Rise of Iron Summary
- Felwinter Peak, a new Social Space featuring new vendors, a new Cryptarch, and wolves
- 5 Campaign Story Missions, plus other Missions and Quests (exact numbers not known yet)
- The Plaguelands, a new high level Patrol featuring both revamped Winter Cosmodrome areas and entirely new zones to explore
- New enemies: The SIVA-infected Fallen Devil Splicers
- The Archon’s Forge, a new cooperative arena in The Plaguelands
- New and Reimagined Strikes
- Wrath of the Machine, the new Raid, available September 23rd!
- Supremacy, the new PVP mode
- 4 new Crucible maps (1 is PS exclusive)
- Iron Banner re-invented
- Artifacts reworked from the ground up
- New Max Light Level
- New Armor, Weapons, and Rewards
- Ornamentation, a new way to re-skin armor and weapons
[divider]
Light Level
Bungie previously promised a “significant” light level increase with this expansion, but many were doubtful that they would deliver on that promise. Here are the facts:
New Light Level Cap at Rise of Iron Launch: 385
New Light Level Cap at Raid Hard Mode Launch: 400
[divider]
New Rewards
Infusion Stays The Same, Base Light Levels Go Up
The current Infusion system, featuring 1:1 Light Level advancement and items dropping at or above your current items’ level will remain in place and unchanged.
In addition, Game Informer revealed that, just as with The Taken King, Uncommon and Rare (Green and Blue) gear will drop at higher light levels (potentially up to 350 for Rare items). This suggests that Vendor Gear may also be getting a boost, although we can’t confirm that.
[divider]
Rise of Iron Record Book
Rise of Iron will also release with a new free Record Book which tracks all activity in Rise of Iron account-wide. As you complete missions, quests, and other activities from the new expansion, you will gain percentage points of completion, and as with past Record Books will receive rewards at set intervals. These rewards will include:
- Full Iron Lord armor for all Character Classes
- Multiple new Emblems
- New Shader
- The new Iron Song Ghost Shell (not pictured)
- Other currently unrevealed rewards
[divider]
Strike Exclusives and Skeleton Keys
Nightfalls and Strike Playlists are getting a new inventory item added to their Loot Tables: The Skeleton Key. These keys, which will drop randomly at the end of missions, can be used in Strikes featuring exclusive items to get a guaranteed drop of one of those Exclusive by opening something called a “Strike Hoard” – a new chest that will be appearing upon completion of Strikes, even outside of the Weekly Playlists.
[divider]
Weapons, New and Old
From new Iron Banner weapons (see above) to revamped Year 1 guns, Rise of Iron promises tons of new options for inflicting devastation in both story and crucible game modes.
Exotics
In terms of Year 1 weapons, we already know that Gjallarhorn is coming back (in black, etc), but there’s one other infamous Year 1 Exotic that will be making a triumphant (ominous?) return in Rise of Iron: yes, if you haven’t heard, THORN is coming back at full light levels. No word yet on whether there will be further adjustments to its perks or stats, but we do know that it’s getting a new Exotic Quest. For those of us already sporting Year 1 models, it’s not year clear if the updated version will be immediately available through the kiosk or if we’ll have to work for it the same as everyone else.
Among other Exotics hinted at include Warlock boots (Are they finally real?), a Sidearm allegedly reminiscent of the Robocop gun, and a pulse rifle that “blossoms out a cloud of seeking energy from a successful precision kill”. Yeah, that sounds pretty awesome to us, too!
But what really stood out from the pack is a reimagining of the very first gun any of us ever touched in Destiny: the Khvostov. The old Khvostov 7G-02 from the very first mission has been re-specced as the Exotic Khvostov 7G-0X, a truly unique Exotic by the sound of it. Like Gjallarhorn and Thorn, it will be the reward for a new Exotic Weapon quest, but unlike other Exotics, it doesn’t have a single Exotic perk that defines it. Instead, Bungie is trying something brand new that has our internal theorycrafters jumping to get a closer look.
Instead of one Exotic ability, the new Khvostov has a special set of perk columns that allow you to turn it into the primary of your dreams! Here are the perks we’ve seen:
- Classic Scope: optimized for range and stability.
- Modernized Scope: Additional zoom and target acquisition, slightly reduced range and stability.
- Full Auto, Standard Auto Rifle firing mode.
- Burst Fire, Sets firing behavior to burst, slightly increases Range.
