Written by Jonathan Lee, September 25, 2016, 11:00 p.m. Tweet to: @Writerscube
So Far, Rise of Iron Is One Hell of a Ride!
It seems the Fallen are up to their no-good-shenanigans again in Rise of Iron. Snow and ash gently fall in equal measure. A tower in flames stands on a coast, creating an intense backdrop to the sepulchral atmosphere of a land dying from corruption and destruction. Aside from the roaring flames and the distant staccato of explosives and gunfire, nothing stirs around me. I load up my auto rifle, and head towards the sounds. I’m here to kick ass and grab all the engrams… and for the moment, I’m all out of engrams.
Many brave Guardians have been fighting for their lives in the online first-person shooter game, Destiny, since two years ago on this month of September. From Day One to now, I’ve seen this game evolve and change. Bungie has done much over the years: fixing bugs and issues, wrestling with balancing the game while introducing new loot and pushing the maximum Light levels, and increasing their player-base outreach. All in all, after lots of patches, and The Dark Below, House of Wolves, and Taken King expansions—Destiny has proven itself a title with lasting value and memorable events. Now we have the Rise of Iron expansion!
On September 20, 2016, a new threat has arisen and the call to all Guardians was sounded. I’ve since been playing Destiny: Rise of Iron almost every day to discover what new things Bungie has brought to us. I’m still not through with the whole expansion, and won’t be for a while—there’s so much to do and more cool guns and equipment to acquire! But it’s been one hell of a ride so far!
The Story (Light Spoilers)
Remember Lord Saladin from the Iron Banner events? Ever wondered what his deal was? Well, now we know. Saladin is an Iron Lord, one of hundreds that used to exist back in the day. But when the Iron Lords attempted to harness the power of a mechanical wonder called SIVA, things went horribly wrong.
Since then, Saladin had been watching over the lands, waiting for when SIVA would return. And that’s where you come in! The Fallen have dug up SIVA, and things have gone from already bad to worse.
It’s up to you to get to the bottom of this, and put a stop to the SIVA and the Fallen’s plans before they come to fruition and all hell breaks loose!
I don’t want to give any substantial details as Rise of Irons story is actually really fun! If you’re a Destiny player, you’ll want to get this one.
Game Updates
The max Light Level is currently 385 and will get bumped to 400 once the Hard Mode of the new Raid is released. And with a higher light level come more awesome gear that you’re going to want to collect! Honestly, I’ve been looking at my Year One gear and all I can think of is when I should throw them all away. The new gear in this expansion is a must if you’re to take on the challenges that lie ahead. You COULD use the loot you get to bump up some of your Year Two stuff if they can be infused. But…
Did I Mention New Gear?
Why would you want your old stuff when you can get some nifty threads like Chroma material armor? Two new sets come with Rise of Iron, the Desolate and the Spektar sets. I’m personally building up my Spektar set, and it’s going well so far. I’m excited to see what it looks like once I’ve collected all the pieces!
In case you’re wondering, the Chroma material armor sets will look snazzy. But you’re going to need to work on that armor rating. Initially, Chroma armor pieces start at armor 3. This can be quickly remediated because higher-rating armor will be dropping all over the place in Rise of Iron. A few rare drops and one legendary got my current Chroma pieces all caught up.
Game Modes
Like Taken King brought to Destiny: Rise of Iron brings a new Strikes (and Strike list), a new Raid (that recently, THREE players managed to conquer. Wow.), a horde-mode area known as the Archon’s Forge, and a new Supremacy mode in Crucible. You’ll be finding lots to do around Rise of Iron! Chances are you’ll also be repeating a lot of these in your quest for elusive, but awesome jawsome loot. I know I will!
Pre-Order Swag
If you had pre-ordered Rise of Iron, hopefully you noticed and equipped your brand-spanking new Sparrow and its complementary “Iron Gjaller-Horn”!
Final Thoughts
This expansion is awesome! The pace of leveling has been great, the new enemies are designed well, and my vault’s already filling up with new gear. The voice acting so far has been excellent, the new Iron Lords social space has a nice aesthetic, and the Supremacy Crucible mode is really fun! I haven’t tried the Raid yet. Nowhere near strong enough. But I look forward to taking it on.
I feel like I’ve only reached the halfway point, but the next half of the journey is going to be the toughest and most-rewarding. I’ll be keeping you all posted on my findings! And keep an eye out for some Destiny streaming in the near future!
