[h=2]Destiny: The Taken King is changing how you'll get and upgrade new gear[/h]
Destiny's upcoming expansion,
The Taken King, is going to completely reimagine every part of the loot hunting process — from acquisition, to upgrading to use on the battlefield. The broad changes were revealed in today's livestream event, which covered the updates coming to Bungie's online shooter when the DLC arrives Sept. 15.
First and foremost, your Vault space has been doubled. You have 72 slots for weapons and 72 slots for armor — other equipment will receive their own new forms of storage (more on that later).
Ghost Shells — a previously aesthetic customization option — will also play a larger role in your Guardian's build in
The Taken King. Shells will come equipped with their own stat modifiers and perks; a few demonstrated during the stream allowed players to track planetary resources on their minimap, and some allow you to earn more Glimmer for killing certain enemies. Shells will factor into their Light Level average, as well. Players will be able to purchase Ghost Shells from The Speaker in the Tower, and can earn Legendary shells from the Crucible Vanguard.
First and foremost, your Vault space has been doubled.
Exotics will now be arranged in a new system called Exotic Blueprints, which will allow players to access any Exotic they've ever found. If you accidentally lose a piece of Exotic equipment — say, an accidental dismantling — you can retrieve it from a terminal in the Tower at the cost of some Glimmer and an Exotic Shard. Your Blueprints are shared across your account, meaning you can duplicate your Exotic weapons across multiple characters.
Exotics from Destiny's Year One will be upgraded when The Taken King launches, and players will be able to access the new versions if they have the old version in their Blueprint collection. These upgraded versions will also cost Legendary Marks — more on that later.. Light Beyond Nemesis, an Exotic Warlock helmet, was showcased during the stream; its upgraded version starts at max defense, grants earlier access to its best perks and adds totally new perks on top of them. Only "some" pieces of armor will be brought forward into Year Two.
The Suros Regime, an Exotic Auto Rifle, will be upgraded in Year Two with a new aesthetic look and new perks.
Exotics aren't the only thing you can upgrade in Year Two. All new Legendary weapons can be "Infused," allowing players to break down weapons to improve other weapons, meaning you can burn your older, outdated weapons to make your new gear more viable. This process will also consume a few different materials, like Weapon Parts and Legendary Marks.
Class slot armor, like Warlock Bonds, will also carry defense and stat bonuses, and perks mostly designed to increase experience and reputation acquisition, and will also factor into your Light Level.
Players will no longer need dedicated class slot armor to pledge allegiance to Destiny's different factions. Players will now purchase a "Faction Badge," which then allocates reputation gains toward the badge's respective group without taking up an inventory space. Badges last a week, though — you can't switch your allegiance during that period. Players will be able to swap different types of resources, like Weapon Parts and Motes of Light, for reputation gains at each vendor. Faction packages will now include a guaranteed Legendary item, as well.
Faction armor carries some new perks, like Solar Recovery and Solar Armor, which increases your Recovery or Armor after taking Solar-type damage. Another perk reduces Solar damage when the Solar Burn modifier is active, making Guardians much more survivable in Nightfall missions with that particular modifier.
Your Crucible and Vanguard Marks will be folded into a single currency, Legendary Marks, which will be shared across all three characters on your account. When you dismantle Legendary items, you'll also receive those new marks. Your current marks will be exchanged when
The Taken King launches for Commendations, which you'll be able to cash in for faction reputation.
Legendary Marks can be spent on Legendary Engrams at the Cryptarch, which will no longer be redeemed for shards and sub-Legendary equipment.
The Gunsmith will begin offering reputation gains as well, which will allow players to purchase Armsday Orders, which will let them purchase Legendary weapons to be delivered every Wednesday — a new weekly event in Destiny called Armsday. The stock of orderable weapons will be updated every week. To earn Gunsmith reputation, players can use Field Test weapons, special armaments that the Gunsmith will loan out to players who visit him.
Also, items like Emblems, Ships and Shaders will be removed from your inventory and shown in "Collections," which you'll be able to access from the Tower. Each Collection will show you all of the aesthetic options you've collected, and also lists the items you don't have, providing information on how to collect them.
You'll be able to show off all your gear in new ways in Destiny's social hubs, as well. Players will be able to equip their helmets for other players to see in the Tower, and change the weapon that their character is carrying around.
Year One pieces of equipment will have attack and defense values of 160 when The Taken King launches, a reduction from the current max, although players won't experience any loss of damage with their old equipment. New gear will increase those numbers significantly.
Destiny: The Taken King will launch Sept. 15 across all versions of the game. For more on the expansion, check out
our Storystream.
