This week has already proven to be a big one for Destiny fans as the first official piece of art was released yesterday by Bungie for Destiny 2. While the developer has yet to share any details on its upcoming shooter, the art does appear to depict The Last City, located under the Traveler orb, to be on fire, perhaps due to an attack. Could this line up with the recent rumors suggesting the Cabal lead a strike force against the Tower?

While fans continue to wait for initial details, the long awaited final update for Destiny arrives today as well. Age of Triumph celebrates players and their accomplishments throughout the past three years by offering a massive record book to complete. In addition to new quests, loot that includes elemental primaries, and new daybreak strikes, all four raids have been completely revamped and updated with new challenges, new gear sets, and a higher difficulty to help get players to maximum light level.

Not content to stop there, Bungie is also providing a few quality of life updates for the aging shooter which include new Nightfall modifiers, a refurbished Prison of Elders, streamline Crucible playlists, and much more.

There's a ton of new stuff to investigate this week with the new update so here's a closer look at what players can expect when they log in during the week of March 28, 2017.


Events & Raid Challenges


While there hasn't been too much to discuss here the past couple of weeks, the long awaited final content update known as Age of Triumph is finally here. The three year retrospective celebration brings back a whole lot of content from previous years including updated gear and weapons. For many, the most appealing aspect is the fact that each of the raids have been updated and refreshed for players nearing the max light level. Each raid will have its own specific challenges to complete as well, just like Wrath of the Machine.

With the update finally here, a new Weekly Featured Raid playlist is now active, similar to what players have come to expect with the Nightfall or SIVA Crisis Heroic Strike playlist. Each week, the featured raid will rotate, giving players one week to earn loot from that raid until it swaps out once again. This week however, players can get their first shot at a revitalized Crota and his challenges in Crota's End. Your two active challenges this week involve Crota and the Deathsinger.


Weekly Vanguard Nightfall


Before the update it appeared Guardians would be heading back to taken on the Taken and the Nexus Mind, but the update switched things up after Age of Triumph launched. This week in the newly added Vanguard Nightfall, guardians are actually taking on Taniks Perfected in the recently remastered Shadow Thief strike.

Whiel the strike remains largely the same, a big difference here are the additions of traps and Hive enemies, mixed in with the devil splicers. Players will also see SIVA nodes scattered around the level, though the process remains the same: damage Taniks each time he appears to force him to retreat deeper into the level.

Other changes to this strike since the remaster include the Devil Walker being replaced by a Perfected Walker, along with an ongoing battle between Hive and Fallen forces and a pair of Shriekers floating in the back to punish players for pushing too far in. Finally, upon reaching the final room, Taniks tends to teleport around the room more frequently than he did in the old version of the strike. Once his health reaches certain levels, SIVA nodes and waves of enemies will begin to flood the room, making things a bit more tense and hectic than before.

The modifiers this week are also pretty new and may be a bit different from what players may be expecting. In an interesting move, all three burns are active which should be a wild time, but remember that damage goes both ways so while players can dish out punishment, they'll also take more of it now as well. Daybreak makes its debut here as well along with Ironclad to round things out.

  • Void Burn boosts all void based damage from all sources.
  • Solar Burn boosts all solar based damage from all sources.
  • Arc Burn boosts all arc based damage from all sources.
  • Ironclad disables player radar.
  • Daybreak combines the former Epic modifier and adds in Mayhem, so Crucible players should be fairly familiar with the significant reduction in cooldowns.

SIVA Crisis Heroic Strike Playlist


The SIVA Crisis Heroic Strike playlist on the other hand, continues to sport the old modifiers the Nightfall formerly held prior to the update. Arc Burn is active this week, so players should follow the same tactics as they normal would, though in this case since elemental primary weapons have returned, players have more options than the Zhalo. The other active modifiers this week are Heroic, Specialist, and Juggler.

  • Like every week, Heroic buffs enemies, making them more aggressive and in greater numbers than normal.
  • Arc Burn amplifies damage from all arc sources.
  • Specialist boosts special weapon damage while reducing damage for primary and heavy weapons.
  • Juggler prevents ammo from dropping for player's currently equipped weapon. Therefore, players should constantly switch to force ammo to spawn for the off weapons.

Unfortunately for players still looking to complete their Lantern, Crystalline, and Snow Angel Dawning armor sets, those Treasures of the Dawning rewards are now gone, replaced by the usual 30 Legendary Marks and experience. Also, don't forget that those rare Skeleton Keys have a better chance at dropping in the SIVA Heroic Crisis playlist outside of finishing the Nightfall, which grants one automatically each week.


