In the meantime, it is probably a good idea to brush up on all the changes: they are massive.
I won’t list all the patch notes here, but I will go over the biggest, most significant changes and give tips and advice on how to prepare for The Taken King.
This guide will go over the big changes in the Destiny 2.0 update including:
Gear, Stat, and Light changes - Details on gear changes, new types of gear, how stats are different, and changes to the light system. Quests, Bounties, and Story - Details on the new quest system, changes to bounties, and how the story is affected. Vendor and Inventory Changes - Details on the Gunsmith, Speaker, and more. Crucible Changes - Details on Crucible changes, including the preview event for a new mode. Preparing for The Taken King - Tips on what to do before the launch on 9/15.
Gear, Stat, and Light Changes
These are huge changes, so let me break it down.
Player level and Light level are completely separate now. You now get levels strictly from experience, and your light level is an average of all your equipped weapons and armor. Players who were already past level 20 are converted to the level of their highest Light level gear. Attack and Defense values on gear have been changed. Armor and Weapon values are now the same to keep things simple and the max year 1 values are now 170. Your weapons and armor are still as strong as they were, they are just changing the system. New slots have been added. There is a new artifact slot unlocked at level 40. Ghosts and Class items now give defense values and are added to your average light level.
Stats display has changed. Each stat, (intellect, strength, and discipline) now shows the total you have, the length of the cooldown, the tier level, and how much you need to get to the next tier.
There was also a huge weapon rebalancing that I won’t post here, but you can read about in the official patch notes.
Quests, Bounties, and Story
Another big change is the introduction of the quest system. Year one activities have been converted to a quest system, which separates the story and other things into quest lines.
A new quest tab was added between roster and character on the menu. You can now track quests and bounties by selecting track while hovering over them. You can also hover over quests and press details to get more information on the quests, including the steps. You now turn in bounties from the quest screen. Bounty slots increased to 16. All incomplete bounties before the update were abandoned, except for exotic bounties. These were auto-completed. You can redo the story by going to the abandoned quests terminal near the class vanguards in the tower. You’ll get more experience and rep for doing this.
All the Ghost’s lines have been rerecorded by Nolan North. Cutscenes can now be skipped. New subclass quest lines were added, so you can see how quests will work before the 3rd subclasses come out with The Taken King.
Vendor and Inventory Changes
Vault space has been greatly increased to hold 72 weapons, 72 armor, and 36 general items.
Collections have also been added to the tower. Sparrow and Ship collections are in the tower hangar near Amanda Holiday. Emblem and Shader collections are in the North Tower near Eva Levante. Armor and Weapon collections are near the class vanguards at the bottom of the tower. The Gunsmith has rep now and allows to use Field Test weapons.
The Speaker sells new Ghost shells that have stats and abilities. You don’t have to wear faction class items to get rep anymore. You now buy a badge to pledge yourself to a faction. You can only do this once a week. Upgrading armor uses new Armor Materials instead of the old class materials. You can exchange the old materials for new ones starting on 9/15 when The Taken King launches.
Crucible Changes
There were also some significant changes to Crucible.
House of Wolves DLC maps are now available to everyone. Legendary loot drop rates increased. Mercy rule was added that will end one-sided games early. In-progress joining will be disabled during the mercy rule and match timer goes to 10 seconds. Preview event lasts until The Taken King launches. The new maps and Rift game mode are available to everyone until launch. Mayhem Clash will be available starting on 9/11.
Preparing for The Taken King
Now that the huge update is here, I suggest seeing all the changes for yourself. There are a few things I would specifically try out before the expansion.
1. Do the subclass quests.
This gives you a feel for the new quest system and gives you an idea of what to expect when you unlock the new subclasses in The Taken King.
2. Explore the tower.
A lot has changed and visiting everything will familiarize yourself early so you won’t have to do it later.
3. Try out different weapons.
The huge balancing changes a lot of weapons. Get familiar with as many as you can.
4. Complete your moments of Triumph!
The time has been extended until 9/14, so you haven’t completed everything, do it before it’s too late.
That’s it for the big changes in the Destiny 2.0 update. More changes are coming with The Taken King launch. Let me know if you have any questions and what you think of the update!
