‘Destiny’ Down For Approximately Four Hours On Thursday, December 3

Destiny players attempting the new King’s Fall Raid challenge or other in-game activities will want to plan accordingly on Thursday, December 3. Bungie just announced that the PlayStation and Xbox shooter’s servers will be going down for a few hours, presumably in preparation for the upcoming December update.

Bungie posted details of the maintenance on its help page where it revealed the game and the supporting services will go offline at noon ET/9 a.m. PT and will be down for at least four hours.

“Starting at 9:00 AM Pacific (5:00 PM UTC), players will not be able to log into Destiny in preparation for maintenance.”

• At 10:00 AM Pacific (6:00 PM UTC), players will be removed from activities as Destiny servers will be taken offline for maintenance.
• Maintenance is expected to conclude before 1:00 PM Pacific (9:00 PM UTC).

• Bungie.net sign-in and Companion app services may be restricted during this time.
• Players signed in shortly before maintenance will receive prior notice via in-game messaging.
• Once maintenance is concluded, all services and Destiny login functionality will be restored.

This is normal for Destiny when Bungie prepares to release a significant new update, and the December one is already sizable. As previously covered by the Inquisitr, major weapon balance changes are incoming with Pulse Rifles and Shotguns the recipients of major nerfs. Meanwhile, Auto Rifles, Hand Cannons, and various Exotics will receive decent buffs.

Other changes planned for the Destiny December update include the injection of more than a dozen Exotic weapons and armor. Most of these are upgrades from Year Two such as the Armamentarium and MIDA Multi-tool. These exceptions are the Twilight Garrison Titan chest piece and the ATS/8 Tarantella Hunter chest piece, which are brand new.

Here is the complete list of new Exotics coming with the Destiny December update.

• Bones of Eao
• Hard Light
• Twilight Garrison
• Achlyophage Symbiote
• Radiant Dance Machines
• No Land Beyond
• Apotheosis Veil
• Peregrine Greaves
• ATS/8 Tarantella
• Super Good Advice
• Nothing Manacles
• Plan C
• Dragon’s Breath
• The Armamentarium
• MIDA Multi-Tool

Bungie also has changes in store for Etheric Light. Petra Venj in the Reef social area will have some use for the material, though Bungie hasn’t specified exactly what yet with the November update.

Etheric Light was introduced in the House of Wolves expansion and can be earned from the Prison of Elders. It was also used to increase the Attack and Defense ratings for Year One weapons and armor. Upgrading weapons and armor that way was phased out with the release of Destiny: The Taken King, leaving players with nothing to do with Etheric Light and not much reason to play Prison of Elders.

Meanwhile, Worm Spore has quickly turned into another item that players have been hoarding. The Destiny November update will give players the chance to use the resource gathered from the Dreadnaught with Eris Morn in the Tower. This is another area where exact details haven’t been given. Still, this is good news, as the current option is to simply discard excess Worm Spore.

Finally, another event similar to the Halloween-themed “Festival of the Lost” is on the way. It will be out sometime after the December update, and Destiny players should expect new quests, activities, and emotes to throw money at screens with.

Bungie will be at the PlayStation Experience showcase in San Francisco planned for Saturday, December 5. Fans are expecting details for the next major Destiny content update will be provided then though Bungie has provided no indication that is the case. The game’s very first expansion, The Dark Below, was released on December 9 and we are now at the same point following the release of The Taken King in September.

[Image via Bungie]