Destiny: The Taken King Out Today!

Destiny... Its been quite a first year. After getting hooked to the Alpha and subsequent Beta, I was desperate to get mu hands on the full experience on 9th September last year. It didn't let me down and Destiny became my game of choice for almost 6 months, which is incredible for a gamer like me. I went through the main story, then hit level 20. I even persevered with the Light system and managed to grind my way to high enough level to try out the Vault of Glass. I got halfway through with the fireteam I was with first time and it took another couple of months to be able to find the time to retry it.

I bought the expansion pass for both The Dark Below and House of Wolves. I eagerly waited for the content that the first expansion was going to bring. Then came the day it came out and I finished it in a hour and a half. This was the moment where I knew Destiny and I had a problem.


The grind for gear was killing me. Not being able to dedicate time to weekly raiding meant that I was having to take weeks to earn enough materials to upgrade one slot piece of equipment. The fun was fading. Then I eventually got together with a great group of people and we blasted through the Vault of Glass in on evening. The raid was finally done, although there was another one waiting for me, but finishing VoG had made me realise something. I think I was done with Destiny.



Of course, I came back in May when the second expansion launched. I played the story missions in about an hour and logged off. Then Bungie announced the Taken King and more importantly the price. £39.99 for an expansion! I was not impressed and vowed then and there to not get the Taken King in September. Destiny could go do one!

So here I am on the launch day of The Taken King and I am sat her clutching my copy of the Legendary edition, which features all of the stuff I already bought this year plus the new expansion. What happened between June and now for this to happen to me? Well let me tell you...

Year One, meet Year Two.

It started once Bungie started announcing the changes to Destiny coming for its second year. There were going to be changes to the way missions and bounties were handled. Changes to the currencies meant upgrading of gear and weapons could be easier. The one thing that got me though was the changes to that damn Light system. It is still there, but it no longer controls your level after hitting level 20. Instead your light level shows the power of your gear and weapons, more like a traditional RPG. Even more like a RPG you can now reach the new level cap of 40 by just earning XP by shooting enemies and completing missions. Finally, a system that will benefit the non-raid player.



Last week, Patch 2.0 was released and brought the changes of year two to all Destiny players before the launch of The Taken King. The first thing I need to note here is that I was able to take my level 31 Warlock to the cap of level 34 (level 40 is introduced with the new expansion) within 90 minutes. Months and months of endless, thankless grind turned into a 90 minute shooting spree on Mars. For the first time in a year of playing Destiny I was at max level! There was only one thing for me to do, try and get my poor lvl 11 Titan as far as possible in the time I had left. Last night, I finished this challenge with a lvl 24 Titan, close to the entry point for The Taken King.

By going back to a lower level alt, I was able to see the new quest system and tracking working. It is a massive improvement to the UI and the overall experience. This feels like the game Bungie promised. There are more surprises in store over the next few weeks. New vendor quests, Armsday, Rift in the Crucible and The Taken King itself. Take a look at the opening of The Taken King below and look for more streams on the TwoLittleGamers YouTube Gaming channel soon.