In his last letter to the community, Luke Smith spoke to the players of Destiny 2. A sentence evokes a hope for something many long for: a grand, united Destiny. A Destiny without a number behind it.

This is the situation: Bungie has parted ways with Activision and will continue to develop Destiny 2 and the entire “Destiny” brand independently.

In the letter to the community “This Week at Bungie”, Luke Smith addressed the fans. He is now the Franchise Director, responsible for the bigger picture.

In his post, he actually said very little concrete, but the particular choice of his words makes players dream.

These are the 2 sentences in question:

• “When I look forward and think about which direction Destiny could take, I see a bright future rooted in an unforgettable past.”
• “Not everything has been lost in the dark corners of time.”

The sentence that not everything has been lost in the dark corners of time references “The Glass Chamber”, the raid for which Smith was responsible. Elsewhere, Luke Smith reminds that the Guardian should continue to evolve, the character that players have been following since 2014.

What do players want to read here? Players want to interpret this as a hint that Bungie is working on a “united Destiny”. This would start with everything from Destiny 1 coming back to Destiny 2. Many contents were indeed left behind by Bungie when Destiny 2 relaunched.

The “united Destiny” is a wish that keeps appearing in one form or another in the Destiny community. There was even a long thread with all sorts of “evidence” that Bungie is indeed working on exactly that (via reddit).

Apart from the nostalgia, it is also a forward-looking wish: Some hope that Bungie will stop developing individual parts of Destiny and continually removing content from the game, but instead build “a great Destiny” that they will keep evolving.

This is what it means: The likely explanation for these sentences is that Luke Smith wants to remind players of their nostalgia and make it clear that they indeed have a 5-year shared history with the players and their Guardians.

However, the reactions show what some players of Destiny actually wish for (via reddit). A Destiny without a number behind it, encompassing all of Destiny.

The idea of a “unified Destiny” keeps surfacing on Reddit, showing a map with all contents from Destiny 1 and Destiny 2 together in one orbit. It is an impressive image.

Many are also skeptical about a Destiny 3: Because that would again appear without the contents of Destiny 2. Games like The Elder Scrolls Online, on the other hand, offer an ever-expanding world over the years without removing content.

This is what Luke Smith also said:

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Destiny 2: Finally it’s clear what Luke Smith does at Bungie

von Sven Galitzki

In the online shooter Destiny 2, a balance patch is coming soon. Fans are particularly hopeful for one weapon class: the Scout Rifles. Many miss using this special type of weapon, which is considered elegant and stylish.

This is the weapon class in question: It concerns “Scout Rifles.” They have always played a strange role in Destiny. Scout Rifles are somewhat like the “light sniper rifle.” They are primary and energy weapons that one can always play with.

For the real “sniper rifles,” one needs special or power ammunition in Destiny – Scout Rifles are essentially like sniper light:

• These Scout Rifles exist only in a few video games, and many loved this weapon class in Destiny 1.
• In Destiny 2, however, they have been living in the shadows for some time.

Therefore, Guardians are demanding, “Make Scout Rifles great again,” and Bungie seems to be hearing them for the next patch.

Here’s how the weapon class will be improved: For “Lightweight” and “Rapid-Fire” variants, the damage will specifically increase. And in PvE, the damage will even rise for all Scout Rifles.

Bungie says Scout Rifles should deal less damage because their range provides so much safety. However, at the moment, Scout Rifles do too little damage compared to other primary weapons.

When is the patch coming? Update 2.1.4 is scheduled for next week, on January 29.

This is why so many fans are interested: The balance changes in the next patch are particularly discussed regarding the buff for Scout Rifles – alongside Luke Smith’s address. 

The weak role of Scout Rifles is a topic that has weighed heavily on the minds of many Guardians for a long time: Scout Rifles in Destiny 2 are currently hardly used. Pulse Rifles have surpassed them, as they are superior at medium and long range.

