A little PSA before I begin, at the time of me writing this there has been a giant leak where players got their hands on The Final Shape. I will not be discussing anything to do with these leaks, only things from trailers, Bungie’s own “vidocs”, previews from youtubers such as Aztecross and Datto, as well as some of my own story theories. And so, if you care about spoilers stay safe out there Guardians. 

Currently, we are only a day away from Destiny 2’s final expansion, The Final Shape on June 4th. Depending on your relationship with Destiny, whether a long-time fan or wanting to jump in for the first time, here’s everything you need to know before jumping in. 

I’m a new player… should I hop in?

The Final Shape represents the end of a 10 year saga for Destiny, and so as someone who has been playing consistently over the past 4 years, whether you should play this expansion really depends on why you want to join in. For those that don’t know, Destiny is a first-person shooter game that prides itself on having some of the best shooting combat in games. Combining well crafted guns with powerful abilities and fighting difficult enemies with your friends is what Destiny is all about. Some of my favorite gaming memories have taken place in Destiny’s world thanks to its well designed activities, some of which require up to 6 players to defeat. Destiny also features a PvP mode that lets you fight against other guardians, although the primary experience is PvE thanks to its incredible campaigns and activities.

If you are hoping to be able to have a good gameplay experience, despite a relatively complicated and unclear onboarding process, I believe new players will find something to enjoy. While Bungie has put a lot of work into the onboarding process with the New Light campaign and the Guardian Ranks, in my own experience helping friends get into the game, it can still be rather overwhelming. However, The Final Shape seems to be bringing some things to help new players, such as the new Subclass Prismatic.

What should I expect going into this triangle?

This new subclass combines all the “powers” into one letting you mix and match different abilities which will introduce a new level of buildcrafting to players. However, if you are able to get through the onboarding process and have a decent understanding of all the different systems in place, there is no guarantee you will enjoy the story Bungie hopes to tell with this expansion. As I stated before, this is the conclusion of a 10 year saga, and so there is lots of story you are expected to be aware of  before hopping in, not only when it comes to  the main villain but also character motivations, deaths and so on. That being said, Destiny lore expert, My Name is Byf, has put out a quick little 10 hour video going into all the story beats you might need to know if that still interests you. 

  Whether you decide you still want to jump in as a new guardian, or are deciding to revisit the world of Destiny, I have confidence that you won’t be disappointed. Bungie seems to be pulling out all the stops, from a new environment, new enemy race, new subclass, over 40 new weapons, and game changing mechanics with new supers. Even the story is bringing back fan favorite Cayde-6 voiced by Nathan Fillion trapped inside the Traveler, which has crazy story implications.

Lots and Lots of Hands… 

First of all, we have The Pale Heart, a location found inside the Traveler, the giant ball in the sky that gives us Guardians our “powers.” This location is also one of the most visually unique locations we’ve seen in the game, featuring things across Destiny’s long life from the original tower hub spot, giant ghosts (the guardians companions), and tons of hands. Like, way too many hands. Previews also talk about how there seems to be an almost day-night cycle where certain environments will be pitch black to add into the creepy feeling.These factors give the environment an overall uneasy feeling, which personally makes me really excited for this location. 

The new enemy race also seems to be adding to this unease, as we now have to deal with flying enemies with an ear shrieking scream that prevents us from using our powers for a bit, as well as enemies that can use our own powers against us. These enemies specifically are one of the things I’m most excited about as we approach the launch of The Final Shape, as they will offer new gameplay experiences particularly on harder difficulties. Another thing that aims to introduce new gameplay experiences is the many new weapons Bungie promises to bring, including guns that heal teammates, a variety of new exotic weapons and armor with interesting concepts, and new weapon perks

Eyes up Guardian

Outside of new weapons and armor, Bungie is putting lots of work into changing the balance of overall damage and builds, making many overpowered builds less powerful which will bring about huge changes to how we usually play Destiny. An example of this is Well of Radiance, an ability that kept players basically invincible and greatly boosted the amount of damage players can do for about 15 seconds. This ability which usually was a staple in any boss fight, however, is now significantly less good. While this might sound like a negative, it will actually allow more variety and more fun play styles besides forcing one player to always play a certain way. This also perfectly ties into the new subclass Prismatic, which looks to be one of the most powerful ones yet. 

This new subclass seems to finally let us Guardians do what has been lore accurate for years, combining all the powers into one class to mix and match between aspects, abilities, grenades and so on. Such as, being able to use an ice dodge into a lightning melee, and a fire grenade, all with their respectives powers, buffs and advantages. As if that wasn’t enough, Bungie is also giving each class a new super (new ultimate move), which looks incredibly fun and exciting. All of these changes and additions make it feel as though we are jumping into a completely revamped experience that I cannot wait for. However I believe, what will really leave an impact on us players will be the story. 

I’m coming home soon, Ace

The last big expansion for Destiny 2 was Lightfall, which was ultimately a disappointment for fans. The campaign was one of the worst received in Destiny history, and while the Strand subclass was incredibly fun and became a huge staple for the next year, the mission structure and story left much to be desired. This is something that going into The Final Shape I’m the most cautiously optimistic about. Bungie delayed the experience in order to avoid the mistakes they made in Lightfall, and while I have more faith in The Final Shape, after Lightfall’s disappointment most players are still unsure where this campaign and story will fit in. An example of this is bringing back fan favorite Cayde-6, which on one hand seems like a good move, but it’s effectiveness depends on whether they bring him in correctly. 

If they stay true to the character, then they seem to have good reasons to bring him back besides fans simply enjoying his presence. The latest story trailer specifically gave me much more hope as we get to see the villain taking advantage of things important to the characters, in an attempt to take them down. Part of me hopes that Bungie is taking advantage of the things us players love to give us a better story. Maybe Cayde-6 is not even real and is simply a creation by the villain in an attempt to get close to us to take us players down, however we will have to see when players finish the story. 

What’s Next?

After the initial campaign however, the future of Destiny is unknown. We know we are going to continue to get story content in the form of “Episodes” that happen 3 times a year (down from the 4 a year in the previous seasons). However, for the first time in Destiny history, we don’t know if we are getting another expansion, game, or anything, leaving players unsure of what to expect in the next year or so. All of this means The Final Shape has a bittersweet taste in our mouth, at least for now. Hopefully some of those questions will have answers soon, either in the form of the story we are going to get or from Bungie themselves. 

If you’re like me and have been playing Destiny constantly for years, you are most likely hyped, have already preordered the $100 expansion, and are fully prepared to hop in. However, if you haven’t hopped into the world of Destiny in a while, I highly recommend doing so with this following expansion, as it looks to be one of the best yet. Despite that, if you are a new fan hoping that this will be your first expansion, I would be cautious before dropping the $60 on the expansion. Give the New Light mission and the Guardian ranks a try first, get a hold of how to play the game, and then if you get hooked, welcome to the ranks Guardian and I look forward to seeing you in the crucible. 

If you looking to preorder this expansion, feel free to click here for Playstation, Xbox or Steam. And make sure to check out our other articles, such as Ronny’s review of Challengers and Caitlyn’s review of In Memorian of Alice Winn, and for everything else nerdy stay here with Geekwave