So I'm not thrilled with Rise of Iron so far, but there is 1 element of it that I absolutely love. I feel like there has been a subtle, but noticeable, tonal shift with this expansion. Destiny has always had this great fantasy/sci-Fi blend. I feel like RoI is leaning ever so slightly more into the Fantasy side of that blend, and I'm amazed by how big a difference it is making for me. Felwinter Peak is a huge part of it. This ancient, spartan (in the Greek sense) fortress feels like home to me in a way that the Tower never has. Seeing Guardians with more medieval armor and magic broadswords... something about all of this just clicks for me.

It's not just the visual stuff... the storytelling in RoI has a distinct "fantasy" feel to me as well. Reclaiming the mantle of long-lost heroes, inheriting their legendary weaponry and armor, its all classic fantasy tropes and I love it.

I think that in the past, fantasy was worked into Destiny as a way to justify or explain stuff that the player wouldn't otherwise understand. Things like "darkness zones" or "the light" or "the oversoul". We just rationalize that stuff by telling ourselves "oh yeah, this is a fantasy game" or "space-magic!". Of course, the grimoire delves far deeper into the fantasy elements of the Destiny universe, but we all know where that conversation goes (It's not actually "in the game", etc). Korny mentioned the similarity between some RoI's storytelling and the subclass quests from TTK, and I think he's right on the money. I love those quests, because it felt like we were seeking out these ancient powers, and in some cases coming into contact with legendary guardians from the past (at least their voice). Most of Destiny up until now has hinted at the history of the world, but never rooted our experience as a player within that history. RoI is changing that.

All this stuff sparks my imagination for future possibilities in a way that none of the previous expansions have done. I think that continuing to lean slightly further into the "fantasy" side of the game could open up fun activities or gameplay mechanics. After completing the Gjallarhorn quest, I was struck by the desire to go a step beyond and create my own weapon. Something I could actually design and name and infuse with its own unique powers. I know that sounds impractical, but I think it would be awesome if there was some kind of mechanic in place that allowed this (obviously with limitations in place so that we couldn't create anything crazy overpowered). What if you could then gift, trade, or sell those weapons to other players?

I also found myself thinking about the social spaces we have at this point in the game, and wondering what it would be like to have hubs dedicated to each class of Guardian. I could easily see Felwinter Peak being the fortress of the Titans, while the Warlocks hide away in the solitude of the Lighthouse, searching for answers to the mysteries of the Vex. The tower could still act as a central hub and the home of the Vanguard. We're slowly discovering that there are in fact several, perhaps many Guardians out there who do not operate as members of the Vanguard. I'd love to see the idea of various factions expanded upon. Explore the way they work together, and the ways in which they find themselves at odds with each other, even clash from time to time.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this stuff?

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I thought so too, although it also occurred to me that it might be cool if the Hunters had a mobile base of operations. I don't know if you ever played Splinter Cell Blacklist, but in that game Sam Fisher and his team operate out of an airplane that never lands and is fully equipped with a war room, recon and intelligence teams, an armory, equipment workshop, and takes them directly from mission to mission. Something like that seems like a cool fit for the Hunters :)

I think it would be a lot of fun to do a "flash back" mission. We have heard so many pieces about our past but nothing solid. All I know is that shit happened and we have only kinda learned from it. I would love to have a mission where we are playing as an old school guardian. It doesn't have to be a whole expansion, just one mission that gives us a feel what it was like and maybe explain some lore from the past by playing it out!

I think it would be a lot of fun to do a "flash back" mission. We have heard so many pieces about our past but nothing solid. All I know is that shit happened and we have only kinda learned from it. I would love to have a mission where we are playing as an old school guardian. It doesn't have to be a whole expansion, just one mission that gives us a feel what it was like and maybe explain some lore from the past by playing it out!

That could be a really cool way to start a new game or expansion.

Imagine if The Dark Below began by putting us into the shoes of a Guardian who fought in the massive battle against Crota's forces on the moon. You get to actually experience the battle. The mission ends with the death of your surrogate Guardian. Then, the game brings you back to "current day", back to your Guardian, and the story begins.

