Bungie Weekly Update - Aug 20 at 5:58:01 PM

This week at Bungie, we led a guided tour of the Tower to prepare you for Destiny Year Two.

It won't be long now before we launch Destiny: The Taken King. Only weeks remain, and we're as anxious as you are to light this candle and see it take off across the sky. Before we synchronize the key turns and push the big red button, we're engaged in final prep. Specifically, we'll deploy Update 2.0 which will deliver a huge payload of changes for the way you play and evolve in Destiny.

We began the final countdown with a live mission briefing. Since the first reveal, we've hinted at how your adventures in Year One have influenced our design of Year Two. You've responded with questions about what your life as a Guardian will be like after September 15th. With guys like Tyson Green and Mark Noseworthy ticking the last boxes on their pre-flight checklists, yesterday was a good day to visit our Twitch set and provide some answers.

If you missed the show, make yourself comfortable and let us bring you up to speed. Please hold your questions about Vault space to the very end.

That was a lot of detail to stream from us to you. Year Two of Destiny is full of surprises - some we're willing to preview and some we'll insist you discover upon further exploration of the solar system. We don't call Destiny a first-person shooter for nothing.

We knew this first salvo of reveals would result in some new questions. New information always does. We're not complaining, mind you, so don't change a thing about yourselves. To see if we can satisfy some of the fresh curiosity, we've approximated a Q/A between the community hive mind and the developers who staff our command center.

Why are the numbers on the Guardians different?

• We've altered the way Light and Level are calculated to enable a more streamlined evolution of your characters
  
• Leveling up your Guardian is now a product of earning experience in the game
  
• Increasing your Light is now a product of acquiring and equipping more powerful gear
  

How will you calculate the new numbers you'll assign to my Guardians in Year Two?

• We'll determine your level based on the gear in your inventory and your Vault
  
• Don't dismantle your best stuff before you begin your Year Two adventure
  

What about weapons and my armor? The Attack and Defense ratings are different, too!

• We've changed the values of Year One items to provide a unified experience that flows seamlessly into Year Two
  
• Aside from the weapon tuning in Update 2.0, your Year One weapons will perform in Year One activities as you would expect
  

How do those Exotic Blueprints work?

• When players discover an Exotic, they will also have discovered the Blueprint for it
  

What do you mean by a Blueprint?

• It's a schematic required to craft previously discovered weapons and armor
  
• Once you have collected a Blueprint for an Exotic, you can "purchase" it anew using the required forms of currency
  

Blueprints enable us to acquire a copy of the same item?

• Blueprints provide you with a new item that must be upgraded
  
• The Blueprint stations are not an extension of your Vault - your space there has been doubled for easy access to your favorite upgraded items
  

Where are my Blueprints stored?

• Blueprints are stored in two collection stations near the Vanguards in the Hall of Guardians
  
• One for Exotic Weapon Blueprints
  
• One for Exotic Armor Blueprints
  

How do I unlock new Blueprints?

• They are archived automatically when you discover a new Exotic
  

Can I share them between my Guardians?

• Yes: Blueprints for discovered Exotics can be accessed by any character on your account
  

Which Exotics will be available in Year Two?

• In addition to a bunch of brand new Exotics for you to discover in Year Two, we're redesigning and redeploying select Exotics from Year One
• For example: No Backup Plans has been redesigned
  • We significantly extended the duration of the old perk "Improved Disintegrate"

Did you redesign Gjallarhorn?

• Gjallarhorn will remain a Year One Exotic at Year One levels
  

How can I acquire the Year Two Exotics that have evolved from Blueprints I discovered in Year One?

• Select weapons and armor pieces that have been redesigned for Year Two can be purchased for Legendary Marks, assuming you discovered the original Year One Blueprints
  

What are Legendary Marks?

• Legendary Marks will replace Vanguard Marks and Crucible Marks as a new form of unifying currency in the Tower
  

How can I earn Legendary Marks?

