I have a confession to make, up until I was asked to review the Rise of Iron expansion I hadn’t touched Destiny in over a year. It wasn’t one particular thing more of a culmination of lots of little things that in the end saw my game time move elsewhere. It was a mixture, I think, of the grind coupled with the two rather underwhelming additions of the Dark Below and House of Wolves. By the time Bungie announced the Taken King my love for Destiny had waned and the upgrade paths just seemed to make a mockery of those who’d stuck by Destiny from day one. Despite good reviews from friends, who continued their Guardian’s journey through Bungie’s world I resisted having moved on and realising that I’d missed a lot in my time away.
Coming back, then, after such an extended period away was a revelation. It seemed that Bungie had very much listened to their community and the game that I was playing now was vastly different from the one I knew. For starters, I knew how to progress through the new storyline properly thanks to an appropriate entry under the progress tab. No longer did I have to guess where to go next to advance the story and not get caught out by taking on foes above my grade. The ability to track these too were helpful especially with questlines, like the one for the year 3 Gjallarhorn, that have multiple sections to tick off. It just made the whole thing a lot more straight forward allowing you more time to concentrate on eliminating the new foe; SIVA.
Not much is given away as to the backstory of SIVA and how it came to be the enemy it has become. However, what Rise of Iron does do is flesh out the history of the Iron Lords. Up until now, Lord Saladin was a peripheral figure wheeled out every time there was an Iron Banner tournament. Similar to Xûr he was a rather mysterious figure with only fleeting glances into his and the Iron Lords past through Destiny’s grimoire cards. However, we soon learn how the Iron Lords demise came about and what can happen when the Fallen get their hands on technology they don’t fully understand. It’s a two-hour campaign which is tight, straightforward and rarely challenges you but that’s fine as it’s the end-game content that pulls you. There are some fun quests in there, and the ability to acquire the mythical Gjallarhorn without leaning on luck or Xûr will no doubt please many players. The new enemies of spliced Fallen are interesting but nowhere near as unique as the adaptive Taken enemies from the Taken King. There’s also not quite the amusing interpersonal relationship like we had between Cayde and Zavalla, but the voicing of Lord Saladin did make me think I was working for Optimus Prime rather than an Iron Lord.
One overarching theme I got from the campaign was one of nostalgia. If rumours are true Bungie will cut the chord with Destiny 2 and no characters will be transferable. That makes the re-treading of old locations, specifically that of Earth, more understandable and the reflections of your Ghost more poignant. On more than one occasion your faithful companion will remind you of a great battle you won together, often against the odds. In fact, at the end of the mission to acquire the exotic rifle Khvostov 7G-0X (the original being the first ever weapon you use in Destiny) your Ghost asks you to look from a viewpoint. Here he goes over how far you’ve come as a team and, pulling at the heartstrings, thanks you for being his Guardian. It does feel like Bungie wants you to know that this is the end of Destiny in its current guise. This is not a bad thing overall but sometimes it is slathered on, then again I’m a sucker for nostalgia. I’m sure there are more players like me who at the mere thought of losing your character is enough to make you chop some onions. Heck, I found it hard enough dismantling some of my year one exotics because of the stories tied to them.
With the main game complete the end game content is plentiful. There’s fun yet very straight forward strike which introduces a unique ending where you have two ultra enemies but only one that you can defeat. It requires a team to work very well and with greater awareness as both foes can easily kill you even at higher light levels. Adding minions into the mix means you have to work hard to make sure no-one gets overwhelmed too quickly otherwise things will unravel, fast! We also have a new crucible mode of Supremacy which, if you’ve played Call of Duty’s kill confirmed, you’ll already have a good handle on how this works. It’s a 6v6 team deathmatch however for your kill to be acknowledged and points awarded you’ll need to pick up the fallen crest of your foe. You can also deny the opposition this satisfaction by collecting the crests of your fallen comrades. I’ve never been a great player in the crucible, but I must admit that I’ve found Supremacy amazingly good fun as it allows for those who aren’t as skilled at the kill like myself to operate in a support role and help the team to the objective.
In the end, though, it’s the new raid that everything is geared towards. Speaking of which gear was the one thing that frustrated me the most while playing Destiny. Don’t get me wrong there’s been a vast improvement on this front and knowing that, for the most part, any drops were likely to yield gear one to two light levels above my current one was handy but the grind from 350-355 was painful and 355+ hasn’t been that much fun either. When you consider the light level advised for the raid being 370 and most groups won’t consider Guardians under 360 it falls back into the old complaint that Destiny was just too much of a grind to enjoy. With the exploit of farming Omnigul now shutdown in a recent patch the only way to acquire better gear is by either playing Crucible, levelling your faction via bounties and missions in the new Plaguelands patrol area or just attempting the raid.
Though perhaps the most fun way is via Archon’s Forge which, much like the Court of Oryx is a public encounter found in the Plaguelands patrol area. Here SIVA offerings are presented and depending its type (Fused – Easy, Enhanced – Medium, Perfected – Difficult) will determine just how much of a challenge it’ll be. As long as you find a decent sized group of random public players, you’ll likely find all but the Perfected offerings a breeze. In one session I went with a group for sixteen straight encounters failing only once which was against a Perfected Servitor. Here loot drops are so plentiful that I had to busily dismantle green based gear that I’d picked up to create space for the next encounter. Each battle, no matter the level, is insane but in a fun way. If you do happen to be downed while playing, don’t respawn as you’ll need another new collectable, splicer keys, to re-enter, instead, wait and hope someone will resurrect you. After you’ve filled your boots till they’re bursting, you’ll then need to take a trip to the nearest Cryptarch. Hopefully, some or all of the engrams you’ve collected will be of use though tip to the wise. When doing so make sure you check the new gear if it’s a higher light level equip it before continuing with the next one because as you decrypt, it will take into account the level of your currently equipped gear.
Hopefully, it won’t take you too long to level your gear up to the point of being able to tackle the raid because this is where Destiny shows what’s possible now it no longer supports legacy consoles. Up until now, Destiny has had to constrain itself so that it can run on the XBox 360 and PS3. These platforms have now been dropped and as such Destiny can now make full use of the current generation’s power. What this means is more enemies, crazier set plays and a machine so delightfully insane that the community has nicknamed it the “Death Zamboni.” Despite not being able to complete the raid as yet it has been such a fun and engaging journey to the final enemy that I didn’t care having to repeat sections more than once. They were fun, and the teamwork required shows what Bungie can do when it can flex their muscles with a bit more grunt. While not as technical as some of the game’s previous raids I’d argue that it’s probably the most entertaining.
Destiny has come a long way since its launch, and while the community derided some of the changes as someone returning to the fold, it looks like the majority were for the better. The grind for better gear has always been there in Destiny, and nothing has changed in that respect. Even with a system designed to always make you feel like you’re progressing there are still plateaus that can take some time to get over. Despite all of this, however, if you’re an old player like me now’s an excellent time to come back. Better yet, if you’ve never played before, get the complete edition and treat yourself to a wealth of content built up over three years. There are faults with Rise of Iron, sure, but overall it’s a rip-roaringly good time and with enough content to keep you going until Destiny 2 hits next year.
