Extensive Screens And Info Emerge For Destiny’s The Dawning Event

Bungie has announced the latest event for players of Destiny: Rise of Iron. The Dawning is a three-week holiday-themed experience of gifts, new game modes, and gear rewards. Whether you’ve been playing continuously since Rise of Iron’s launch, or December’s event might be a chance to return after stepping away from the game for a few months, it’s clear that Bungie’s winter event is vying strongly for your holiday gaming time with an event that is more robust than last year’s offering.

Sparrow Racing League returns, but with some changes and additions. Two new race courses (one set on Mercury and the other on Earth) add to the two courses from last year as available options. Like last year, Guardians are able to acquire exclusive gear rewards from their racing efforts. However, unlike last year, all the new armor you acquire is light-enabled, meaning that once you get it, you can infuse it up to high light values and use it in whatever setting you like. Last year, only helmets had this property. In addition, players can also expect to find new sparrows available through the SRL event.

For players who want a break from racing, The Dawning event also introduces Strike Scoring, a new twist on strike play that encourages strong, smart battles. As the name implies, the idea is that you pursue both individual and team scoring as you make your way through the strike playlists. 

Strike Scoring is enabled when you play the SIVA Crisis playlist, Heroic SIVA Crisis playlist, and the weekly Nightfall. And while many of the strikes you’ll be playing will be familiar, Bungie is also revising and releasing three old favorites strikes, now with a SIVA theme; The Nexus, Will of Crota, and The Shadow Thief are all getting the reprised treatment.

To accompany Strike Scoring, for the first time, Zavala will offer bounties related to making your way through strikes, not unlike the bounties you get from Variks for runs at Prison of Elders. By participating in these bounties, players can acquire one of the long-absent exotic weapons that dominated Year 1 play – the exotic sniper rifle, Ice Breaker, now redesigned and light-boosted for Year 3 play. Players have a chance for Ice Breaker to drop when completing Zavala's Nightfall bounty.

That’s not the only exotic weapon that Guardians can pursue. Two new exotic quests are being introduced with The Dawning, resulting in two new exotics that riff off an existing weapon. The Solarlord and Voidlord are both machine guns for your heavy slot, and they offer elemental variations on the familiar Thunderlord. 

Finally, Guardians can expect to discover a winter wonderland version of the Tower when they visit beginning on December 13. Scattered throughout the Tower, players can expect to find wrapped presents, which can then be opened for gifts both large and small. 

The Dawning event is available to anyone who owns Destiny: Rise of Iron, which is available on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Read our full review of Destiny: Rise of Iron to learn more. You can also explore new images from The Dawning in the gallery below.