Destiny players on the PlayStation and Xbox have had a taste using swords via a mission plus the raid and Swords of Crota public events from The Dark Below . The Taken King will give them a more permanent place in the Guardians arsenal while some of the existing Exotics in the game can be upgraded to the Year 2 power levels; just not Gjallarhorn.
Swords Are Now A Thing
The addition of swords as a Heavy Weapon was first spotted in a Game Informer video as part of the site’s coverage for its September magazine cover spread. The Twitch livestream today did more to reveal the new weapon type in a carefully planned tease by Bungie.
While scanning through the new Vault, Community Manager David “Deej” Dague briefly hovered over a weapon icon long enough to reveal the Arc Edge sword. It is a Legendary sword with an Arc element type and some new stat values. In addition to existing Impact and Range stats, it comes with Speed, Efficiency, Defense, and Energy.
Interestingly, the Arc Edge comes with a defensive ability. Using the L2 trigger on the DualShock controller will block enemy attacks as long as they are the right type. For this particular sword, it is effective against Solar and Void attacks but not Arc. That’s the same kind of behavior we see with enemy shields.
It is unknown how many swords will be added to Destiny , how they will vary from one another, and how their use will be affected by the new stats. They are a welcome addition though as swords have proven to be popular through the first year content.
A sword is also seen on the back of one of the Guardians at the end of the livestream during the “dance party” segment. One new trick being added is the ability to cycle through the three equipped weapons to choose which one will be displayed on a character’s back as they walk through the social space.
Some Exotics Upgrade to Year 2
One reason why Bungie reminded players not to dismantle their existing weapons and armor is that some Exotics from the first year of Destiny can be upgraded to Year 2 levels. It’s currently unknown if the upgraded versions will have to go through the progression again, but all Year 2 Exotics have their signature perk unlocked from the beginning.
Exotic Blueprints allow you to “print” new copies of Exotics you earned in Year 1 AND access select Year 1 gear upgraded for Year 2.
— Bungie (@Bungie) August 19, 2015
Not all Year 1 Exotics will be eligible for an upgrade, however. Looking at the Twitch stream today and the teaser released yesterday , the following weapons can be upgraded to Year 2.
- Bad Juju
- Fourth Horseman
- Hawkmoon
- Invective
- The Last Word
- Monte Carlo
- Red Death
- Suros Regime
- Thunderlord
- Truth
Meanwhile, the following will not be available for upgrade:
- Gjallarhorn
- Hardlight
- Icebreaker
- Necrochasm
- Super Good Advice
- Thorn
- Universal Remote
- Vex Mythoclast
The status of the rest of the Exotic weapons is unknown, but it’s clear that Bungie is using The Taken King as a way to clear out some of the troublesome weapons in Destiny by “encouraging” players to move on to other weapons. The Gjallarhorn in particular has been game breaking at times and will still be extremely powerful even after the upcoming nerf. The only way to make players less dependent on it is to prevent it from being accessible in the new end game.
The Destiny: The Taken King livestream had many more reveals than can be covered in a single article. For example, Vault space is being doubled and weapons can be infused with more power.
[Images via Bungie Twitch ]
