introduced to The Dreadnought, a massive ship that is bigger that some planets in Destiny, and full surprises. As players explore the Dreadnought they will come across chests that cannot be opened by traditional means. The players will have to grind to find the correct key to open the corresponding chest. Once the chest is opened a wave of enemies will appear with a boss at the end of the wave. After the boss is defeated players are rewarded with experience and loot.
The Court Of Oryx is another new feature that has been brought to The Taken King. As Fireteams explore the Drednaut they will find runes that can be used to create a public event that anyone on the map can participate in. Upon activation of the altar enemies and a boss will spawn. The Fireteam will have to defeat the foes, and figure out the tricks to defeating the boss. Some bosses will need to be near each other to drop their shields, others can be brought down with a hail of gunfire. Different runes can be found throughout the Drednaut which can unlock different tiers increasing the level of difficulty of the Court Of Oryx. Lets just say that with the highest tier, a Light Level of 290-300 wouldn’t be a bad idea, these guys are tough!
There are three new strikes added to The Taken King which include The Shield Brothers, Sunless Cell, and Fallen Saber. Since I’m keeping this review spoiler free I will say that Shield Brothers is my favorite strike yet. The strike is pretty fast paced with a lot of explosions and an epic boss fight at the end. The Sunless Cell is fun, but the end bossfight can be a bit frustrating if the Fireteam doesn’t pay close attention to radar. Communication is very important in this strike, when you play you’ll know why. Now onto Fallen Saber, I am not a fan of this strike. It feels like it was thrown together and the end boss doesn’t really feel like a boss. Needless to say this is my least favorite strike. Although players may not like a specific strike DO NOT LEAVE a strike playlist. The more strikes ran by a Fireteam continuously, the higher the Guardians rewards are.
The game will not officially “end” until players have completed the new raid, Kings Fall, and it is awesome! Without going into too much detail get ready for some platforming, puzzle solving and one of the coolest boss fights I’ve ever played. Guardians will have to communicate and work together if they are to survive and bring down Oryx. I recommend going in with no less than 280 Light Level although 290 would be a better choice. Good luck Guardians!
The Crucible is back with eight new maps for multiplayer; The Dungeon, Frontier, Vertigo, Bannerfall, Ghost Ship, Exile, Memento, and Sector 618. The Taken King even adds a new multiplayer mode called Rift. In Rift a spark is placed on the map that teams will dash for and try to take back to their enemy base to score points. With its addition I feel like it should have been added in Year One. It is without a doubt my favorite feature in Crucible and keeps me coming back more. It’s not quite on par with Capture The Flag from the Halo series, but it is a boat load of fun and I recommend everyone try it.
Overall The Taken King has already acquired countless hours of my life and will take many more. This is honestly one of the best expansions that I have ever had my hands on. The Year Two gear will have you replacing Rare and Legendary items with Common items. The Rares will replace Legendaries and even Exotics. It is this concept that keeps bringing me back to Destiny. So gather your Fireteams, party-up and go show Oryx, the Taken king what being a Guardian is all about!
9/10
