Destiny The Dark Below Expansion Preview

Destiny’s first expansion The Dark Below brings many changes to the game that will expand the world of Destiny. Game update is scheduled for December 9th, 2014.

New Legendary Gear

Existing Legendary gear on display in the Tower will be replaced
New Legendary gear will feature higher Attack and Defense values
Legendary items will still require Ascendant Materials for upgrades
This new, more powerful gear will be available to all players of Destiny
Legendary gear will not be as powerful as new Raid gear or Exotics

New Rank Commendations

In addition to Crucible or Vanguard Marks, purchasing new Legendary items will require a Crucible or Vanguard Commendation
Commendations are received in Reputation Reward Packages delivered by the Postmaster upon reaching a new Reputation Level

Exotic Talent Changes

As part of the December 1^st Destiny Update, Exotic Armor and Weapons no longer require Ascendant Materials for upgrades
The final power node of all Exotic Gear will require an Exotic Shard
This new material is obtained by one of the following means:
Dismantling unwanted Exotics
Purchased from Xûr for 7 Strange Coins

New Exotic Upgrading

Exotic Gear in The Dark Below will have higher Attack and Defense values than current Exotic Gear.

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For players and their current caches of Exotics, a path will exist to bring them forward into The Dark Below.

Starting December 9^th, Xûr will offer players the opportunity to upgrade Exotics to the higher Attack and Defense values
Upgrading an Exotic in this way will require an Exotic Shard
- The upgrade will reset the progression invested into the item
- Each week, Xûr will possess a selection of upgrades for existing Exotics in his inventory

Crucible (PvP) Changes

Expansion I will include two new exclusive competitive playlists
New Crucible arenas (Pantheon, Skyshock, and The Cauldron) will be featured in map rotation
Playlists available in the Director will change week over week
Experiences will alternate between 12 and 6 player engagements
Map rotation will alternate between focusing solely on new expansion arenas and including original launch maps in the mix

Heroics and Nightfall (PvE) Changes

With the Light level increase to 32, Heroics and Nightfalls will be increased by 2 Light levels to keep up with new content, level increases, and gear items

New Raid: Crota’s End

The new Raid, Crota’s End, will unlock on December 9th
Players at Light level 30 can lead a Fireteam immediately upon release
The reward system in Crota’s End will address some issues reported in the Vault of Glass:
- Raid loot in Crota’s End will drop at a higher rate
- New Raid gear will contain a wider variety of potential perks
- Weapons and Gear from Crota’s End will not require Ascendant materials for upgrades
- Radiant Shards and Radiant Energy acquired in the Raid will be used to upgrade new Raid gear
- Unwanted weapons and gear from Crota’s End will dismantle into Radiant materials
- Primary weapons will only drop in the harder version of Crota’s End, released sometime in January