Bungie Weekly Update - Sep 3 at 11:00:37 PM

This week at Bungie we cut a path through the Dreadnaught that brought us before the Court of Oryx.

Designer Ben Wommack led the way on the reveal, just as he did in imagining this new cooperative experience. Community Guest Laced Up Lauren provided the point of view, along with a fresh perspective on the action (and an Exotic Sword). Community Lead Urk was on hand to serve as armed escort and comic relief.

Court of Oryx empowers you to instigate your own Public Events. After the launch of The Taken King - now only weeks away - we're putting the control in your hands to summon enemy bosses to war aboard the Dreadnaught. Within the mysterious confines of that loot-filled fortress, Patrol is far from easy mode.

Did you miss it? Or maybe you just want to see them dance with those blades all over again?

All rise!

There were some exclusive reveals for the live audience. Don't worry, though. We'll dish them out for all to enjoy soon enough in our official channels and in high definition glory. Just goes to show that you that anything can happen when we turn on the stream. They're already out there if you can find them, though. Just look for the people discussing the fact that the King's Fall Raid begins on Friday, September 18th at 10AM Pacific - giving you just barely enough time to kick ass and gear up after launch.

If you also missed the gameplay trailer from earlier in the week, this will accelerate you closer to full speed.

That's not all we have to reveal this week. Are you looking for trouble, Guardian?

Time for Battle!

Update 2.0 is inbound. On September 8th, we'll all begin to experience much of the Year 2 groundwork. It's filled with changes to the player experience. It also has some surprises in store for every player - one courtesy of Lord Shaxx himself.

If you've bought Destiny, whether you've pre-ordered The Taken King or not, we're sending you into the Crucible to experience new modes of battle on every brand new map. One thing to note: You won't have the use of your new Super abilities yet. You'll have to visit your class Vanguard in The Taken King to earn your new subclass. For now, though, you can and should check out the new slate of maps on offer, and two of the new modes.

The Crucible Preview Event will take place from September 8th to September 14th. Go and get yourself an early taste of some Rift! And follow it up with a heaping helping of Mayhem!

Once Oryx arrives in our Solar System, the new Crucible content will become the sole property of those Guardians who pick up and continue playing The Taken King. This is your chance to try before you buy - or download. Think of it as your own personal E3 or gamescom, only it happens at home on your couch.

New Year Resolutions

You have one more weekend to experience Destiny as it has existed in Year One. On September 8th, the deployment of Update 2.0 will change the way we play. Next week, we'll deliver complete patch notes to keep you occupied. Here's a tactical preview for how things about to change:

Character

• Character Level Cap for all players will be raised to 34
  
  • Level Cap for The Taken King will be 40
  • You will be able to level up by gaining XP alone
  • Character Level and Light are now separate statistics
  • Your Character Level will be grandfathered into your highest possible Light Level from all gear in your inventory and vault
• Attack and Defense ratings for armor and weapons will be translated to the new systems - their power levels will be unchanged
  
• Grimoire Score has been moved from the Character Nameplate and now displays in the Character Screen
  

Quests

• A Quest Screen will be added to your Menu
  
• Tracks all active Quests
  
• Abandoned Quests can be recovered in the Hall of Guardians
  
• Year One Activities have been converted to the Quest system
  

Bounties

• Bounty slots will be increased to 16
  
• Incomplete Year One Bounties will be auto-abandoned on 09/08 in preparation for launch of The Taken King
  
• Incomplete Year One Exotic Bounties are auto-completed with their respective Vendors
  
• Year One bounties issues by Eris will be retired
  
• Reputation with Crota's Bane can continue to be earned by completing Quests in The Taken King 
  

Tower

• Collections have been added to the Tower
  
  • Emblems/Shaders can be found near Eva Lavante
  • Ships can be found near Amanda Holliday
• Exotic Armor and Weapon Blueprint added to the Tower 
  
  • You will now have the Blueprint for all Exotics you own in your Collection
  • Report to the Vanguard in the Hall of Guardians

