We’ve slowly heard bits and pieces about Rise of Iron, the latest game-changing DLC for Destiny – size- and content-wise, it’s similar to The Taken King. Now, finally, Bungie has revealed details about what will be coming, who will be involved, and who will get to play.
First and foremost, Rise of Iron will only be available for players who own The Taken King on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, effectively leaving Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players in the dust. However, a lack of Rise of Iron doesn’t mean your copy of Destiny has been rendered completely unplayable. Rather, your character on the newly named “legacy” consoles will progress on a different character path than your character on a current-gen console.
Rise of Iron takes place in a zone deep underneath the Cosmodrome, called the Plaguelands – an area infested with “self-assembling, self-replicating nanotechnology called SIVA.” SIVA was sealed away by the Iron Lords – specifically, Lord Saladin of the Iron Banner tournament, who was the sole survivor of the fight. It’s a lot of intertwined lore that involves everything from The Devils’ Lair strike to Riksis, a Devil Archon and boss of an early story mission.
Aside from the story, Rise of Iron brings a new strike, a new raid, and a new Crucible mode, which we know nothing about other than the fact they exist. A few existing strikes will be updated, similar to The Taken King. The Light cap will be raised from its current maximum of 335 – to what new number, we still don’t know. In terms of new items, Bungie is bringing back Gjallarhorn, the coolest rocket launcher around. All players will earn it as a quest reward, but pre-orders will receive a special black version, the Iron Gjallarhorn. Of course, oodles of new weapons, armor, and items will be fresh for the taking as well.
Rise of Iron will cost $29.99 – a seemingly hefty price tag, at $10 more than each of Destiny‘s first two expansions, but $10 less than The Taken King. It certainly looks like a worthwhile investment, with plenty more for players to do, and should definitely help keep us busy until Destiny 2.