Destiny: Rise of Iron

Destiny fans are nothing if not hungry for new information about their chosen game. Destiny: Rise of Iron has been rumored for weeks thanks to several very authentic-seeming leaks, including story details and a release date of September 20. Today’s reveal event has confirmed virtually all of that game information, but a live stream is offering some additional information about what fans can expect.

The focus of the new expansion touches on one of the big mysteries of the game – the fate of the Iron Lords, alluded to repeatedly throughout the PvP Iron Banner tournament that runs every month. As was previously leaked, the reveal trailer also promises new story missions, strike content, a new raid, new equipment, an elevated light-value cap, and the return of a new version of the Gjallarhorn.

You can watch the full official trailer below. We’ve also updated this story with additional details from the live stream, which you can read below.

Bungie’s Twitch stream has given us additional details about where Rise of Iron will be taking us. We were also introduced to the two leads working together to bring us Rise of Iron: Game director Christopher Barrett and executive producer Scott Taylor.

The central mystery of the game is about what happened when the Iron Lords sacrificed themselves to confront a technological plague called SIVA – a self-assembling, self-replicating nano-technology. The players must confront this threat once again, now that it is in the hands of the Fallen. The Fallen have taken their salvaging efforts to a new level in this expansion, and have unearthed this SIVA tech plague, and they’ve augmented themselves with the goal of becoming machine gods; the new Devil Splicers faction has different abilities than what we’ve previously seen. The subsequent story focuses on the way that player Guardians become Iron Lords themselves and confront the resurgent threat.

One of the most significant additions to the game will be new areas to explore. The Plaguelands is a new zone to battle through on Earth. Concept art of the Plaguelands shows that snow dominates the environment, punctuated by Fallen fortresses and other structures using SIVA tech. It also appears that we’ll be exploring a snowy version of the Cosmodrome wall.

Felwinter Peak is a mountain retreat where the Iron Lords once watched over Old Russia. Hundreds of years ago, the outpost was active, but fell into disuse after the fall of the Iron Lords, but the new story will see players retaking the space. We got to see concept art and a screenshot of one of the buildings at Felwinter Peak – a mausoleum that houses statues that depict the original Iron Lords. The Felwinter Peak social space will feel more remote and run-down than the other social spaces of the game.

Bungie has promised that the new raid is a big part of Rise of Iron, and Bungie teased out at least one location from the raid, in which we see a massive machine that appears to be attacking and chasing the guardians. 

Given the Iron Lords connect to Crucible play in such a significant way, Bungie has also promised that PvP is getting a major facelift, including a new game mode, new PvP maps, and other new as-yet undetailed new Crucible features. 

For many fans, one of the most exciting aspects of the game will be learning more about the mysterious Iron Lords. That info has already begun to trickle out as we learned that the wielder of the powerful machine gun called Jolder’s Hammer is actually a woman. 

We saw some cool new gear for all three of the Guardian classes, making it look like players can look forward to a full spread of weapons and armor not yet available in the current game. Equally important, Bungie is promising a “significant light increase” for players to pursue as they level up.

The double-headed battle axe seen in Lord Saladin’s hand in the trailer will get used by players as a relic, much as players have previously been able to pick up items like the Scorch Cannon. The battle axe doesn’t sound like it’s a normal arsenal piece. 

Before closing out the live stream, Bungie also took time to discuss the return of the infamous Gjallarhorn. Within Rise of Iron, a questline will let you forge a new Gjallarhorn, but you can also get a black and silver Iron Gjallarhorn through pre-ordering Rise of Iron. To build hype for the return of the weapon, we got a sizzle reel of player excitement surrounding the weapon, which was a big part of Year One play.

Bungie revealed that the new expansion will cost $30, and for the first time the new expansion will only run on newer consoles – PS4 and Xbox One.  That shift will mean that players on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will need to upgrade if they want to play the new content. Bungie reps on the live stream implied that more information is forthcoming about ways to make that process better for players interested in shifting to a new console.