[HTML1]

With Destiny getting ready to enter into its second year of life with The Taken King expansion, Bungie is planning a whole slew of changes to the game including a stronger narrative, a revamped leveling system, and new quest system. Outside of the increased vault space, the most exciting change may be the amount of new gear and weapons to find in the new expansion.

While eagle-eyed fans have spotted a new sword class weapons in the previous livestreams, Bungie remained tight lipped on the topic leaving fans to speculate. For a game that is focused on guns and shooting, the revelation of a melee style weapon being added into the mix certainly took fans by surprise. With the final livestream focusing on the Court of Oryx yesterday, fans of Destiny finally got the information and details they had been looking for on the new weapon type. Swords are indeed coming to The Taken King.

In addition to revealing new gameplay surrounding the Court of Oryx public events on The Dreadnaught, Bungie also made sure to equip at least one member of the Fireteam with a new sword class weapon. While speculation has been running rampant since the first livestream, fans now know that these weapons sit in the heavy weapon slot. Ammo is consumed on each successful hit, with an uppercut strike consuming more ammo than a normal swing. Based on the gameplay, each attack deals out a significant amount of damage justifying the weapons inclusion as a heavy weapon.

Previous streams briefly showed off a legendary sword named Arc Edge, but for the Court of Oryx reveal, Bungie opted for the Raze-Lighter, an exotic class sword. Able to dish out solar based damage, the Raze-Lighter also comes with a number of new perks including Solar-Forged Guard, which appears to allow the user the ability to guard against Arc and Void based attacks. Not only that, the sword enhances the player's armor when used, increases their damage output, and even grants Super energy for kills with the blade.

Even though viewers got a great first look at the sword and how it can be used, there's still a good amount of information players don't know. While the Raze-Lighter does provide additional armor for the user to help protect against enemies, will all swords have this ability to make up for the fact players will need to close the distance and fight up close? Being shot at while trying to run up to an enemy can leave players at a huge disadvantage, so these new blades will need to offer something to players that makes using them appealing.

It'll also be interesting to see how swords will integrate into the player versus player modes considering that Destiny is a game centered around guns and shooting enemies from a distance. Even though the Raze-Lighter appears fairly strong, will it be enough to go up against the current favorite and deadly weapons Crucible players are used to? Not only that, The Taken King is bringing a ton of new weapons into the game some of which Bungie has confirmed will prove to be more powerful than certain Year One exotics like the Gjallarhorn.

What do you guys think of the new sword class? A solid addition or a waste of a heavy slot? Let us know below in the comments.

Destiny: The Taken King hits Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 on September 15.

Source: MoreConsole