Dec 3, 2014 - Destiny Dev Team

The Dark Below releases on December 9th, 2014. This new content will expand the world of Destiny for some players. It will also change the experience of playing Destiny for all. To support the updates that will go live with the expansion, we have made changes to a number of systems that drive the game.





New Legendary Gear

Existing Legendary gear on display in the Tower will be replaced



New Legendary gear will feature higher Attack and Defense values



Legendary items will still require Ascendant Materials for upgrades



This new, more powerful gear will be available to all players of Destiny



Legendary gear will not be as powerful as new Raid gear or Exotics







New Rank Commendations

In addition to Crucible or Vanguard Marks, purchasing new Legendary items will require a Crucible or Vanguard Commendation



or Commendations are received in Reputation Reward Packages delivered by the Postmaster upon reaching a new Reputation Level



















Exotic Talent Changes

As part of the December 1 st Destiny Update, Exotic Armor and Weapons no longer require Ascendant Materials for upgrades



Destiny Update, Exotic Armor and Weapons no longer require Ascendant Materials for upgrades The final power node of all Exotic Gear will require an Exotic Shard



This new material is obtained by one of the following means:



Dismantling unwanted Exotics



Purchased from Xûr for 7 Strange Coins











New Exotic Upgrading

Exotic Gear in The Dark Below will have higher Attack and Defense values than current Exotic Gear. For players and their current caches of Exotics, a path will exist to bring them forward into The Dark Below.

Starting December 9 th , Xûr will offer players the opportunity to upgrade Exotics to the higher Attack and Defense values



, Xûr will offer players the opportunity to upgrade Exotics to the higher Attack and Defense values Upgrading an Exotic in this way will require an Exotic Shard



The upgrade will reset the progression invested into the item



Each week, Xûr will possess a selection of upgrades for existing Exotics in his inventory









Crucible (PvP) Changes

Expansion I will include two new exclusive competitive playlists



New Crucible arenas ( Pantheon , Skyshock , and The Cauldron ) will be featured in map rotation



, , and ) will be featured in map rotation Playlists available in the Director will change week over week



Experiences will alternate between 12 and 6 player engagements



Map rotation will alternate between focusing solely on new expansion arenas and including original launch maps in the mix











Heroics and Nightfall (PvE) Changes

With the Light level increase to 32, Heroics and Nightfalls will be increased by 2 Light levels to keep up with new content, level increases, and gear items







New Raid: Crota's End

The new Raid, Crota's End, will unlock on December 9th



Players at Light level 30 can lead a Fireteam immediately upon release



The reward system in Crota's End will address some issues reported in the Vault of Glass:



Raid loot in Crota's End will drop at a higher rate



New Raid gear will contain a wider variety of potential perks



Weapons and Gear from Crota's End will not require Ascendant materials for upgrades



Radiant Shards and Radiant Energy acquired in the Raid will be used to upgrade new Raid gear



Unwanted weapons and gear from Crota's End will dismantle into Radiant materials



Primary weapons will only drop in the harder version of Crota's End, released sometime in January





We are hopeful about the changes we're making to the way Raid loot works. We look forward to watching the streamers attempt to become the world first to complete the new Raid. Good luck!