I think it would be a lot of fun to do a "flash back" mission. We have heard so many pieces about our past but nothing solid. All I know is that shit happened and we have only kinda learned from it. I would love to have a mission where we are playing as an old school guardian. It doesn't have to be a whole expansion, just one mission that gives us a feel what it was like and maybe explain some lore from the past by playing it out!

That could be a really cool way to start a new game or expansion.

Imagine if The Dark Below began by putting us into the shoes of a Guardian who fought in the massive battle against Crota's forces on the moon. You get to actually experience the battle. The mission ends with the death of your surrogate Guardian. Then, the game brings you back to "current day", back to your Guardian, and the story begins.

It's kinda like an assassin's creed feel to it. You know you are going to die, but that is irrelevant. It also gives you the actual feel of what it is like to be those early guardians. Like what if you could play the last moments of the Iron Wolves? Or someone in Eris's fireteam when they went below? Or anyone in the fireteam that went into the Vault of Glass? That would be freaking awesome.

I just think it would be a great way to help give believable importance to our past history. If we can actually FEEL what it was like to live those moments. That guardians can die or at least get lost in time or whatever. Right now I feel like we are an unstoppable force that is immortal. This expansion has helped a little bit with that.

[Edit]
Validity is the word I was looking for :-) Most of the time I read the story and I'm like "ahh that's cool but whatever" Actually playing as those characters that are supposed to be the foundation of the current story line would give what I'm currently doing more validity.

I think it would be a lot of fun to do a "flash back" mission. We have heard so many pieces about our past but nothing solid. All I know is that shit happened and we have only kinda learned from it. I would love to have a mission where we are playing as an old school guardian. It doesn't have to be a whole expansion, just one mission that gives us a feel what it was like and maybe explain some lore from the past by playing it out!

That could be a really cool way to start a new game or expansion.

Imagine if The Dark Below began by putting us into the shoes of a Guardian who fought in the massive battle against Crota's forces on the moon. You get to actually experience the battle. The mission ends with the death of your surrogate Guardian. Then, the game brings you back to "current day", back to your Guardian, and the story begins.

It's kinda like an assassin's creed feel to it. You know you are going to die, but that is irrelevant. It also gives you the actual feel of what it is like to be those early guardians. Like what if you could play the last moments of the Iron Wolves? Or someone in Eris's fireteam when they went below? Or anyone in the fireteam that went into the Vault of Glass? That would be freaking awesome.

I just think it would be a great way to help give believable importance to our past history. If we can actually FEEL what it was like to live those moments. That guardians can die or at least get lost in time or whatever. Right now I feel like we are an unstoppable force that is immortal. This expansion has helped a little bit with that.

There's potential to tie that into the in-game characterization a little, too. The grimoire has already made nods to the fact that to outsiders, the Guardians look like a group of murderous, psychotic space pirates who slaughter everything in the past in their search for loot. What if these flashback missions were tied to our Guardians finding a new source of information and learning about their history in detail for the first time? It could be a way for Destiny to finally have some form of actual character development for our own Guardians, as they go through this sobering experience.

I think it would be a lot of fun to do a "flash back" mission. We have heard so many pieces about our past but nothing solid. All I know is that shit happened and we have only kinda learned from it. I would love to have a mission where we are playing as an old school guardian. It doesn't have to be a whole expansion, just one mission that gives us a feel what it was like and maybe explain some lore from the past by playing it out!

That could be a really cool way to start a new game or expansion.

Imagine if The Dark Below began by putting us into the shoes of a Guardian who fought in the massive battle against Crota's forces on the moon. You get to actually experience the battle. The mission ends with the death of your surrogate Guardian. Then, the game brings you back to "current day", back to your Guardian, and the story begins.

It's kinda like an assassin's creed feel to it. You know you are going to die, but that is irrelevant. It also gives you the actual feel of what it is like to be those early guardians. Like what if you could play the last moments of the Iron Wolves? Or someone in Eris's fireteam when they went below? Or anyone in the fireteam that went into the Vault of Glass? That would be freaking awesome.

