Bungie has confirmed a Destiny 2 solar 3.0 rework as part of the FPS game’s upcoming season 17, now revealed to be ‘Season of the Haunted,’ which begins today (May 24) at 6pm BST. The new Destiny 2 update also features the return of Emperor Calus’s world-eating ship the Leviathan from the Destiny Content Vault, which longtime players will remember as the site of the game’s first raid. Though we’ve seen Destiny 1 locations return, this will be the first Destiny 2 content to be ‘unvaulted’, so it’ll be interesting to see how it’s changed.
Probably the most anticipated news from the new season is the confirmation of solar 3.0 – a rework for all solar subclasses, following the void 3.0 subclass rework in Destiny 2’s The Witch Queen expansion. This reworked kit will be available to all players regardless of whether or not they purchase the Season of the Haunted pass.
The Leviathan’s return signals the narrative direction of the new season, with the once-opulent ship returning from – well, wherever it’s been – now corrupted and crumbling. Earlier in the game we learned that Calus made contact with an entity of the Darkness during his exile in deep space, which, following its reveal in the events of the Witch Queen, seems likely to be The Witness, the commander of the ‘Black Fleet’ of pyramid ships. With Calus returning from the vault and his sights set on the Moon pyramid, we can clearly expect a ton of story in the new season.
Season 17 also sees the return of nightmares through the ‘Nightmare Containment’ activity aboard the Leviathan, which pits Guardians against apparitions taking the form of past enemies and bosses in scaling encounters.
Nightmare Containment is available to everyone, while those with the season pass also get access to the new ‘Sever’ weekly mission. Sever tasks players with navigating the labyrinthine underbelly of the Leviathan, coming face-to-face with more nightmares as they attempt to uncover Calus’s plans.
The Leviathan was the setting of the Menagerie, one of Destiny 2’s most popular seasonal activities, and the source of some of its most popular loot. While it’s unclear whether the Menagerie itself is returning, we have seen reprised versions of some of its gear, including some fan-favourite guns such as Beloved and Austringer, both of which fell victim to the game’s controversial ‘sunsetting’ system of loot retirement. It’s likely that they’ll return in a slightly altered form, however, following the trend of other returning gear in past seasons. That’s in addition to some all-new weapons and armour with a grisly skeletal look (pictured above).
Also returning is the Trespasser sidearm from the first Destiny, which is available to everyone who purchases the season 17 pass and features a unique ornament for players who level their pass to rank 100 by the end of the season.
Destiny 2 season 17 begins today, and is set to run until August 23. If you’re taking this opportunity to jump back into Bungie’s MMO game, be sure to keep an eye on our list of Destiny 2 weekly reset times. If you are still on the fence about playing, read why Rich called The Witch Queen “Bungie’s best expansion yet” in our review.