Everything You Need To Know About Destiny 2's DLC The Final Shape (2024)

Destiny 2 is a direct sequel to Bungie's Destiny (2014) and it's that time of year when players are preparing for the next major installment in the story. Destiny 2: The Final Shape is the eighth major expansion for Destiny 2, and it is also the final chapter of The Light and Darkness Saga. To be clear, The Final Shape isn't supposed to be the end of Destiny as a whole, but it is the end of a story that has slowly taken shape over the last 10 years.

Destiny 2: The Final Shapecomes out on June 4, 2024, and it is available for pre-order now. If players pre-order The Final Shape before June 4th, they'll instantly receive several pre-order bonuses. The Standard Edition bonuses include the Paracausal Path Emblem, the Prismatic Horizon Emblem, the Final Shell, an exotic ghost shell, and the Pyramidic Vessel, an exotic ship. The Final Shape + Annual Pass edition also gives players the Tessellation Exotic Fusion Rifle and an Exotic emote, in addition to the Standard pre-order bonuses. Established players can pick these rewards from the Tower's Special Deliveries Kiosk. New players can get them from Shaw Han, who is located in one of the starting areas, the Cosmodrome.

The Final Shape's Plot & The Re-Introduction Of Cayde-6

The Final Shape follows the events of the previous expansion, Lightfall. In Lightfall, Guardians faced Emperor Calus, a disciple of The Witness. Over the last few expansions, the character of The Witness has slowly taken shape as Destiny 2's ultimate big bad. The Witness is a Darkness-embued commander of the Black Fleet (the ominous pyramid ships). Much of The Witness' character remains shrouded in mystery, but players do know that The Witness is from the group first chosen by the Traveler. The Witness isn't a single person, either. Using the power of the Darkness, The Witness merged an entire species' consciousness to create one collective.

After defeating Emperor Calus and stopping him from taking over the Veil, The Witness briefly took possession of the Guardian's Ghost. The Witness planned to lure the Guardian to the Veil all along. Once the Guardian and their Ghost were present, The Witness was able to create a connection between the Veil and the Traveler, the source of the Guardians' Light. With this link established, The Witness was able to open a triangular incision on the side of the Traveler and enter it. The subsequent seasons have revolved around the Guardian and their allies preparing to enter the Traveler to pursue The Witness. The current season (which will run until June 4th), Season of the Wish, sees the Guardians send Crow into the Traveler first to scout ahead.

In The Final Shape, the Guardian will join Crow inside the Traveler. Not much is known about what, exactly, awaits the Guardian inside the traveler, but fans do know that they will be teaming up with Crow and the Vanguard, Ikora Ray and Zavala. Bungie also announced the return of the Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6 in a Final Shape teaser trailer. Cayde's reintroduction stirred the fandom to its core because Cayde has been dead since the Forsaken expansion. For a while, Forsaken was removed from Destiny 2 and completely unplayable, so many new players felt somewhat alienated by Cayde's reintroduction. Long-term fans were jumping with joy, though.

The Final Shape Raid & The New Episodic Cadence

The New Raid

Destiny fans have come to expect that with a new expansion or major update in the story, a raid is soon to follow. Destiny 2 raids are six-man activities that force players to coordinate together to defeat powerful enemies, traverse dangerous chambers, and solve puzzles. The raids are usually a way to have one final confrontation with the main antagonist. The Final Shape's raid will see Guardians facing off against The Witness. The raid drops on June 7th, which gives players three days to finish the campaign and reach the appropriate light level. Contest Mode will be returning for the new raid and it will last 48 hours. Guardians need to be 1965 Light Level to compete in Contest Mode.

The New Episodic Cadence

For years, Destiny 2 has followed the same formula with its expansions. A major story update kicks off the expansion and then the rest of the year is broken up into several seasons. Each season has its own battle pass, story, and event mode. These new stories slowly build up to the next main expansion, but the seasons are mostly about grinding the new activity and acquiring seasonal gear. The Final Shape will be doing things a little differently by introducing what Bungie calls their Episodic Cadence. Instead of seasons, The Final Shape will bebroken up into three episodes. Each episode will contain three acts, with a new act released every six weeks. Every episode will last about four months.

Bungie promises that each episode will contain new story missions, rewards, Exotic missions, and Exotic gear. Each act of each season will also come with new story content, weapons, artifact mods, pass ranks, and much more. This formula should give Destiny 2 players more reason to keep logging in since it's designed to continuously release new content throughout each episode. Bungie seems to be addressing a common complaint of the seasons feeling empty and unrewarding once the season's story comes to a close.

