After spending almost a week with a beta that was very light on PvE content, today we got a chance to see some of the exciting Patrol activities waiting for us on Nessus! Courtesy of IGN, we got a bunch of new details regarding things we’ll be able to do and some of the rewards accompanying them.
Public Events
Public events will be making their return in Destiny 2, and several of the events from D1 will be coming back. On top of this, the new game will feature tons of new types of public events. It was revealed that there would be more new event types than everything available in the original game.
It was also revealed that public events will have heroic modes! Players will be able to trigger optional objectives during an event to make the encounter more difficult. Whether it be more waves of enemies or an optional boss, it’s a great way to add some variety to public events and will reward Guardians with additional loot as well.
[divider]
Adventures
Next up we got a peek at the new adventure activities that will be available in patrol mode. Adventures are described as being brief side missions, being quite similar in scope to some of the quests players are used to from D1. They serve to provide a little bit more backstory for each of the areas you’ll explore and some of the character you’ll meet.
They were quick to point out that there are no loading screens for these self contained missions. You can complete an adventure and then carry on with whatever other activity interests you on your patrol.
[divider]
Lost Sectors
The next thing covered was the highly anticipated Lost Sectors feature, where players can find markings scribbled on walls throughout the planet’s we’ll be exploring. Nearby each marker will be a hidden entrance to a Lost Sector. Some of the entrances are fairly simple to find, while others are well hidden, requiring some gameplay challenges to access. The IGN video shows the location of one of these dungeons on Nessus.
Some of the mini dungeons you’ll encounter are quite brief, while some of them are large, complex affairs. Each of the Lost Sectors will feature their own specific boss at the end, and once they are defeated, players will be able to access a chest for some sweet loot.
[divider]
World Quests
Moving on, we discovered a bit more about world quests, which are apparently unlocked once the main ‘Red War’ campaign is completed. While adventures will be short and sweet bite sized missions, world quests will be longer and more involved, with multiple stages to complete. There were bits and pieces of a Nessus world quest shown, which apparently provides more insight into the Failsafe NPC and where her story will be heading.
And while there are now several landing zones per planet, not all of them will be available right off the bat. Many of them are unlocked as you complete content on each planet, and some of them will be out of your level range at first, requiring you to come back later with better gear.
[divider]
Flashpoints
The bit of patrol content that was discussed in the video was the weekly Flashpoint feature. Each week, a new zone will be selected and players will be tasked with completing public events in order to unlock some high level rewards. It was revealed that Cayde-6 will also be selling treasure maps for each featured area on a weekly basis.
Not only that, but secret world bosses will be available to unlock at each destination when it’s up as a Flashpoint. They can be triggered by rapid or heroic completions of public events, providing even more ways for players to earn loot.
[divider]
Patrol is Finally Relevant
All in all, it looks like Bungie has found excellent ways to encourage us to revisit the planets after the campaign has concluded.
The new adventures and world quests look fantastic, providing some more background information for each of the planets and the characters that inhabit them. I can’t wait to explore every nook and cranny to find all of the available Lost Sectors as well come the game’s launch.