Many Guardians wish for the return of Scout Rifles, as playing with weapons like the MIDA Multi-Tool is considered elegant and stylish. At the beginning of Destiny 2, the MIDA Multi-Tool also dominated the game, but that was a long time ago.

The only Scout Rifle currently praised is the Polaris Lance. It is said to be a beast. Guardians hope that Scout Rifles will become more useful again with the next patch.

Will Scout Rifles really be “a good option” again? The buff is announced, but players are unsure if it will really help.

The poor situation of Scout Rifles in Destiny 2’s PvP is also thought to be due to the fact that the PvP maps are all designed for close combat and are so small, according to some players on reddit.

The question will be how strong the buff for Scout Rifles really is.

Apparently, the Scout Rifle is the favorite weapon class of many players and currently plays too small a role for them in Destiny 2. Are you also hoping for Scout Rifles?

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Destiny 2: Many weapons will soon become stronger, but two will be nerfed

von Sven Galitzki

In Destiny 2 today, on January 22nd, is Weekly Reset. The activities are rotating, there are fresh Nightfall strikes, a new Flashpoint, and new challenges. What else is new this week for the Guardians?

This week is relatively quiet in Destiny 2. After the tumultuous past weeks, there are no major events or occurrences this time. Bungie is giving the Guardians a breather before next week’s extensive update arrives, which aims to adjust the sandbox and kick off the quest for the last weapon exotic of the Black Armory. You can find out more about it here:

• Destiny 2 is changing the Supers – These are the winners and losers
• Many weapons will soon be stronger, but two will get a nerf
• Destiny 2: In 10 steps to “The Last Word” – Here’s what we know about the quest

Nightfall strikes starting January 22nd on PS4, Xbox One, and PC

This week, the following three Nightfall strikes are available:

• A Garden World
• Savathûn’s Song
• Will of the Thousands

For the Nightfall strikes in Destiny 2, a Power Level of 540 is recommended. With the help of the challenge card, which you can buy from Xur, it is possible to customize the Nightfall strikes according to your preferences through various modifiers. Keep in mind that during the Nightfall strikes, your loadout is locked, and you must make do with the equipment you chose at the beginning.

Want to know what Nightfall-exclusive loot can be earned this week? Then take a look at this overview: All exclusive Nightfall rewards in Destiny 2 – Here’s how to get them 

This is what you need to do for Powerful Gear:

• Complete one Nightfall strike
• Complete the Nightfall with at least 100,000 points

Strikes and Story Missions

In the daily Heroic Story Missions various modifiers are active:

• Solar Singe
• Grounded: Damage taken while in the air is significantly increased
• Brute: Melee abilities deal more damage and recharge much faster

In the Vex Strikes, you can expect the same modifiers. These do not differ from the heroic missions. Keep in mind that the Singe element will remain unchanged for a week, while the other two modifiers will change daily.

This is what you need to do for Powerful Gear:

• Complete 3 Heroic Story Missions
• Finish 3 Heroic Strikes with a focus of the same Light element as a member of your fireteam

Crucible Activities and Gambit

The following PvP modes are available this week:

• Quick Play
• Competitive
• Rumble
• Showdown
• Private Match

This is what you need to do for Powerful Gear:

• Complete 5 Crucible matches
• Complete 3 Gambit matches

Escalation Protocol

This week, there is a chance to earn the following weapon in Escalation Protocol:

• the legendary sniper rifle IKELOS_SSG_v1.0.

Flashpoint, Petra, Bounties

The Flashpoint can be found on Mars. There you can also undertake a heroic adventure that rewards you with Powerful Gear.

If you want Powerful Loot from Ikora Rey, you need to complete 20 random bounties.

If you gather 5,000 Clan XP, you can also earn Powerful Gear from Hawthorne . Clan members can look forward to two additional Powerful items if you master the weekly raid challenges “Strength of Memory” and “To Each Their Own”.

From the Wandering you can pick up the weekly bounty “The Power of the Traveler”. For this, you will receive Powerful Loot.