Every Episode In The Final Shape:

• Echoes - Echoes begins one week after the expansion's release, onJune 11th. This gives players one week to finish the campaign before the first episode starts. Echoes will likely run through the middle of September.
• Revenant - Likely to begin in September and end in December.
• Heresy - Likely to begin in December and end in March/April. By this point, Bungie will likely have more information about what's next for Destiny after the conclusion of the Light and Darkness Saga.

It's important to keep in mind that release dates and update times are subject to change at any point. Destiny 2 is a live service game, meaning any number of issues and reasons could cause a delay or a schedule change. For example, The Final Shape was originally supposed to be released on February 27, 2024, but it was delayed to June 4th.

The Prismatic Subclass, New Light Supers, & New Exotics

The Prismatic Subclass

After the introduction of two Darkness subclasses, Stasis and Strand, it didn't come as much of a surprise that The Final Shape would also introduce a new subclass. Many players have theorized the Guardians will gain another set of powers for some time. The Prismatic subclass isn't quite what players were expecting, though. Many believed players would get another Darkness subclass to equal the playing field between the Guardians' Light and Darkness abilities. Currently, there are three Light subclasses (Solar, Void, and Arc), and two Darkness subclasses (Stasis and Strand).

Bungie's official The Final Shape website promises, "Light and Darkness have no quarrel within you, Guardian." This hints at the possibility of the Guardian being able to use Light and Darkness powers at the same time, which is exactly what the Prismatic subclass will be. Players will be able to combine powers from all five existing subclasses to create a customized subclass. Guardians have never had this kind of customization before. A gameplay trailer shows off some of the combinations players can make with the Prismatic subclass.

Updates To The Light Subclasses

Since the introduction of Darkness subclasses, the Light subclasses have received a few adjustments here and there, but overall, they haven't been Bungie's major focus. Thankfully, The Final Shape will be revisiting Arc, Void, and Solar with buffs, nerfs, new Supers, and new Aspects.

• Warlocks - Warlocks are receiving a new Solar Super called Song of Flame. Song of Flame enhances Warlocks' abilities and speeds up their refresh speed. While it isn't the same as Destiny's Sunsinger, it feels like a spiritual successor to the original Solar Super. Warlocks will also receive the Hellion Aspect, which creates a Solar Soul similar to the Arc Soul.
• Hunters - Hunters are receiving a new Arc Super called Storm's Edge. Storm's Edge allows Hunters to throw an Arc knife, teleport to that knife, and then send out a ring of powerful Arc energy to nearby enemies. Hunters can throw the knife up to three times, making it a powerful oppressive Super, but also gives Hunters an out if things get dicey. Hunters will also receive the Ascension Aspect. Ascension will use the Hunter's Class Ability. In exchange, it amplifies the Hunter and nearby allies. It will also deal Arc damage to nearby enemies.
• Titans - Titans are receiving a new Void Super called Twilight Arsenal. Twilight Arsenal allows Titans to launch themselves into the sky and throw three massive battle axes at enemies. Not only do these axes deal high Void damage, but they also remain on the battlefield. The Titan and their allies can pick the axes up and use them for a short period. Titans will also receive the Unbreakable Aspect. Titans can sacrifice their grenades to create a protective shield that moves with them.

New Exotic Class Items & Other Gear

Needless to say, with a new expansion comes new weapons, armor, Exotics, and other gear. One of the biggest new pieces of gear coming to Destiny 2 is the Prismatic Exotic class item. With these Exotic armor pieces, Guardians can combine aspects of two different Exotic armor pieces. For example, a Warlock could combine the perks of the Stag Exotic helmet and the Verity’s Brow Exotic helmet. Each class will receive a Prismatic Exotic class item that will only work while running the Prismatic subclass. Players won't be able to run the Arc subclass and use the Prismatic Exotic. The full extent of what perks will be available on these class items hasn't been revealed yet, but some perks may be altered from their original form or completely unavailable.

During the Developer Gameplay Preview on April 9th, the developers discussed the Prismatic subclass and Prismatic Exotics. The developers said they wanted players to feel powerful and even a little bit broken. Guardians are inside the Traveler. They are closer to the Light and Darkness than they've ever been. Prismatic is supposed to make players feel overpowered in a way Guardians never have before.

