Get the full lowdown on everything related to Destiny's fall 2016 expansion, Rise of Iron, from the new story and multiplayer to the next raid and gear.

Destiny: Rise of Iron is set to launch September 20, 2016. After a string of leaks that revealed the expansion ahead of what Bungie intended, Destiny's next big expansion was officially revealed. It will contain a new story, strike, multiplayer map and mode, and a new raid. With all that comes a bevy of new weapons and gear to grind for.

Here's what you can expect from Rise of Iron this fall:

Story and PvE

The story of Rise of Iron, as revealed in the expansion's first trailer, will center around Lord Saladin and the Iron Lords. Destiny fans will know of Lord Saladin as the vendor that appears in the Tower for the monthly PvP event Iron Banner. Keen-eyed players will also recognize the Iron Lords from the event, as the gear earned from Iron Banner directly reference the Iron Lords—names like Felwinter, Colovance, and Efrideet.

In Rise of Iron, the Fallen have uncovered a technological virus called SIVA. The Fallen House of Devils have experimented with SIVA in the Cosmodrome and have spliced their own biology with it, becoming a new enemy faction, the Devil Splicers.

SIVA is also known as Iron's Bane because in fact it was the Iron Lords who fought against SIVA and banished it in the past. Now, Guardians will have to rise up with Lord Saladin, as he becomes a major PvE character in the world of Destiny, to fight back SIVA and the Fallen Devil Splicers as players become Iron Lord themselves.

Rise of Iron will include a new story campaign featuring a CG cinematics, new story missions, and new questlines. It will also take players to a new Patrol Zone known as The Plaguelands, a forbidden area of Old Russia behind the wall of the Cosmodrome that has been locked off for centuries by the Vanguard and the Iron Lords. Bungie has also said that a considerable amount of time has passed narratively between The Taken King and Rise of Iron. When players spawn into The Plaguelands, they will also be able to traverse the open space back to the Wall and Cosmodrome, which have changed very much from the locations players recognize in-game today.

The Plaguelands will also offer new Patrols and Public Events to complete.

New Social Space

In addition to a new Patrol Zone, Rise of Iron will add a new social space. Much like when House of Wolves added The Reef, this expansion will take players to Felwinter Peak, the past base of operations of the Iron Lords. But first, players will have to reclaim Felwinter Peak back from the Fallen.

Raid

As usual, Bungie is keeping the cards close to the chest with details of Destiny's new endgame activity. However, it is confirmed to be Fallen-themed, or more specifically, Devil Splicer themed and takes place in Old Russia.

The new raid will start in a Patrol Zone, likely The Plaguelands, similar to Destiny‘s first raid, Vault of Glass. Bungie will not be adding matchmaking to the raid, so players will continue to have to form their own groups, from friends or LFG sites.

Bungie will not discuss whether the new raid would feature a Normal Mode, Hard Mode, and Challenge Mode progression like King’s Fall from The Taken King. Bungie is also not planning on updating any of the old raids, as the development team is solely focused on Rise of Iron's raid.

Strikes

Bungie will add one new strike to the game in Rise of Iron, which has yet to be revealed. In addition, a handful of old strikes will be refreshed with the new Devil Splicer enemies, similarly to how some strikes were given the Taken treatment in The Taken King and the April Update.

The Crucible and PvP

Rise of Iron will bring an unannounced number of new maps. It will also add a new multiplayer mode. Bungie also keeps mentioning other "new features" coming to multiplayer, and promises to talk more about it on the road to launch.

New Armor and Weapons

The big news in terms of loot for this expansion is the return of Gjallarhorn. As a pre-order bonus, anyone who pre-orders Rise of Iron will get the Iron Gjallarhorn, a black and silver skinned version. However, every person can get an updated Gjallarhorn is Rise of Iron through a new quest.

Rise of Iron‘s creative director, Chris Barrett said that come September, players will go on a quest “to forge a new Gjallarhorn from the armor of fallen heroes.” From the story details that have been released it sounds like the exotic will be created from the armor of the Iron Lords, who take center stage in this expansion. It's unclear whether those who pre-order can get the classic white and gold version as well.

There is a whole lot of gear and weapons coming with Rise of Iron, just as players would expect, which includes new gear to earn from PvE, the raid, and Trials of Osiris. In the picture below, the Hunter is wearing the Trials of Osiris armor set, the Titan is in the SIVA-themed raid set, and the Warlock is in the Iron Lord set.

 

PlayStation Exclusives

As has been the case since Destiny's original launch, PlayStation 4 will get exclusives with Rise of Iron, although no details have been given on what content that includes.

Progression

Rise of Iron will raise the Light level cap, but Bungie has not revealed what that number is yet. The 1-to-1 Infusion system introduced in the April Update will continue through Rise of Iron, and it appears that much of the gear currently in the game will be able to be infused up to the new Light level.

Editions

Unlike The Taken King, Rise of Iron will not have a Collector's Edition. Destiny: Rise of Iron is available to pre-order right now for $30 on the PlayStation Store with the bonus of a Destiny: Rise of Iron Static Theme.

The expansion has a place on the Xbox Store, but is not yet available to actually pre-order yet.

Legacy Consoles

Rise of Iron marks the beginning of Destiny's Year 3, but it also marks the twilight for the game's time on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, which Bungie has labeled as Legacy Consoles. Bungie says 90% of Destiny players are on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, so it was time to move forward with those consoles as the primary focus.

Players on older consoles will also be losing access to live events, Trials of Osiris, and Iron Banner Crucible matches after sometime in August. Furthermore, Destiny‘s PS3 and Xbox 360 players will eventually not have the option to get individual exotic weapons and armor from Xur, but ought to still be able to purchase exotic and legacy exotic engrams, and consumable items as well.

In addition to the aforementioned content becoming defunct for Destiny‘s PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, the developers at Bungie also have plans to shut off “the majority of methods for purchasing Silver,” the action-MMO’s in-game currency and the studio’s microtransaction revenue stream, for legacy consoles. Fans on older systems should lose access to this feature in August as well.

This also means that Destiny players will no longer be able to upgrade seamlessly from PS3 to PS4 or Xbox 360 to Xbox One and carry over all of their progression. Quests they complete and gear they earn on one platform will be unique to that platform.

Bungie does say that systems will be put in place to allow players to upgrade their console and transfer their character over before that split happens.

Destiny: Rise of Iron will launch September 20, 2016 on PS4 and Xbox One.