Published on: Aug 4, 2015 @ 11:50
GameInformer’s September cover prominently displays Destiny: The Taken King, and they were able to interview Bungie and get some exclusive information: News about DinkleBot, the new level cap, Year One weapons, and more!
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DinkleBot is Changing
The Ghost has since been voiced by Peter Dinklage, but this is changing in The Taken King. GameInformer says that the Ghost not only assumes an even more important role, but also is being replaced by Nolan North. This new voice actor is redoing all of the current Ghost dialogue, so that the lines are the same, but the voice will remain consistent.
Nolan expresses his interest in saying,
I was really excited to do this role. You want to give him as much personality as the world will allow, without making it unbelievable. There’s a fine line to walk there, and I think we found it.
He goes on to say that,
It’s interesting, because at one point they find another Ghost that’s been killed. A Ghost is not just something that can be turned back on. It has an idea of ending. It understands mortality. It has a vested interest in helping you succeed.
In-game Grimoire?
More details will be revealed once this September issue of GI is available, but they say that the Ghost offers “a new optional avenue into learning about Destiny’s lore.”
Hopefully this means that our Ghost will read Grimoire aloud… But if nothing else, we know that there will be “cinematics interspersed through the story missions, offering increased insight into previously paper-thin characters.”
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Level Cap
The new cap has finally been revealed: 40
But that’s not all! The way Bungie is approaching leveling up is now tied directly to experience. There is no more Light values on armor, so that “experience now feeds directly into your level progression all the way from 1 to the new level cap of 40.”
This new way of leveling up – and reaching max level – isn’t going to be changed by things that are “outside of your control” and you’re not going to need to worry about armor determining what level you are.
Better Loot System
Even though loot no longer determines your level, it’s still going to be important to your character. Attack and Defense levels aren’t going anywhere, and even though you can be max level with literally any piece of armor, a Rare set is going to provide less defense than a Legendary set.
Thankfully, going forward, loot drops are going to be better tailored to us. GameInformer confirms,
Destiny’s loot system will now pay closer attention to the loot you have already received when determining an appropriate drop, so that players will more consistently receive armor and weapons that provide meaningful power growth, items that vary their gear slot from one drop to the next, and fewer drops of items that a player has already attained.
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Year One Gear
As we predicted, “older legendary armor and weapons from across Destiny’s first year are not set to progress in power as Year Two begins.”
So they might not end up being worthless, but they’ll certainly not be as powerful as the new Legendary armor and weapons that are being introduced with The Taken King.
Most interestingly, “the change also resets the gear progression flow through new Taken King-tier white, green, blue, and purple gear, providing meaningful distinctions between new items as you level up through the new content” – meaning that you don’t need a certain set of Legendary armor to reach the maximum level. You can even be level 40 with common armor, though you probably wouldn’t want to.
It appears that all Year One Exotics will be moving forward. Will they be Ascended in the same way as we know? That’s yet to be announced.
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Analysis
You can find our thoughts about this news in this article.