The Pale Heart Destination & New Enemies

The Pale Heart

Like most Destiny expansions, The Final Shape will feature a new open-world location that players will be able to revisit after the end of the story campaign. This new location is called the Pale Heart, and it is unlike any other destination in the Destiny franchise. Unlike other locations, which consist of moons, planets, and spacecraft, like Oryx's Dreadnaught, The Pale Heart exists within the Traveler. Bungie offers this unsettling description of what Guardians can expect inside the Traveler:

The game's developers have also described the Pale Heart as a linear location. Players must complete the entire story before the Pale Heart can be fully explored. Since the location is inside the Traveler, the being that gave the Guardians power, it is made up of familiar scenes and places that have appeared in Destiny and Destiny 2 over the last decade. The Pale Heart crafts itself from the Guardians' memories, so long-term players will get to see things they haven't seen in years. The Pale Heart contains a lot of history of the franchise, so players should keep their eyes peeled for Easter eggs and callbacks.

New Enemies To Battle

In addition to a new story campaign, new Supers, and a new open-world location, The Final Shape will also introduce a handful of new and dangerous enemies. This shouldn't come as a surprise to seasoned Destiny players, though. Most major expansions release a new faction or at least one or two new powerful enemies. For example, Lightfall brought in the Tormentors and Forsaken introduced the Scorn. The Tormentors were the first introduction to an entirely new subset of enemies called The Dread. The Dread is a Darkness faction that aligns with the Witness' vision of The Final Shape. These enemies will turn the Guardians' power against them, much like The Witch Queen's Lightbearer Hive enemies.

The Dread Will Introduce Four New Enemy Types:

• Grim - Grims are flying enemies that scream to suppress Guardian abilities.
• Husk - Husks are fast swarm enemies armed with two blades along either arm. They also release a Geist, a worm-like creature that will fly at Guardians and explode. Think of the moths from The Witch Queen.
• Omen & Attendant - Omens and Attendants are Stasis-based enemies that aim to freeze Guardians in place. The Omen mimics the Warlock's Stasis Super, Shadebinder. Omens can shoot frozen shards and explode frozen enemies/objects to deal increased Stasis damage. Attendants swarm Guardians with constant Stasis attacks to freeze them.
• Harbinger & Weaver - Harbingers and Weavers are Strand-based enemies that try to suspend Guardians in place. Harbingers shoot Threadlings at Guardians to suspend them in the air, a popular ability for Strand Guardians. Weavers will use Strand to pull Guardians towards them, making it difficult for players to escape when being swarmed.

Other Major Changes Coming To Destiny 2

In addition to a new story, new gear, and a new episodic format, The Final Shape will also include many changes and quality-of-life updates. There will be some huge changes coming that will impact how the game plays, including:

Changes to the Power Level System:

• Fireteam Power Levels will be adjusted for team-based activities to match the highest Power Level player. This means that if a player is at 2000, but their friends aren't, their friends' Power Levels will be adjusted to be closer to 2000 for co-op. Higher-level players will have an easier time helping their lower-level friends with this system.
• Players' highest Power Level will be account-wide instead of character-based. If a player's highest character is their Warlock at 1985, then their Hunter and their Titan will receive 1985 drops. It doesn't matter if a player's other characters are incredibly under-level, they will still receive the same drops as their highest character.
• Starting Power Level of The Final Shape = 1900
• Pinnacle Cap = 2000

Other Changes:

• One of the biggest changes Destiny 2 is making is getting rid of Legendary Shards. Legendary Shards have been one of the main currencies for Destiny for many years, but The Final Shape will be doing away with them. Bungie and players recommend that everyone should spend as many Legendary Shards as they can before The Final Shape's release. After the update, they won't be usable anymore. Most players recommend spending Legendary Shards on Phantasmal fragments.
• Unsunsetting - Bungie has "sunsetted" old gear to implement a power cap for them. This, unfortunately, has made many items unusable because players can't upgrade them to a high enough Power Level. The Final Shape will enact an unsunsetting movement to remove the previously instated cap from these items.
• Updated shader icons to better show off the color pallet and the effects each shader has.
• Master Rahool is getting a rework with a Rank system, and he will be a main source of Exotic armor.
• Hawthorne and Clans will also be receiving a rework which promises to optimize the rewards from Clan XP.
• Legend and Master Lost Sectors grant Exotic Engrams.
• Vex Strike Force grants the Exotic armor originally found in Legend and Master Lost Sectors.
• Xur will also be receiving a rework, but Bungie hasn't elaborated much on what's happening with him yet.

Destiny 2

Bungie's Destiny 2 is an online FPS that blends single-player and multiplayer content. Constantly evolving, the shooter has established a strong following since its 2017 debut.

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