Crotas End Hard Mode Release Date

Although plenty of Destiny players are still regularly running Crota’s End in the hopes of picking up those last radiant shards they need for level 32, many are simply playing the waiting game. They know that Crota’s End hard mode is coming soon, and today Bungie confirmed it’s right around the corner.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Bungie says that hard mode for Crota’s End will launch on Wednesday, January 21st at 10am PST. Then, players can descend into the Hellmouth and be met with the biggest challenge Destiny has offered to date.

Just how challenging hard mode might be is unclear, though, as Bungie is keeping raid secrets close to the chest. The only thing we know for sure is that the raid will clock in at level 33, meaning players will need to be well prepared before trying out the raid. That means max level weapons and max level gear will be of the utmost importance, much like Vault of Glass on hard.

Bungie does make mention of healing yourself and others in their Weekly Update, which leads us to believe the “No Respawns/Revives” limitation will return for Crota’s End on hard. Aside from that, everything is mostly a mystery.

I can’t give you a playbook for how to end Crota this time. You don’t need my help, anyway. If you’ve experienced Hard Mode in Vault of Glass, you have some clues for how we can scale up a Raid. Prepare to take better care of your teammates. You’ll have fewer options for healing yourself, and each other. The enemies you’re about to face are stronger and more prone to temper tantrums. Be brave!

Despite the challenge, there’s no doubt millions of players will be trying Crota’s End on hard for a chance at scoring the raid’s exclusive loot. As with Vault of Glass, Crota’s End Hard Mode will be the only place to nab new raid primaries, as well as a new legendary ship. Each of the new primaries carries elemental damage (arc, solar, void) and should be plenty useful in all every facet of Destiny. Check each one out below.

Destiny - Abyss Defiant Raid Weapon

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Destiny - Fang of Ir Yut Raid Weapon

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Destiny - Oversoul Edict Raid Weapon

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Destiny - Word of Crota Raid Weapon

As far as the new ship, Bane of the Dark Gods, is concerned, it doesn’t look that much different from the Light in the Abyss ship that drops during Crota’s End on normal. The only major differences we can see are the spiny growths on the ship body and wings. It’s also worth mentioning that Hard Mode survivors will come away with a new shade called ‘Glowhoo’ but Bungie is not showing off the new color scheme just yet.

Destiny - Bane of Dark Gods Ship

And finally, the crown jewel of the entire Crota’s End Hard Mode is the Crux of Crota, a special consumable that will only drop during the final fight with Crota. On its own the Crux of Crota is fairly useless, but when put together with the Eidolon Ally (an upgraded version of the Husk of the Pit) it becomes the Necrochasm.

We don’t know much about the Necrochasm’s quality, but given its exotic status and rarity most assume it’s going to be one of, if not the, most powerful guns in the game. For all intents and purposes, it’s thought of as the new Vex Mythoclast.

Destiny - Necrochasm

Again, January 21st is only the tentative date, but it sounds as if Bungie is ready to go. The only thing left to do is finalize a patch that will go live on Tuesday the 20th and will seemingly do away with more of the Crota’s End exploits and hopefully fix some of its bugs.

Even so, with so many new pieces of loot to plunder, Crota’s End Hard Mode is no doubt going to become a staple of most Destiny players’ regular routine. Like Vault of Glass, we’re sure the experience will force players to develop new skills and strategies, but in the end the trouble should be more than worth it.

Are you eager to jump into Crota’s End on hard? How do you think Bungie will change the experience to make it more difficult?

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Source: Bungie