Destiny 2’s Latest Season is Just Around the Corner

The August 23rd release date for the as-of-yet unnamed Season 18 just keeps getting closer, and with Season of the Haunted almost wrapped up, we are starting to learn bits and pieces of what is planned. Previously, we covered the switch to skills-based matchmaking for the season 18 Crucible, but that is far from the only thing we have learned prior to the start of the season.

Right out of the gate, a World’s First race will be taking place mere days after the start of the season, on Friday, August 26th, with an expected power level of 1560. Unlike previous races, which were weekend affairs, going forward players can expect to see more Friday races, as it allows the developers to have greater oversight of the races, while also giving the devs back some of their free time. There is so far no word on what the raid will be, apart from the fact that it will be a raid from the Original Destiny making a reappearance, and that it isn’t Crota's End.

Also anticipated from the season is Bungie’s Arc 3.0 rework, completing the light subclass refurbishing. Bringing the Arc subclass into line with the other two means bringing in the fragment and aspect system and it’s a wealth of customization. Guardians who want to prepare for the upcoming season might want to invest in Arc-based exotics so they can get an Arc subclass online as soon as they’re ready.

Finally, there’s more news out of the PvP side of Destiny. Rift is being moved to the normal Crucible playlist from the Iron Banner, and in its place, the Iron Banner is gaining a new mode called Eruption. Eruption is based on Clash, Destiny’s basic team deathmatch mode. Eruption, however, is given a suitable Iron Banner twist. If your guardian kills or assist-kills two guardians without dying, they’ll be Surging, causing them to glow, kills will generate super, grenade, melee, and class energy, and kills count as 3 points instead of 1. Change that two kills/assists to 5, and your guardian will now be primed. You’ll glow more, gain more energy on kills, and your team will be ‘On the hunt', gaining some of your runoff energy. The tradeoff? You explode if you don’t kill someone every 15 seconds, you’re marked on the maps of allies and enemies alike, and enemies will get triple the points for killing you. This mode was originally given the name Streak Mayhem, and it’s clear to see why.

With so much to be excited about in Season 18 before the name has even been released yet, Destiny 2 looks like it’s got quite a few surprises in store for us as we enter another new chapter in the guardian’s story. Season 18 of Destiny 2 starts on Tuesday, August 23rd and the World First race for the as-of-yet unannounced new raid will take place on Friday, August 26th.