- Semi-Auto, Sets firing behavior to semi-automatic with higher muzzle velocity, noticeably increases range.
- Hammer Forged, increase range noticeably.
- Rifled Barrel, increase range significantly, reduce reload speed.
- Braced Frame, increase Stability significantly, reduce magazine size.
- Extended Mag
- Counterbalance, converts 80% of horizontal recoil to vertical, making it more manageable.
- Rangefinder
- 450 RPM, sets firing behavior at 450 RPM, increases range.
- 900 RPM, sets firing behavior at 900 RPM, increases stability.
So aside from a Doctrine of Passing-style build, it looks like we have a ton of potential here – can’t wait to start experimenting with it!
[divider]
Relics
Game Informer’s time with Rise of Iron also revealed details of the Relics appearing in Rise of Iron.
You’re already familiar with how awesome Saladin’s flaming axe looks, but here’s how it actually works: The weapon recharges ammo with light attacks, and expends it in large amounts when you trigger a wave of fire using your heavy attack. Even better, if you can keep your ammo above a certain threshold, it inflicts double damage for massive devastation!
We’ll also see Shock Cannons dropping, presumably an Arc variant of the now familiar Scorch Cannon that originated with House of Wolves and continues to appear frequently in Prison of Elders and a few other missions.
[divider]
New Armor
These new armor sets really speak for themselves. Take a look!
Artifacts, Reinvented
Artifacts have been completely revamped for Rise of Iron in response to the widely-held sentiment (which we can’t disagree with) that they don’t do much to justify holding a separate gear slot. Gone are the random bonus orbs and generic stat bonuses of yesteryear, and in their place: something new!
Rise of Iron will feature eight (8) new class-agnostic (you read that right) Artifacts, each providing not only minor perks and significant stat bonuses, but also game-changing abilities that can be added to any subclass. These new Artifacts can be obtained via new Weekly Bounties granted by Felwinter Peak’s Archivist, Tyra Karn. Completely all of the weekly quests grants a single Iron Lords Legacy token, which can be turned in to purchase any of the three Artifacts Tyra has for sale that week. When you obtain each Artifact, you must then activate it by lighting a brazier in the nearby mausoleum in memory of that Iron Lord. With dedication, you can eventually collect all 8 and apply their unique, lore-based powers to any of your Guardians.
Memory of Radegast
- Reflect energy-based projectiles, including Ogre’s Eye-blasts and Rockets in the Crucible!
Memory of Perun
- Enemy Guardians with full supers are highlighted Yellow, and all enemies with low health are highlighted Red for easy targeting.
Memory of Jolder
- Sprint cooldown is completely eliminated – run free, Guardians!
Memory of Silimar
- All damage-over-time effects are dramatically reduced.
Memory of Felwinter
- A dramatic change: Lose access to your super, but gain an extra Grenade and Melee charge, a boost to all stats, and Orbs recharge both your Grenades and Melees.
Memory of Gheleon
- Gain detailed radar at all times, including when aiming down sights on Primary Weapons.
Memory of Skorri
- Glow with an inspiring light that speeds up Super recharge for all nearby allies.
Memory of Timur
- Melee attacks may turn low level Minions of Darkness into temporary allies in combat, lasting 30 seconds or until you melee the enemy again, whichever comes first.
[divider]
Ornamentation
We’ve saved one of the most exciting changes for last! Rise of Iron will feature a new weapon and armor modifier, which can essentially add cosmetic flair to your weapons and armor. Ornaments can dramatically change the appearance of both armor and weapons, including existing Year 2 Exotic Weapons, and can be obtained in a few different ways.
In a move that some might grumble at, some of the new modifiers drop from new Radiant Treasure boxes, said to be available in a manner similar to Sterling Treasures, with a set amount obtainable each week, plus an unlimited amount for those who purchase them at the Eververse Trading Company. These are currently set to include Exotic Weapon re-skins, which change familiar weapons such as Invective and Monte Carlo to be SIVA or Iron Lord themed, as well as Iron Lord armor Ornaments (fur-lining and horns).
Other Ornament sets will only be available through high level play, such as flawless Trials of Osiris runs and likely the “Wrath of the Machine” Raid.
[divider]
Stay Tuned…
There’s a lot more yet to talk about, including details of the Campaign, Strikes, exciting hints about the Raid, and some very interesting updates coming to the Crucible!