Destiny 2: The Witch Queen: The story leading up to the expansion

Future 2: The Witch Queen is sort of right here, and it guarantees to be one of many largest expansions the sport has ever seen. However not like with Future’s different expansions, an enormous draw for The Witch Queen is its story. Not solely has Bungie been working to enhance the Future universe over the previous few years, however that is additionally a follow-up to The Taken King — the 2015 growth to the unique Future, and one which gamers nonetheless reward for its story.

So what do you want to know earlier than you dive into The Witch Queen’s marketing campaign? What the hell is a Savathun? A Throne World? A Caiatl? Possibly even what’s a Guardian? We’re going to arrange you for this new journey by solely telling you the essential stuff. And we’re going to do it in fewer than 1,500 phrases.

Savathun’s origin story

Picture: Bungie

Savathun is The Witch Queen’s titular monarch, so understanding her historical past goes to be key to the growth. Let’s begin with what the Books of Sorrow lined within the unique Future.

Lengthy earlier than the Traveler (a mysterious orb powered by Mild, which we’ll get to later) got here to Earth, it sat above an oceanic fuel large planet known as Fundament. On Fundament lived a number of factions of what we name the Proto-Hive, together with Savathun’s household. Her father was the Osmium King, and he had three daughters who had been (on the time) often called Aurash, Sathona, and Xi Ro.

By chatting with a white worm acquainted, the Osmium King found that the 52 moons of Fundament had been lining up, and would finally create a “God Wave” that will wipe out all life on the planet. However being 10 years outdated (the tip of the Proto-Hive’s lifespan), he was too outdated to do something about it.

Fearing that the king’s kids had been too weak to ascend the throne after his loss of life, the daughters’ trainer, Taox, betrayed the household and led an assault on the Osmium King’s residence. The daughters fled onto the ocean, taking the worm accustomed to them. And thus started the hunt to cease the God Wave.

After utilizing a particular ship to dive into Fundament, the daughters encountered the Worm Gods, who’d been calling out via the Osmium King’s acquainted. The daughters made a pact with the worms, taking the creature’s offspring into them and the remainder of the Proto-Hive on Fundament. These worms gave their hosts eternal life and great power. But when the daughters or their brood ever stopped killing, the worms would devour them.

The worms reworked the Proto-Hive into the Hive enemy faction that Guardians face at present. Aurash turned Auryx after which Oryx, the brand new king (altering his intercourse to male). Sathona turned Savathun, a “Mom.” And Xi Ro turned Xivu Arath, a Knight. The three escaped Fundament with the Worm Gods and an entire host of Hive. The siblings blame the Traveler for the God Wave, and so they’ve been trying to eat its Mild ever since.

The Traveler, Ghosts, and Guardians

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Years later, people finally found the Traveler hiding within the Sol system. It granted people a golden age that elevated their technical prowess. However centuries later, the Darkness discovered the Traveler and attacked. Earlier than the Traveler might flee, a human-made AI named Rasputin allegedly shot it down, stranding it on Earth.

Broken and needing defenders for its new residence throughout this new interval of Darkness (often called the Collapse), the Traveler launched Ghosts: small, dronelike creatures that carry a few of the Traveler’s Mild. Ghosts scour the system to discover a good Guardian to pair with: a lifeless human, Awoken (mutated area people), or Exo (a robotic with a human thoughts). Utilizing the Mild, the Ghosts type a bond with a lifeless physique they deem worthy (their Guardian), elevating it to life and imbuing it with superpowers.

Every Guardian solely has one Ghost, and if the Ghost is destroyed, they’ll lose their Mild. But when the Guardian is killed and the Ghost survives, it could actually resurrect the Guardian time and again. That’s how gamers canonically respawn in Future.

The unique Future and Throne Worlds

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The unique Future tells a little bit of a scattered story about an alien race known as the Vex (time-traveling robots) and an enchanting location known as the Black Backyard. That probably received’t be essential to the story in The Witch Queen, so we’re going to maneuver previous it.

What you want to know from Future is that Guardians killed a Hive God named Crota in The Darkish Under growth, and he simply occurred to be the son of Oryx. In The Taken King, Oryx got here to hunt revenge. Within the opening battle, he “killed” Queen Mara Sov of the Reef and despatched her brother, Uldren Sov, crashing into a close-by planet.

The Guardians infiltrated Oryx’s Dreadnaught ship and killed him. However as an alternative of dying, Oryx went to his Throne World.

Throne Worlds are pocket dimensions reserved for terribly highly effective beings like Oryx, Savathun, and Xivu Arath. (Mara Sov additionally has one, however she wished for it from a magic dragon named Riven, so it doesn’t completely depend.) Throne Worlds are created within the proprietor’s likeness, and when a Throne World’s proprietor dies in actual life, they’re resurrected of their Throne World earlier than finally making it again to the true world.

The one method to kill a creature who has a Throne World is to kill them contained in the Throne World itself. The King’s Fall raid from The Taken King noticed a bunch of Guardians just do that: They infiltrated Oryx’s Throne World and killed him for good.

