In a tease for what’s to come in Act 2 of Episode: Echoes, Bungie showed off some wholly new content for Destiny 2. And it seems that the second Act of Echoes is bringing some heat, as new Battlegrounds, weapons, and armor will soon be available to players.
Though The Final Shape left players on a high, the same could not be said for the debut Episode. While Episodes were meant to present an opportunity to break away from the tired conventions of Seasons, the first Act of the premiere Episode, Echoes, felt a lot like a Season with more timegating. Bungie did announce it would experiment with removing time-gates in Episode 2, but the studio also had new stuff to show off for the remainder of Echoes in a preview livestream.
Blurring the line between Battlegrounds and Strikes
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Bungie announced that three new Battlegrounds were inbound for Act 2 of Episode: Echoes. Most interesting of all, the studio is breaking away from Battlegrounds’ typical Patrol Zone-based cookie-cutter design to try something more akin to a series of interconnected Strikes. All three Battlegrounds are set to evolve the ongoing story, taking players deep into the center of Nessus.
The Battleground shown during the stream, Delve, has players investigating the Cistern on Nessus, trying to discern why Radiolaria is draining around the area. The exploration reveals that the Fallen have entered the arms race for the Echo fragment, pushing Guardians deeper into the Well of Flame.
Senior Activity Designer Ryan Harris said, “Players will be looking at the story of like, ‘where is Radiolaria going, where is it flowing through?’ So, for Battleground 1 you’re kind of like finding out and locating where all this Radiolaria is going to, Battleground 2 you’re seeing the actual flow and direction of all the Radiolaria to the center of Nessus, and Battleground 3 you’re actually seeing where it’s being directed to. So, it’s really trying to tell that story about the journey to the center of Nessus.”
Harris continued explaining the new Battleground experiences, noting that they would predominantly feature new geography and assets. In addition to the scenery change, Harris highlighted that Wyrvern enemies have teleportation as a new ability and that the team wanted to break convention to experiment with bosses. The designer even hinted that one boss might not even have a health gate.
Episode: Echoes Act 2 weapons
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Bungie showed off three new weapons arriving with Echoes Act 2, including a returning favorite. First up, the studio offered a peek at Aberrant Action, a new rocket sidearm. The solar weapon was shown with a Heal Clip and Incandescent roll, igniting and healing the player during the presentation. The sidearm also features a unique animation when aiming down the sights, with the top of the gun folding out to reveal a reticle.
The next weapon discussed was the Corrasion heavy pulse rifle. This two-round burst Arc weapon was shown off with High-Impact Reserves and Voltshot. The studio also noted that Frenzy would be available on the weapon and that it was expected to perform well in PvP. Rounding out the weapon preview was the return of the Perfect Paradox shotgun. Not only will players be able to hunt down old favorite rolls, but a few new Perks have been added to its pool.
First look at Solstice 2024 armor
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Along with the new content arriving exclusively for Episode: Echoes Act 2, Bungie briefly touched on the upcoming holiday event, Solstice. While not diving into the particulars of the event’s activity, the team did provide a quick look at what Guardians can expect the upcoming holiday cosmetics to look like.
The studio showed off the appearance of all three classes, noting that it was going for an adventurer-inspired design. The default tones for the Warlock armor are predominantly gold and brown, featuring circular yellow projections on the helmet and gloves. The robes cover most of the lower body, ending in a peacoat-like split near the shins.
Titans will be sporting armored military pants and a fur-lined, with a sizeable visored helmet adorned with a fin in the back. The Titan armor similarly features a few yellow circle projections around the legs and helmet, but the shoulders also seem to radiate orange light. As a cool side note, it looks like Titans’ boots are affixed with little rockets.
Finally, Hunters can deck themselves out in a sleek body suit accompanied by armored boots and a cropped jacket. A gasmask helmet accents this with some sweet sunglasses and a hood, cape, and scarf combo for the Class item. Like the other classes, yellow circles project out of various spots on the armor, and the arms and sunglasses appear to give off the same orange glow as the Titan cosmetics.
Published: Jul 11, 2024 03:22 pm