Crucible Playlist


The Crucible playlist has received a makeover of sorts, offering players a choice with rotating gametypes. The Weekly Features Gametypes are available right on the director screen in the normal Weekly Crucible spot each week. This new playlist has the following game modes:

  • Combined Arms
  • Zone Control
  • Mayhem Clash
  • Mayhem Rumble
  • Doubles

Alternatively, players can find a completely different set of game modes from the Crucible node on the director. The Weekly Playlist Gametypes alternate between each other each week during the reset including:

  • Control or Clash
  • Rift or Supremacy
  • Skirmish or Salvage
  • Rumble or Rumble Supremacy

This week, the Weekly Features Gametype is Zone Control and Mayhem Rumble while Weekly Playlist Gametypes cycles between Control and Clash.


Tower and Iron Temple Bounties


First things first, head over to the Iron Temple where a whole heap of new things to is waiting for players starting with the Cryptarch Tyra Karn. She's once again offering one fo three Iron Lord Artifacts for players who are willing to perform good deeds around the Plaguelands. In exchange she offers a token to redeem on: Memory of Jolder, Memory of Skorri, and Memory of Silimar.

  • Memory of Jolder completely removes the sprint cooldown.
  • Memory of Skorri greatly increases the super recharge for nearby allies when the players super meter is full.
  • Memory of Silimar grants a damage over time resistance to players inside the Crucible.

The Vanguard Scout, Shiro-4, should also be a visit before leaving to start his weekly Plaguelander quest. As usual, players will need to complete various patrol missions in and around the Plaguelands. Unlike the past few weeks, Shiro's four Iron Lord bounties are focusing more on the Plaguelands rather than Archon's Forge. This week, Shiro is featuring: Crushing Blows, Stay Down, Together We Rise, and Archon's Forge: Captains.

  • Crushing Blows tasks players with using the Iron Battle Axe or other enemy power weapon in the Plaguelands to kill 100 Splicer enemies.
  • Stay Down tasks players with taking out a percentage of Fallen Splicer enemies.
  • Together We Rise requires players to complete five public events in the Plaguelands.
  • Archon's Forge: Captains requires players to complete four Captain encounters inside of Archon's Forge.

Don't forget that finishing these bounties are the only way to have a slight chance at starting the Thorn exotic quest line. It's one of four that is needed to finish off the four exotic quests in the Rise of Iron record book.

Before jumping into an activity, make sure to stop by the Tower to visit the Crucible handler himself, Lord Shaxx. The Titan has two Crucible bounties this week focusing on Control and Supremacy. Here's how to complete each bounty this week:

  • Taking Control requires players to finish seven Control matches, get 30 advantage kills (when you team had more control points), capture 15 points, and capture point B first in a match once.
  • A Hunt for Glory needs players to finish 7 matches, earn 50 kills, capture 30 kill credits, and deny another 20 credits.

Continue down the hallway to speak to Commander Zavala who has not changed at all after the update, still handing out his usual three strike bounties to players. As expected, Sunrise and Strike Elite are once again there for players, with the third one bringing back Merciless. Here's what players need to do this week:

  • Sunrise - Earn a Gold Tier Medal before time expires in the Nightfall Strike.
  • Merciless - Complete strikes in the SIVA Crisis playlist and quickly kill 9 enemies to earn the Rampage medal. Do this three times with primary weapon, twice with secondary, and once with heavy weapons to finish the bounty.
  • Strike Elite - Earn 9 Gold Tier, Silver Tier, or Bronze Tier Medals.

For players not interested in the Nightfall, these weekly Strike and Crucible bounties are alternative ways to earn Nightfall tier rewards and loot that will help get closer to that maximum light level of 400. As always, the Icebreaker exotic quest has a small chance to be started by turning in the Sunrise bounty each week.


 Challenge of the Elders


Last but certainly not least, Prison of Elders has all new modifiers this week so head over there to see Variks at the Reef to get started. Keep in mind that the Challenge of the Elders continues to offer gear from the House of Wolves, along with weapons and even Sterling Treasure boxes. For Guardians working on the Elder's Sigil in the Challenge of the Elders or the new 390 version from the Director, the modifiers for this week are: Berserk, Chaff, and a bonus for getting melee kills.

  • Berserk prevents all enemies from flinching even after taking massive damage from players.
  • Chaff disables player radar.
  • All Melee Kills award bonus points.

As always, stay safe out there Guardians!

Destiny: Rise of Iron is available now for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.