I just think it would be a great way to help give believable importance to our past history. If we can actually FEEL what it was like to live those moments. That guardians can die or at least get lost in time or whatever. Right now I feel like we are an unstoppable force that is immortal. This expansion has helped a little bit with that.

There's potential to tie that into the in-game characterization a little, too. The grimoire has already made nods to the fact that to outsiders, the Guardians look like a group of murderous, psychotic space pirates who slaughter everything in the past in their search for loot. What if these flashback missions were tied to our Guardians finding a new source of information and learning about their history in detail for the first time? It could be a way for Destiny to finally have some form of actual character development for our own Guardians, as they go through this sobering experience.

Yeah, I would love to know more about the Tower characters. Especially Cayde, Ikora and Zavala. Why are they leaders? I know they did some amazing things in the past. but that's about all I know about them. I'm supposed to trust and follow their orders because... reasons.

I think it would be a lot of fun to do a "flash back" mission. We have heard so many pieces about our past but nothing solid. All I know is that shit happened and we have only kinda learned from it. I would love to have a mission where we are playing as an old school guardian. It doesn't have to be a whole expansion, just one mission that gives us a feel what it was like and maybe explain some lore from the past by playing it out!

I agree, it would be a lot of fun to play out some of those scenarios. At the very least Rise has connected us through a cinematic which is loads better than what we've been given in the past expansions.

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Maybe I just don't read enough grimoires but... I totally envisioned a dude.

Also, I still think of a chick when I hear Zavala.

I think it would be a lot of fun to do a "flash back" mission. We have heard so many pieces about our past but nothing solid. All I know is that shit happened and we have only kinda learned from it. I would love to have a mission where we are playing as an old school guardian. It doesn't have to be a whole expansion, just one mission that gives us a feel what it was like and maybe explain some lore from the past by playing it out!

I got a very strong Diablo 2 vibe from Rise of Iron (Arreat Summit and the Barbarian Guardians, Tal Rasha locking away Baal's essence in the tomb, fighting the three Barbarians, etc), but one of the things Diablo 2 did well was with the flashback cinematics.

If you haven't played it, the hero from the first game is corrupted by Diablo's essence. This hero seeks out a guide to lead him to his ultimate goal, and the game is told as flashback from the guide's perspective. Your character is chasing Diablo, and is always one step behind. So, you get to a town, see it's all messed up, complete the quests and beat the act boss, then you see a cutscene of what Diablo dd there as told by the guide, which contextualizes what you see.

It was a great way to do it.

I think it would be a lot of fun to do a "flash back" mission. We have heard so many pieces about our past but nothing solid. All I know is that shit happened and we have only kinda learned from it. I would love to have a mission where we are playing as an old school guardian. It doesn't have to be a whole expansion, just one mission that gives us a feel what it was like and maybe explain some lore from the past by playing it out!

That could be a really cool way to start a new game or expansion.

Imagine if The Dark Below began by putting us into the shoes of a Guardian who fought in the massive battle against Crota's forces on the moon. You get to actually experience the battle. The mission ends with the death of your surrogate Guardian. Then, the game brings you back to "current day", back to your Guardian, and the story begins.

It's kinda like an assassin's creed feel to it. You know you are going to die, but that is irrelevant. It also gives you the actual feel of what it is like to be those early guardians. Like what if you could play the last moments of the Iron Wolves? Or someone in Eris's fireteam when they went below? Or anyone in the fireteam that went into the Vault of Glass? That would be freaking awesome.

I just think it would be a great way to help give believable importance to our past history. If we can actually FEEL what it was like to live those moments. That guardians can die or at least get lost in time or whatever. Right now I feel like we are an unstoppable force that is immortal. This expansion has helped a little bit with that.

[Edit]
Validity is the word I was looking for :-) Most of the time I read the story and I'm like "ahh that's cool but whatever" Actually playing as those characters that are supposed to be the foundation of the current story line would give what I'm currently doing more validity.