Future 2’s pre-Witch Queen expansions

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The Purple Struggle marketing campaign in Future 2 noticed a war-focused race known as the Cabal assault Earth and seal off the Traveler’s Mild, inflicting Guardians to briefly lose their powers. The Guardian Vanguard (the management of the Final Metropolis) repelled the Cabal forces and reclaimed the Mild. Within the Leviathan raid, gamers proved themselves to the Cabal’s lavish ex-emperor, Calus, who’s obsessive about the Darkness.

Within the Forsaken growth, Uldren Sov returned, and killed the beloved Hunter Vanguard Cayde-6 and his Ghost. The Guardians sought revenge for Cayde, and chased Uldren to the gates of the Awoken residence world of the Dreaming Metropolis. It was then revealed that Uldren, who had been on the lookout for his sister the whole time, was nothing however a pawn of Riven (who in flip was a pawn of Savathun). Gamers defeated Riven within the raid known as The Final Want.

Within the Shadowkeep growth, Guardians returned to Earth’s moon and found a Pyramid Ship (the Traveler’s equal, however for the Darkness). A 12 months later, an armada of those Pyramid Ships confirmed up within the Sol system and devoured whole in-game places, together with Mars.

Round this identical time, Guardians went to Europa in the course of the Past Mild growth to cease the chief of a race of enemies often called the Fallen — scavengers who lived with the Traveler earlier than it deserted them. Gamers found a shard of Darkness there, and had been granted new Darkness powers: Stasis.

The 12 months main as much as The Witch Queen

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In Season of the Hunt, a well-known Warlock named Osiris misplaced his Ghost and due to this fact his Mild. A Hive Knight virtually killed Osiris, however a brand new Guardian saved him: Crow. Regardless of being a brand new hero, Crow’s face was acquainted. He’s truly Uldren Sov, returned to life as a Guardian.

When Guardians are created, they don’t have any recollection or data of their former lives. However as a result of different characters acknowledged Uldren as the person who killed Cayde-6, he was hated and shunned. Gamers rescued Crow from an underground gangster often called Spider (who had boobytrapped Crow’s Ghost with the intention to enslave the brand new Guardian), and the Mild-less Osiris took him below his wing.

Throughout this season, Guardians repelled Xivu Arath’s forces from The Dreaming Metropolis.

In Season of the Chosen, Caiatl, daughter of Calus, confirmed as much as provide the Vanguard a deal: The Cabal would assist repel the Pyramid Ships if the Vanguard swore fealty. Commander Zavala — the Titan Vanguard — mentioned no, and the Guardians spent the season proving their value to the Cabal empress. A rogue faction of Caiatl’s crew tried to assassinate Zavala, however Crow saved the day, revealing his true id. He was accepted into the fold, and Caital allied herself with the Tower and its Guardians.

A particular mission on this season additionally informed the story of how Calus was consumed by the Darkness, and revealed that no person is aware of the place he’s anymore.

In Season of the Splicer, the Vex plunged the Tower and the Final Metropolis into countless night time. A sect of Fallen known as the Home of Mild, led by a pleasant captain named Mithrax, additionally sought refuge from the Vex within the Final Metropolis. Some leaders weren’t snug with having the Fallen so shut, together with famed Titan (and Osiris’ boyfriend) Saint-14, and an Exo named Lakshmi-2. Saint finally noticed the great within the Fallen, however Lakshmi turned town in opposition to them, and was manipulated by Savathun into opening a Vex gate within the Home of Mild’s residing quarters. The Guardians, Saint-14, and the Fallen banded collectively to save lots of town, and Lakshmi-2 was killed by the Vex.

In Season of the Misplaced, Osiris went rogue, and Mara Sov (again from her Throne World), Saint-14, Crow, and the Guardian chased him into the Dreaming Metropolis. Savathun then revealed that she’d been impersonating Osiris since Season of the Hunt. She trapped herself in an enormous crystal and struck a cut price: If Mara and the Guardian helped her exorcise the worm from her physique, Savathun would return the true Osiris unhurt.

Whereas working to perform this, Savathun “gifted” all of Uldren’s recollections to Crow, which induced him to freak out and depart the Final Metropolis. Within the season’s remaining mission, Mara and her witches eliminated Savathun’s worm. Earlier than Mara might kill Savathun, the Witch Queen disappeared, however not earlier than making good on her promise, leaving a comatose Osiris behind.

Questions to remember throughout The Witch Queen

Picture: Bungie/Activision

Now you’re all caught up with the abridged Future story. However as you go into The Witch Queen’s marketing campaign, listed here are some concepts to maintain on the entrance of your thoughts, and inquiries to ask:

• A part of the brand new growth’s story is how Savathun steals the Mild and turns into a Hive Guardian. If the Traveler is the one who creates Ghosts, and Ghosts decide who’s “worthy” to develop into a Guardian, how did she do that?
• The Cabal confirmed off Mild-suppressing expertise in Season of the Chosen and the Purple Struggle marketing campaign. Is that how we’ll beat Savathun?
• How has Mars returned after being devoured by the Darkness?
• There’s a Pyramid ship in Savathun’s Throne World (the place the raid will happen). How did it get there, and why is she conserving it round?
• Future 2 has all the time portrayed its world as Mild = good and Darkness = dangerous. However is that truly the case?
• The place do the Traveler and the Darkness come from?

With these questions and your newfound data of Savathun’s story, you’re formally prepared for The Witch Queen marketing campaign, coming to Future 2 on Feb. 22.