One of the next checkpoints on the roadmap for Destiny 2's Season of Dawn is something called Empyrean Foundation. It is getting a lot of attention because it is one of the few things left in Season of Dawn, and Bungie has yet to reveal the details about what Empyrean Foundation even is. Could it be an event? Or another obelisk-like landmark for players to interact with? Is it narrative content?
Nothing official is known about Empyrean Foundation; however, thanks to datamined information, Destiny 2 players have a pretty good idea about at least some of what the Empyrean Foundation entails. Bungie is set to officially reveal more information this week, but ahead of that, fans are expecting that Empyrean Foundation will be the transition point between Season of Dawn and Season 10.
Ushering in Season of the Worthy & Trials of Osiris
When developer Bungie spoke about the future of Destiny 2, there was mention of how one season will transition into the next. That happened last season with the Final Assault event. Despite that transitional moment not going over very well with fans who were disappointed with how little Final Assault actually changed or impacted the actual gameplay, it did push the narrative forward. As the story goes, players destroying the Undying Mind in Season of the Undying set into motion the events now occurring in Season of Dawn, which finds the Cabal trying to manipulate time on Mercury.
The most recent datamined information clearly points towards Empyrean Foundation being this season's version of Final Assualt. In practice, what Empyrean Foundation will task players with will be much different than Final Assault; however, it seems very evident that Empyrean Foundation is the next narrative beat that will propel the ongoing story forward into Season 10 (now known to be called Season of the Worthy), and ultimately usher in the return of Trials of Osiris.
The Empyrean nomenclature fits in well with Osiris, Mercury, the Lighthouse, and Trials of Osiris. The word empyrean relates to heaven, most notably the highest part of heaven. According to Wikipedia, "in ancient cosmologies, the Empyrean Heaven, or simply the Empyrean, was the place in the highest heaven, which was supposed to be occupied by the element of fire."
Based on the newest datamined information, donating to the Empyrean Foundation toward the Empyrean Restoration effort will, in the end, light the flames of the original Lighthouse and usher in the return of Trials of Osiris.
A New Destiny 2 Tribute Hall
The one piece of information that players have known about Empyrean Foundation for quite some time is that it is connected to a secret Triumph that is unlocked when players donated 5,000 Polarized Fractaline to the Empyrean Foundation.
This has caused many players to speculate that the Empyrean Foundation could function similarly to the Tribute Hall from Season of Opulence, which in essence is a resource sink that gives players a reason to use their built-up materials and resources. With the Empyrean Foundation coming later in the season, many players are likely to have a surplus of the seasonal material Polarized Fractaline, and this event should give players something to do with it.
Seasonal Catch-Up in Destiny 2
In addition to requiring players to offload their resources, it appears that the Empyrean Foundation will also offer items or buffs that will help players finish up some of their Season of Dawn pursuits. The database contains an exotic item called Light-Fused Fractaline, which is described as being part of the Empyrean Restoration effort and will increase the resonance rank of any obelisk by one rank. Otherwise, players have to spend 200 Polarized Fractaline to rank up one resonance level.
There is also a new currency in the database called Empyrean Light, which reads: "Light generated by the Tower Obelisk and the power it gathers from other obelisks. May be used to fuel the Empyrean Restoration effort or to purchase buffs, consumables, and restoration pursuits. Generated weekly." And finally, there is an item called Empyrean Donation that progresses any timelost bounties currently in players' inventory.
There is sure to be more specifics to be revealed about Empyrean Foundation later this week, but as of now, this is everything that is currently known about the event coming February 4th.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.