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Destiny 2‘s next major update is almost here, with Season 18–now known as Season of Plunder–set to begin today. Bungie took the unusual step of keep the theme and most details a mystery up until today, just before the season is set to begin. We’ll be overhauling this story with all of the key details from the just-concluded Destiny Showcase, but read on for what was already announced–namely, how Arc 3.0 will overhaul and bring new gameplay wrinkles to Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks.
Season length
Season 18 started with the daily reset on August 23 and is set to run until December 6. Bungie hosted a new Destiny 2 showcase that focused primarily on the upcoming Lightfall expansion, but also revealed the basic details on Season of Plunder’s conceit, activities, and more.
Season 18 story details
There are three pirate-themed activities coming to Season of Plunder. Ketchcrash sees matchmade teams of six players boarding enemy pirate ships and taking down the crews found on them; Expedition is about three players assembling treasure maps and searching for the booty, while fighting off Eramis’s crews along the way; and Pirate Hideouts takes you through weekly missions to steal powerful artifacts from pirate leaders.
King’s Fall Reprised Raid
Season of Plunder also marks the launch of a reprised Destiny 1 raid, similar to the reprised Vault of Glass that was added to the game last year. That raid is King’s Fall, the culmination of Destiny 1’s biggest and best expansion, The Taken King. The raid sees players fighting Oryx, the Taken King, one of the Hive’s powerful gods, aboard his spooky ship, the Dreadnaught. We don’t have too many details about what the raid will entail, however; like the Vault of Glass, it has been altered and updated to bring it in line with Destiny 2 mechanics, so while it’ll likely be familiar to Destiny 1 players, there will definitely be some new surprises involved. The raid launches with the 10 AM daily reset on Friday, August 26, when players can compete to be the first team to beat King’s Fall.
Arc 3.0
Starting with the introduction of Stasis in 2021’s Beyond Light expansion, subclasses have evolved in Destiny 2, with Season of Plunder bringing changes to the Arc subclasses. The Witch Queen expansion introduced Void 3.0, a selection of overhauled abilities with a debuff theme, while Season of the Haunted’s introduction of Solar 3.0 was focused on turning players into pyromaniacs. These reworks have all used a system of Aspects and Fragments to help customize each subclass, and as players have discovered, the potential to create truly devastating builds when combined with certain Exotics. All the Arc 3.0 changes will be free to all players.
Bungie revealed more details on Arc 3.0 this week, explaining how the subclass is designed to offer maximum mobility and power. Guardians can blind opponents, leave them reeling, and buff their skills with the amplified effect to hit harder and faster than ever before. To see exactly what Bungie has in store for players who swap to the electrifying element, you can read GameSpot’s Destiny 2 Arc 3.0 feature.
The new season includes a pack of gear players can grab called the Gift of the Thunder Gods, which will give a slate of stuff to use with their upgraded Arc 3.0 subclasses. That free pack of gear includes the Thunderlord machine gun, which rips enemies apart with lightning strikes.
Exotic weapons and armor tuning
Exotic weapons and armor will be receiving a big overhaul in Season 18, with Bungie recently confirming a number of changes for Lord of Wolves, Dead Man’s Tale, Collective Obligation, and Omnioculus. Many of these changes are focused on PvP where these weapons reign supreme, and include amplifying the “hip-firing cowboy rifle” fantasy of Dead Man’s Tale, tweaking the signature perk for Lord of Wolves, and adding anti-Champion functionality to the Le Monarque, Thunderlord, and Malfeasance Exotics.
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