Destiny “Rise of Iron”

Destiny’s new DLC “Rise of Iron,” is almost running at full steam. With the exception of the Hard Mode for the Wrath of the Machine Raid coming on October 18, “Rise of Iron” has given Guardians plenty to do. Bungie has opted to focus on the Iron lords in this expansion, largely concerning Lord Saladin and his past contact with SIVA.

Five new story missions will see your Guardian (or Guardians, cause let’s face it, we all run three these days) helping Saladin try to stop the SIVA outbreak. The missions are some of the best by Bungie yet. The lore is more fleshed out and the characters more developed. As someone who has put over a thousand hours into Destiny I was rather pleased. The content, although not as big as “The Taken King”, has a much vaster feel to it. It’s surprising, considering most of Bungie is now working on the sequel.

“Rise of Iron” introduces an all new Patrol Zone on earth; The Plaguelands. Essentially an extended area of the Cosmodrome, it has its own new areas and also uses some of the Cosmodrome, such as the Rocket Yards. The Plaguelands is packed with things to do and see and also has its own weekly bounties, which will keep you coming back often. The new public event space, like “The Taken King’s” Court of Oryx, is the Archon’s Forge. Similar to the Court of Oryx, the Archon’s Forge undoubtedly has more flare.

On finding SIVA offerings in the Plaguelands you’ll be able start the Forge events. Once commenced, any Guardians who are within the Forge can participate. If you die and choose to respawn – rather than be revived – you’ll be placed outside the Forge and locked out of the event. If you have SIVA key in your inventory you’re able to unlock the door and re-join the event and hopefully get your hands on some tasty Engrams. The Forge is an excellent challenge and a real blast whether playing with your Fireteam or some randoms. It’s a great way to interact and meet new Guardians and it’s currently the best place to get your Class items if you’re trying to boost your Light level.

In addition to the story missions there are three new Strikes. Only one is completely new, while the other two are older Strikes re-imagined. The Wretched Eye all new strike and the other two are Sepiks Prime and the Phogoth. Both have been SIVA’d on up!

“Rise of Iron” has offered up some ne PvP options. Private matches are finally available so now you and your friends can grind out that pesky Grimoire. There are also three new maps; The Floating Gardens, Last Exit and Skyline. New mode Supremacy has also been introduced. It’s very similar to a ‘Kill Confirmed’ mode. Supremacy is 6v6 and requires Guardians to collect Engrams dropped when an enemy or team mate are killed.

You really need to rely on team work to get the win, but we all know that the in the Destiny community less than 1% know how. Even with lone wolves Supremacy is a great addition to the Crucible. With “Rise of Iron”, Bungie has completely revamped Iron Banner. No longer do you need to pile on the Iron Banner class items, emblems and shaders. Instead, once you reach maximum Iron Banner ranking your other characters get a boost to help power level.

“Rise of Iron” features its very own Social Space too; The Iron Temple. Located on earth, at Felwinter’s Peak (I really miss that shotgun) is where Lord Saladin and Shiro-4 are located. A new Cryptarch named Tyra Karn also resides at The Iron Temple.

Tyra or KAAAAAAAHHHN (nobody who’s ever seen Star Trek can resist) gives Guardians a weekly quest to help obtain all the Iron Lord artefacts. These items provide incredibly useful perks that would normally be reserved for Exotic Armour. The Iron Temple also holds a few more secrets, but it’s best to explore it for yourself.

The Wrath of The Machine is the new Raid and man, is it fun! As usual, the Raid is the end of the SIVA story arc. The pesky Aksis, Archon Prime, is waiting for you and your Fireteam and is the mastermind behind the SIVA crisis. He dwells deep in the walls of the Cosmodrome and getting to him will take some doing. The first two phases of the Raid see you facing Vosik, The Archpriest and the third phase has you riding the Death Zamboni. A giant war machine hell bent on your destruction, the Death Zamboni is a real test of teamwork, coordination and speed. The fourth and final phase is Aksis himself.

Each phase is quite challenging, but not so much that it stops being enjoyable. And there’s not as steep a learning curve as in previous Raids. Bungie has done an exemplary job at balancing mechanics and bosses. Elements like having to shoot the screens above Vosik and coordinating SIVA bombs feel fresh, but familiar. My Fireteam went in blind and had a much better time than we would have if we’d simply looked at a guide. It wasn’t a cinch to figure out, but thankfully I have an awesome Raid team, so we got through at a pretty good pace and now we can knock a full Raid out in less than two hours.

I’m not afraid to admit that I grew tired of Destiny after “The Taken King”. I didn’t play it a single time in the months leading up to “Rise of Iron”, but it’s good to be back. Bungie has created something truly special. “Rise of Iron” isn’t perfect though. As with “The Taken King” the price is a real sticking point. Anyone in Australia who plays Destiny has spent over $200 AUD and over $100 of that is DLC alone. DLC that was intended to be part of the original game.

Despite that though, “Rise of Iron” is great. If you’ve still not caught “Destiny” fever, I’d advise you to wait until the sequel. If you’re a Guardian from way back, then you’re only doing yourself a disservice by not picking it up.