Following a short video documentary about Destiny 2's Witch Queen DLC, where Bungie showed a bunch of the game's upcoming features, keen-eyed players have immediately jumped at the opportunity to hyper-analyze the footage. One result of this analysis was a screenshot of the overworld map of Savathûn's Throne World.
The screenshot itself doesn't actually feature the full map, as these are usually bigger than could fit on the screen in one go, but it does offer a few hints as to what players ought to expect when Destiny 2 Witch Queen comes out on February 22nd. Coincidentally, it also confirms the role of Mars in this particular DLC.
Namely, Mars seems to only be present in a very limited capacity in Witch Queen. Veteran players will remember that Mars was sunset in Destiny 2 when the Darkness Pyramids arrived towards the end of 2020, and some were hoping that the location would make a return with this DLC, as it's prominently featured in pre-release materials. Post-ViDoc interviews also confirmed that Mars would have a role similar to that of Phobos during The Taken King DLC.
According to the ViDoc, the Throne World of Hive God Savathûn is effectively a reflection of her psyche. Savathûn and her Lucent Brood will have stolen (or been given) the Light, which is very much at odds with the Hive's usual culture and behavior. The same can be said for her Throne World. Starting areas, such as the Quagmire swamp, will be twisted and torn between two extremes: the classic Hive architecture that's present in an unrevealed portion of the map, and the ornate Lucent architecture that starts off in the Florescent Canal.
Since Bungie only offered a quick screenshot of the starting loading zone in the Throne World patrol zone, much of the map was completely blacked out, including the location of the Wellspring activity in Witch Queen. Still, the presence of the Alluring Curtain area suggests that some portions of the patrol zone will not be visible on the map at all, much as is the case with most other Destiny 2 locations.
As part of the ViDoc celebrations, Bungie also announced the Season of the Risen for Destiny 2. Seemingly a direct continuation of the Witch Queen narrative, Season 16 will feature another team-up between the Vanguard and Caiatl's Loyalist Cabal, this time to take on the growing threat that the Lucent Brood poses Earth. Setting aside the fact that this promises a great setup for future content, it's also an interesting evolution of the lore, as Hive Lightbearers seem to be positioning themselves as a major threat to humanity even though both civilizations serve the same deity.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen launches on February 22nd for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series platforms.