The upcoming Destiny expansion, Rise of Iron, implements a new skeleton key system, which will alleviate grinding by allowing players to target specific loot.

Grinding for gear can be one of the worst experiences in gaming -- especially if long hours of hard work do not feel rewarding enough. Every Destiny player has suffered that disappointment at one time or another. Game Informer was recently allowed the opportunity to explore the action-RPG's next expansion a month before its release and posted a discussion of what the site discovered. Among the many subjects breached, loot was one of them, and it seems Bungie is introducing a new system to Destiny that will curb some of the loot grinding.

A new skeleton key system will be included with the expansion that will help players who are struggling to get the loot they want. Every time a player completes a Nightfall or participates in a strike playlist, they have a chance to receive a skeleton key. It is noted that the key will not drop in strikes that are selected individually.

Guardians can carry up to five keys and they can be used to open chests at the end of any strike, which will be available after its completion. This means players will not have to grind specific strikes, but instead have the freedom to play the ones they want. Those keys can then be used on the strikes that have loot a player desires. With all this new gear at their fingertips, players should remember to keep an eye on their vault space, as they will not be getting any more with the expansion.

With this system in place, the randomness of loot drops should diminish somewhat. While there will surely be some RNG to deal with, it should be easier to narrow down the loot table to something manageable, which will greatly expedite the journey to the new light level cap of 400.

The subject of loot was brought up shortly after discussing the expansion's new strike called Wretched Eye, which takes players on a journey through a series of silos. The path through the silos has the potential to change each time it is played and will add a little randomness to spice things up for players who get bored by the monotony of repeating the same strikes over and over. The end of the strike will find players facing off against SIVA-infected splicers.

SIVA is the name for a nanotechnology developed during Destiny's Golden Age, which has the ability to corrupt things it touches while also giving it a boost in power. A bunch of Fallen have gotten their many, many hands on SIVA and they have become what is now known as splicers. It should add an interesting twist to an already long-established race.

It appears as if Bungie has been listening to players a great deal and Rise of Iron feels like answer to their feedback. In addition to this new loot system, Bungie is also taking steps to make Iron Banner feel more rewarding, which was a popular complaint -- plus, some of the old Iron Banner gear will be made available again.

The new expansion looks to be loaded with new content, while also addressing some longstanding issues players have had with the game. All in all, news pouring in on Destiny: Rise of Iron has been predominantly positive. This is good news for fans who are feeling fatigue and great news for Bungie who will be banking of players returning to experience the new content.

Destiny: Rise of Iron is set to release on September 20, 2016 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Source: Game Informer