Oh man: Every dead ghost you find should play a 5 second clip of the final moments of the guardian whose ghost it was. That would be awesome, and terrifying, and could also be a vector for teaching us boss mechanics or teasing new enemies or weapons.

Oh man: Every dead ghost you find should play a 5 second clip of the final moments of the guardian whose ghost it was. That would be awesome, and terrifying, and could also be a vector for teaching us boss mechanics or teasing new enemies or weapons.

That would be a great idea. At the very least an audio clip.

Oh man: Every dead ghost you find should play a 5 second clip of the final moments of the guardian whose ghost it was. That would be awesome, and terrifying, and could also be a vector for teaching us boss mechanics or teasing new enemies or weapons.

That would be a great idea. At the very least an audio clip.

Does that mean every time someone resurrects me in the Vault of Glass they'd get to watch me fall off the edge? Sooooory guys. No flawless raider.

Oh man: Every dead ghost you find should play a 5 second clip of the final moments of the guardian whose ghost it was. That would be awesome, and terrifying, and could also be a vector for teaching us boss mechanics or teasing new enemies or weapons.

That would be a great idea. At the very least an audio clip.

Does that mean every time someone resurrects me in the Vault of Glass they'd get to watch me fall off the edge? Sooooory guys. No flawless raider.

Or every time you pass a downed ghost in trials you hear their death wail.

Oh man: Every dead ghost you find should play a 5 second clip of the final moments of the guardian whose ghost it was. That would be awesome, and terrifying, and could also be a vector for teaching us boss mechanics or teasing new enemies or weapons.

That would be a great idea. At the very least an audio clip.

Does that mean every time someone resurrects me in the Vault of Glass they'd get to watch me fall off the edge? Sooooory guys. No flawless raider.

Or every time you pass a downed ghost in trials you hear their death wail.

Game now rated M for profanity.

Oh man: Every dead ghost you find should play a 5 second clip of the final moments of the guardian whose ghost it was. That would be awesome, and terrifying, and could also be a vector for teaching us boss mechanics or teasing new enemies or weapons.

That would be a great idea. At the very least an audio clip.

Does that mean every time someone resurrects me in the Vault of Glass they'd get to watch me fall off the edge? Sooooory guys. No flawless raider.

Or every time you pass a downed ghost in trials you hear their death wail.

Game now rated M for profanity.

Guardian 1: Is that flatline sound his heart?
Gaurdian 2: No, that's just Destiny censoring his last moments

I've got a baaaaaaaad feeling about this.

Oh man: Every dead ghost you find should play a 5 second clip of the final moments of the guardian whose ghost it was. That would be awesome, and terrifying, and could also be a vector for teaching us boss mechanics or teasing new enemies or weapons.

That would be a great idea. At the very least an audio clip.

Does that mean every time someone resurrects me in the Vault of Glass they'd get to watch me fall off the edge? Sooooory guys. No flawless raider.

Or every time you pass a downed ghost in trials you hear their death wail.

"Don't worry guys, I can take him. (pow)"

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Maybe I just don't read enough grimoires but... I totally envisioned a dude.

Also, I still think of a chick when I hear Zavala.

I knew for certain that she was a chick a good while before Rise of Iron dropped, but I can't remember how or why. Must have been a Grimoire or interview somewhere, but it stuck with me, as Jolder's Hammer was my favorite Machine Gun of Year 1, so I'm pretty partial to her (Dang right I got the Memory of Jolder).

I'm glad that she wasn't no scrub...

I knew for certain that she was a chick a good while before Rise of Iron dropped, but I can't remember how or why. Must have been a Grimoire or interview somewhere, but it stuck with me, as Jolder's Hammer was my favorite Machine Gun of Year 1, so I'm pretty partial to her (Dang right I got the Memory of Jolder).

I'm glad that she wasn't no scrub...

Yeah they mentioned it in one of the videos leading up to Rise of Iron. My mind is remembering an interview type setting, possibly the Twitch stream with the story team?

Yep. The story team. They had some little rhyme for her. Something like: Beauty and grace who will punch you right square in the face.