• By completing Daily Story Chapters, Weekly Heroic Strikes, and Daily PVP Activities
  
• By dismantling Year Two Legendary items - assuming you don't have the maximum value of 200 Legendary Marks associated with your player account
  

Is there a weekly cap on Legendary Marks?

• There is no cap to how many Legendary Marks a player can earn in a week
  
• The maximum number of Legendary Marks any player account can hold is capped at 200
  

Can I also share Legendary Marks between my Guardians?

• Legendary Marks are account-bound like Glimmer and shared across all of your characters
  

What will happen to my old Vanguard and Crucible Marks from Year One?

• When The Taken King is released, blocks of fifty Vanguard and Crucible Marks will be converted into one reputation consumable
  

Now that my nameplate displays my Light and Level, where can I strut my Grimoire score?

• It will be displayed under your Level when your Guardian is inspected
  

Are you raising the Glimmer Cap?

• The Glimmer cap remains as it has been in Year One
  
• You'll have plenty to spend it on in Year Two
  

Can we have more Vault space?

• How about if we double it?
  

That's a sampling of the questions we've detected since our live studio audience dispersed to get back to work. There are some more out there, but some things are best understood on your own inspection of the Tower, its vendors, and their various wares of mayhem and destruction. You'll have your chance to decrypt it all first-hand in just a matter of weeks.

We hope this walkabout has given you a head start. Tune in next week, because we're done teaching. It's time to Strike!

Very Important Players

With all this talk about Destiny Year Two, let's not forget about the feats of courage and skill that defined Year One. If you kicked ass and became legend over these past months, we thank you. Together, we've discovered the best things about our brave new world. We've learned from you, and we're about to send you starside all over again to keep you challenged and entertained.

But our thanks are not the only reward we have in mind.

The Guardians from Destiny Year One are not just players. You are the founders of a new and vibrant community. To us, you're VIPs. When the new kids stroll into the Tower, they'll know who you are. You'll be the shadowy figures clad in the stripes of a Tiger.

We Can Remember It For You!

Destiny Player Support remains ever watchful during this transition from one year to the next. Read up on what you may need to know to make the journey safely.

DPS: For Guardians that showed their support for those affected by the natural disasters in Nepal earlier this year, we have released the Shader/Emblem that was promised with your T-Shirt. If you purchased a Nepal Aid T-Shirt, and have not received an email or are having issues redeeming your code, please see the following FAQ.

If you find yourself confused about which version of Destiny: The Taken King is right for you, we broke down all current information in our Guided Support for Destiny: The Taken King. This includes current upgrade options and purchase options for new Guardians in the making.

As we get closer to 9/15/2015, we'll be providing best practice tips on the Guided Support landing for The Taken King. Make sure to stay tuned to @BungieHelp on Twitter, as we update our information. We'll see you at the party, Richter!

If you need some air, you can breathe deep of their knowledge on the #Help forum.

Rated D for Destiny

When he's not patrolling the Internet in search of burning questions about Vault space, your newest community manager is turning some of you into rock stars.

Cozmo: I get a lot of questions each week about where people should send their entries for MOTW. To ensure your hard work gets a shot at landing here as a winner, submit your videos to the Community Creations page. Remember that all winners and honorable mentions will get the sought-after emblem that makes you stand out in a Fireteam. This week had no shortage of great entries. Here are the winners.

WINNER: "This is amazing!" - Lord Shaxx

Honorable Mention: For capturing the Raid-clear feels

Honorable Mention: For capturing the other side's feels

Honorable Mention: Moar bubbles!

We hope you're still hungry for details about The Taken King, because we're not through with you. Next week, we're going on a Strike. The week after, we're holding Court in the Dreadnaught. Somewhere in the midst of all that action, we'll brave PAX. And then there are the things we're not even hinting at yet. This promises to be one hell of a month.

Think you can keep up? We do. That doesn't mean we won't set a blistering pace to keep you on your toes.

DeeJ, out.