At Ada-1, you can get the following powerful weapon shapes:

• Sniper Rifle
• Auto Rifle
• Machine Gun

Petra Venj is located at the landing zone of the Dreaming City. There you can pick up a mission that rewards you with Powerful Loot. Additionally, you can secure two more Powerful Items by completing the active Ascendant Challenge as well as the 8 daily bounties.

At Spider you can pick up the big weekly bounty “Silent Reaper“. In case of success, you will receive Powerful Loot.

Here is what this week’s Loadout for the Prestige Raid Challenges looks like:

• one kinetic auto rifle
• one energy auto rifle
• any power weapon
• The modifier is Arsenal

You can find the Raid Challenge in the Circus.

These are the highlights of the week in Everversum:

• a weapon ornament for the Skyburner’s Oath
• the exotic ghost shell Sanctuary
• a weapon ornament for the Queenbreaker
• the exotic emote “We need to talk”

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Destiny 2: 10 Tips for the Black Armory that everyone should know

von Sven Galitzki

In Destiny 2 there is the possibility to earn titles for your Guardians and proudly display your achievements. Recently, a new title was added to the game – Blacksmith. We will explain how to become the “Blacksmith”.

What are the titles about? Titles are very popular among many fans. Many players see it as a cool way to customize themselves and stand out from the crowd of Guardians. Because titles showcase special achievements and accomplishments that one has achieved in specific areas of Destiny 2.

Now you have the opportunity to adorn your Guardians with another new title, the “Blacksmith”.

Warning – Bug Alert: Currently, a bug at a certain step is preventing players from obtaining the title: The raid achievement “Diamantengleich” is not being counted correctly, but it is necessary for the title “Blacksmith”.

We will update the article as soon as it is possible to become the “Blacksmith” in Destiny 2. You can still start with the numerous quest steps.

The long road to the Blacksmith title – This is what you need to do

Generally, the path to a title requires a lot of work and especially time. The new Blacksmith title is no exception. Here, players must also work through a long list of tasks that encompass almost everything included in the first premium DLC “The Black Armory”. Additionally, some steps are heavily dependent on chance and luck.

This is what the Blacksmith title entails: The Blacksmith is tied to the seal of the Black Armory and is only available to owners of the Annual Pass.

The respective requirements can mostly be viewed through the corresponding seal in the menu. In total, 17 different triumphs must be unlocked. The following tasks await you:

Collect all Blacksmith weapons

Players must earn all 7 Blacksmith weapons, which can be crafted through Ada-1’s weapon forms. These include the following weapons:

• The machine gun “Hammerhead”
• The auto rifle “The Sounding Nail”
• The sword “Stryker’s Reliability”
• The sniper rifle “Tatara’s Gaze”
• The hand cannon “Kindled Orchid”
• The bow “The Malicious Tear”
• The pulse rifle “Blast Furnace”

Forge 100 weapons and secure the ship of the Black Armory

There are two requirements that you can complete simultaneously – on the one hand, the Master Blacksmith Triumph and on the other hand, the ship Platinum Star, which is required for the seal of the Black Armory.

You unlock the triumph by crafting 100 Blacksmith weapons from research and weapon forms of the Black Armory. You will get these from Ada-1. The ship will be awarded once you have unlocked this triumph.

Get all Blacksmith emblems and shaders

The three emblems

• Power of Völundr
• Gofannon’s Hammer
• Tear of Izanami
• and Steel of Bergusia

can be obtained by mastering the corresponding forges with a bounty that requires you to ignite a forge.