Inventory

• Motes of Light will be used to grant XP to Weapons and Armor
  
• Class-specific Armor materials will be deprecated in favor of a unified Armor Material 
  
• Vanguard Quartermaster, Roni-9940, will exchange old materials for armor materials
  

Weapons & Armor

• Revised Sandbox balance will be in effect, based on our previous analysis
  

World

• Fallen Wolf Hunt Patrols will retreat in anticipation of the arrival of Oryx in your solar system
  

As promised, full patch notes will be revealed next week. Based on this preview, our Live Team has some last minute suggestions for how you might best spend your final moments in Year One:

• Complete those Year One Bounties
  
• Don't delete characters or dismantle items just yet
  
• Try the Year One campaign again
  
• Jump into the Crucible for some new action
  
• Try your beloved Auto-Rifles again
  
• Destroy remaining Wolf Packs and loot their chests for Ether Keys
  
• Complete your House of Wolves Grimoire as it applies to hunting in the wild
  
• Complete your Moments of Triumph [time extended - read below]
  

Got it? Good. You have approximately three days from the time that this blog article became a thing to make good on your last milestones of action and adventure. Gather ye Spinmetal while ye may!

Support the Players of Destiny!

Making the jump from Year One to Year Two will be a daring stunt worthy of a Guardian like you. Fortunately, you have support. That's Destiny Player Support, if you can dig it.

DPS: There are lot of changes coming with the 2.0 update on September 8th. So let's rush into a few key items you'll need to know, because we ain't got time to bleed. 

What's leaving Destiny when you download the 2.0 update:

• Vanguard & Crucible Marks: Activities where you previously earned Vanguard/Crucible marks will now grant Legendary Marks. On Tuesday, your current Vanguard/Crucible marks will converted into faction commendations. [Update: This change takes effect on 09/15]
• The Elder Cipher will no longer drop upon completion of the Skolas Challenge Arena in the Prison of Elders. The Exotic items offered with the Elder Cipher will now have a chance to drop from the Prison of Elders Treasure Chest.

What's going to be required to install the 2.0 update:

• If you're playing Destiny on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you'll need around 18GB of hard drive space free. We recommend turning on any console features that will automatically download game updates, when available.
• If you're playing Destiny on PlayStation 3, you'll need about 20GB of hard drive space free to download and then install the update. Once the update is fully installed, you will only need around 10GB free.
• If you're playing Destiny on Xbox 360, you'll need around 10GB of hard drive space free.
• You can read more about the Hard Drive Requirements for the Destiny 2.0 update here.

What's the best way to send off Year One of Destiny:

• The Moments of Triumph have been extended to September 14, 2015 at 11:59 PM PDT (6:59 AM UTC). You can check your progress by visiting the Moments of Triumph progress page as part of your Legend.
• Remember that your Moments of Triumph are tied to your active character roster. With the new Quest system and 2.0 changes incoming, we understand the appeal to start a new character. However, deleting a character to do so may jeopardize your progress towards the Moments of Triumph. We recommend waiting until you've secured your Emblem before deleting any characters that contributed to your Moments of Triumph progress. 

Ya dig?

You Oughta Be In Pictures

You're the stars in our world. Each week, we plot a new point in the constellations that scroll past the night sky that envelopes the community.

Cozmo: It's time to kick back with some popcorn. We continue to receive a ton of great submissions. If you want a shot at winning a slick emblem, make sure you submit your video to the Community Creations page. I've also been updating the Community Legends playlist so you can always scroll through all the previews MOTW winners and bask in all their glory. Here are the next three to enter the hall of fame.

WINNER: A community collaboration.

Honorable Mention: More high speed art.

Honorable Mention: That's one in a million.

Soon.

Destiny: The Taken King will launch at 2AM Pacific on September 15th. We have some fun to have between now and then. We also have a lot of content to download. We'll be with you every step of the way.

It's been a great year. Hard to believe it's almost over. No tears, though. Destiny Year Two should be another ride worthy of your passion and feedback. I'm so ready to stop talking about The Taken King, and get to listening to your stories.

DeeJ, out.