Bungie Details Destiny 2: Into the Light’s Exotic Missions and New Player Experience

Bungie detailed the upcoming exotic missions, revealed new Onslaught details, new player experience, and more in This Week in Destiny.

As revealed during the third live stream, The Whisper, and Zero Hour will return with Destiny 2: Into the Light. The Whisper will be available on Apr. 9, along with a new crafted version of Whisper of the Worm. In May, Zero Hour will be available, and with it a crafted version of Outbreak Perfected. Both exotic missions will also have reprised versions of their dropships as well.

Destiny 2: Into the Light gives players the ability to freely customize their character. This is massive, as the current three slot/class system was viewed as restrictive to those who wanted to give their Guardian a fresh look. To go with it, another name change token will be distributed.

Addressing ongoing concerns about the New Light experience, Destiny 2: Into the Light looks to improve things with a better tutorial. Few details were given, besides confirming it can be skipped if you so choose. New players will also be able to select a subclass to start, which will give a curated assortment including an exotic weapon, aspects/fragments, legendary gear, and more.

Further details about these changes can be found below, and weapon balance changes can be found here.

Destiny 2: Into the Light Details #3

REPRISED EXOTIC MISSIONS

We announced the reprised versions of two classic Exotic Missions: The Whisper and Zero Hour. These reprised versions will retain some familiar elements of the classic missions, but you’ll also find updated puzzles, encounters, rewards, and Triumphs, as well as new secrets to discover on Legend difficulty. The Whisper will be available on April 9 with the launch of Destiny 2: Into the Light and Zero Hour will be available in May.

The Whisper

Eris Morn wants to pick your brain. Nothing creepy, she just thought she could use your memories to shape an updated version of a weapon that would be very useful against the Witness. Yes, it’s Whisper of the Worm, the Exotic Sniper Rifle that lives in your Power weapon slot. Just be careful when jumping around in the dark because sometimes we don’t remember things like they used to be. And you don’t want to… drown… in… the Deep.

Zero Hour

Ada-1 has a mission for you. You need to go back to the old Tower, take down some Fallen pirates that want to get a hold on a very powerful weapon of our past, and maybe, just maybe, face a scary robot called TR3-VR that feels very lonely and wants to give Guardians a hug. The updated and craftable Outbreak Perfected Exotic Pulse Rifle is waiting for those who manage to avoid him and finish on time.

Additional Crafting Options

After obtaining the Exotic weapon from each of these reprised missions, new quests will become available. This will allow you to unlock additional crafting options, including upgrading each weapon’s unique intrinsic behaviors. A new quest will become available each week for three weeks.

Reprised Ships

In addition to the new Exotic weapons you’ll earn, you can also earn reprised versions of the classic ships. The Whisper will offer a new ship with an updated look, Karve of the Worm, inspired by A Thousand Wings, while Zero Hour will offer, Vimana Junker, also with an updated look built on the frame of Scrap CF-717-91 and inspired by Outbreak Perfected.

NEW PVP MAPS

As we mentioned in our February 22 TWID, we’re excited to release three new Crucible maps on May 7. While these maps will also be available in 6v6 playlists like Control, they have been specifically built with a focus on 3v3 game modes in mind, including Dominion, Survival, and our newest mode, Collision. With the new maps, you’ll get to enjoy the backdrop of new locations you haven’t yet explored in PvP , including Europa, Neomuna, and the terraformed Pyramid ship.

New maps:

• Eventide Labs (Europa)
• Cirrus Plaza (Neomuna)
• Dissonance (terraformed Pyramid ship)

We’ll have a deeper dive on these maps as we get closer to the release date.

CHARACTER RE-CUSTOMIZATION

In our January 18 TWID, we revealed our plans to add character re-customization to Destiny 2 before the launch of The Final Shape. During this week’s livestream, we announced that character re-customization will be coming with Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9! With this update, you’ll be able to modify the appearance of your Guardians anytime, without cost or limits to the number of changes.

To do so, simply launch Destiny 2, and you’ll notice a new option when you hover over a character at the character selection screen. While you can change the body type, face, hair/head, and markings, keep in mind it won’t be possible to change from one origin to another (i.e., Human, Exo, or Awoken).

ADDITIONAL NAME CHANGE AVAILABLE APRIL 9

Destiny 2: Into the Light will also bring the option for an additional one-time name change to all players at no cost. On April 9, after the update has gone live, you can log into bungie.net and change your Bungie ID using these step-by-step directions If you didn’t take advantage of our previous name change opportunity, now you’ll have two. Choose wisely!

PANTHEON

We shared a few words about Pantheon, the new raid boss gauntlet starting on April 30. In Pantheon, you’ll have the opportunity to face raid bosses in a weekly challenge with escalating difficulties and rewards. This is a chance to rally your clan or use Fireteam Finder to take on this challenge. We’ll have more details as we get closer to the release.

NEW LIGHT TUTORIAL EXPERIENCE

We also shared details on some updates we’re bringing to the New Light experience and the way players can choose to interact with it. If you missed our livestream, we have a full breakdown below, after the weapons balance update.

REDUCED STRAND FRAGMENTS COST

Starting with Destiny 2: Into the Light on April 9, we’re reducing the cost of Strand Fragments from 200 Strand Meditations to 100. We hope this change allows players to catch up on any missing fragments for their Strand builds as you all prepare for The Final Shape.

NEW LIGHT TUTORIAL SKIP AND NEW LIGHT KIT

We’re calling Guardians of all experience levels to join, rejoin, and bring friends to battle against the Witness. While the New Light campaign serves players new to games like Destiny 2, it might not fit those players already experienced with first-person shooters.

RIDE TO THE TOWER WITH AN ARCADIA-CLASS TICKET

Starting in Destiny2: Into the Light, after completing the second New Light mission, Shaw Han will ask you to sync with his ship in the Cosmodrome, providing a new option to leave the New Light tutorial early and head straight to the Tower. The option to skip the tutorial will remain for the rest of your time in the Cosmodrome and no matter when you leave, you will still receive critical rewards like your ship and your Sparrow, so don’t worry about missing out if you decide to skip. The ship will remain in the Cosmodrome for the duration of A Guardian Rises, so players who choose not to skip immediately can do so at any time afterwards.

TOOLS FOR THE JOB: NEW LIGHT KITS

To help bridge the power gap between new Guardians and our more seasoned defenders, players will now be able to head to the Tower and choose a kit handpicked from Ikora and the Vanguard. New Light Kits are bundles that contain a curated set of gear and subclass abilities. These kits are themed around specific subclass fantasies to help provide players with a shortcut to buildcrafting and give them a taste of that sweet, sweet space magic. There are nine kits in all, one for each Light subclass. Players can claim one per class. Enjoy!

Each New Light Kit contains:

• 2 Legendary weapons
• 1 Exotic weapon
• 4 Rare armor pieces and a Legendary class item
• Subclass abilities such as Aspects and Fragments

In addition, New Light Kits will also grant players a short quest that, when completed, will grant them a piece of Exotic armor. New Light Kits will be available to all players, so whether you’re a New Light looking to gear up, a returning player looking to step into the modern sandbox, or a veteran looking to jumpstart a new character, Ikora will help you prepare for the fight ahead against the Witness.

This week in Destiny

Finally, a developer gameplay preview will take place next week for Destiny 2: The Final Shape.