The shaders all come from various sources:

• New Era of the Black Armory: For this, you must dismantle Blacksmith weapons that you can craft through Ada-1’s Powerful weapon forms. For these weapons, this is the standard shader
• Restored Black Armory: You can get this shader from restored weapons. These are not weapons you get from the Blacksmith Forms, but legendary weapons that drop in the forges. It is essentially about reworked year 1 weapons in a new coat of paint and random rolls
• Rassmussen Clan: This shader has a rare chance to appear on weapons that you can craft from the Völundr-specific weapon frames from Ada-1 (sword, MG, auto rifle). You need to dismantle the weapons for this. It can also appear on armor pieces that drop in the Völundr Forge

• House of Meyrin: This shader has a rare chance to appear on weapons that you can craft from the Gofannon-specific weapon frames from Ada-1 (hand cannon, sniper). You need to dismantle the weapons for this. It can also appear on armor pieces that drop in the Gofannon Forge
• Satou Clan: This shader has a rare chance to appear on weapons that you can craft from the Izanami-specific weapon frames from Ada-1 (bow, pulse rifle). You need to dismantle the weapons for this. It can also appear on armor pieces that drop in the Izanami Forge
• Bergusia Night: You get this shader from the Bergusia Forge. You will find it on all curated rolls (masterwork with fixed perks) that can drop there in addition to the weapons you craft from Powerful frames. You can also find this shader on the curated drops from the new raid “The Scourge of the Past”. The weapons must be dismantled for this

Collect a full set of Blacksmith armor

For the Blacksmith title, you need a full armor set from the Blacksmith on one character. You can currently obtain these from three sources:

• Ada-1’s weekly challenge guarantees one piece of Blacksmith armor that you are still missing. Only then will duplicates start dropping
• A rare bounty from Ada-1 can also drop a random piece of Blacksmith armor
• You can purchase “Blacksmith Polymer” from Ada-1. If you then craft any weapon from the Black Armory, you will additionally receive a random piece of Blacksmith armor

Find all Blacksmith Exotics

Three of the five new weapon exotics introduced with the Black Armory are tied to the Blacksmith. These weapons need to be found or earned for the triumph:

• exotic bow Le Monarque
• exotic fusion rifle Jötunn
• exotic sniper rifle Izanagis Burden

Complete these Blacksmith triumphs

If you want to adorn yourself with the Blacksmith title, you need to unlock the following triumphs in the forges of the Black Armory:

• Guardians of the Black Armory: Complete 6 special (rare) bounties of the Black Armory
• Bounty Hunter of the Black Armory: Complete 30 bounties from the Black Armory
• A Study in Obsidian (secret): Find an obsidian accelerator that can drop in the Bergusia Forge
• ETZ Blacksmith of the Black Armory: Forge all weapon types of the Armory in the ETZ forges (sword, MG, auto rifle)
• Nessus Blacksmith of the Black Armory: Forge all weapon types of the Armory in the Nessus forges (hand cannon, sniper, bow, pulse rifle)
• Blown Away: 500 kills with Jötunn in the Völundr Forge
• One Clean-up, Please: 500 kills with threat levels in the Bergusia Forge
• Nice but Deadly: 500 kills with Le Monarque in the Gofannon Forge
• Reunited Siblings: 500 kills with Izanagis Burden in the Izanami Forge

Complete these raid triumphs

For the Blacksmith title, Destiny 2 sends you into the new raid Scourge of the Past. You need to earn the following triumphs:

• Diamantengleich: Complete the raid flawlessly.
• “To each their own”, “Stick Together” and “All for One, One for All”: Master these clan challenges from Hawthorne in the new raid
• Quick and Bulky: Escape from the burning servitor “Burning Glory” in Scourge of the Past without a fireteam member dying
• Plunder of the Lost Treasure: Plunder a total of 5 hidden chests in the new raid

Important: The triumph Diamond-like (Like a Diamond) is currently bugged and is not being recognized – even if you manage to complete the raid flawlessly.

Bungie is aware of the issue and is already working on a solution. Whether this achievement will also be recognized retroactively is currently unknown. Due to this bug, it is currently not possible to obtain the Blacksmith title.

How to equip the Blacksmith title

Once you have unlocked all 17 triumphs, you can activate the seal of the Black Armory in the menu. There, you can equip the Blacksmith title. The title appears in the character menu and is visible to all other Guardians in-game.

You can find more titles here: All guides, tips, and solutions for Destiny 2 Forsaken at a glance

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Destiny 2: 10 Tips for the Black Armory that everyone should know

von Sven Galitzki