Welcome to the Season of Plunder

This year’s Destiny 2 Showcase had quite a lot to show off. Of course, there were normal marketing talking points, like the introduction of Destiny skins to Fall Guys and Fortnite, but two much more impactful announcements took center stage of the showcase this year, which would be the release of Season 18, the Season of Plunder, and of course, the reveal trailer for the second to last expansion for Destiny 2, Lightfall.

While some of what is in store for the Season of Plunder has already been discussed, specifically the Arc 3.0 rework, much was left a mystery until today. Running from the 23rd of August to the 6th of December, the Season of Plunder sees the return of Eramis, the main threat of the previous Beyond Light expansion. Eramis and the rest of her space pirates have come to steal treasure and chew bubble gum, and no one knows if their physiology even allows chewing, much less if they have taste buds to enjoy gum flavoring, so they’re sticking to the pirate stuff. Board a space-ship with Spider, Mithrax, and Drifter and sail across the solar system, stopping Eramis’s ragtag gang of scallywags and launching yourself across the void via cannons, like in the Grasp of Avarice. Also making an appearance this season is a fan favorite raid from the original Destiny, King’s Fall. Free to play for all Destiny players, the redesigned King’s Fall will debut on August 26th with a minimum power requirement of 1560 and remain in contest mode for 24 hours, so now’s the time to prep if you want to grab the World First title.

Looking past the current season, Lightfall was also put on display in this showcase, and for good reason. The fanbase has been waiting with bated breath as to what the next major expansion will hold, and that wait, while not over, has certainly been alleviated by the reveal given during this showcase. Lightfall now has a definite release date, the 28th of February. Taking place in the cyberpunk-inspired capital of Neptune, guardians will have to face the combined might of Calus, their Shadow Legion, and the Witness, no longer content to hide in the shadows. They will be equipped with new Pyramid-enhanced weaponry, capable of sapping the strength of a guardian’s ability. Guardians will also need to face the Tormentors, Scythe wielding, Life Draining behemoths dedicated to the Pyramid. But the Guardians won’t be facing these new threats without anything up their sleeves, as the latest Dark power has been revealed as well. Strand gives all classes their own offensive tricks, missiles for Warlocks, claws for Titans, and a whip for Hunters. But that’s far from the extent of its powers, giving all classes a Spiderman-Esque traversal ability, swinging from ropes of green energy.

The future of Destiny in the canon may be one fraught with danger and on the brink of darkness, but the future of the game is looking particularly bright. The 3.0 subclass reworks have been a massive success, a fan favorite raid is almost here, and the Lightfall trailer has only increased the excitement for what lies ahead. There is a war coming guardians, and we’ll all need to prepare. In the meantime, once more unto the breach! There are pirates to fight.