This Week At Bungie - 10/05/2017

This week at Bungie, we know the score.

The banners that fly in the Tower tell a truth that we have all known for some time: Dead Orbit is the faction that rules the hearts of the most Guardians. Do they all think they look better in black? Or are they just a generally moody bunch? We may never know the true motivations that sent them into the wild to express their loyalty through action.

What we know for certain is that Arach Jalaal is the champion of this first Faction Rally. His victory was not undisputed. Each faction put some respectable points on the board. Once the 61 Million reward packages were counted, Dead Orbit emerged the most profitable faction by a margin of more than 2 Million. New Monarchy was a close second. Future War Cult was an even closer third.

As promised, Dead Orbit has a prize on offer. If you pledged to them, it will be a steal. If you did not, but you still gotta have it, they're about to steal from you. That will be the price of your treachery.

Faction Rally will return. New Monarchy and Future War Cult, we'll let you know when you'll have your chance for revenge! Next week, however, we're clearing space in the Tower for another special guest.

The Return of the Iron Lord

The Red War scattered the heroes of humanity across the solar system. One by one, they have been returning to the City. Now, Lord Saladin will hold court and reward the brave.

Begins:  October 10, 2AM Pacific
Ends:  October 17, 2AM Pacific

The game is Control.

As the first Faction Rally comes to an end, the Iron Lords are hosting the next ritual. Their special event has undergone some changes. The Iron Banner is still your chance to stand and be proven in the fires of friendly competition.

What's different?

• Combat will be between two teams of four players
  
• Your fighting abilities, not your power levels, will decide the outcome
  
• Bounties and Ranks have been replaced with an Iron Banner Engram
  

How can you compete?

• Complete the Destiny 2 campaign - the only way to reach the Tower
  
• Visit Lord Saladin in the Tower to begin the Iron Banner Quest
  
• Fight in the Iron Banner playlist with Quickplay modes and matchmaking
  

What's in it for you?

• Earn Iron Banner Tokens in every match (earn more if you win)
  
• Daily and Season* Milestones that track your progress to glory
• Claim brand new armor wrought in the forges of the Iron Lords
  

Decorate yourself as a master of your competitive spirit. Form up into a Fireteam or let the fates choose your teammates.

You're the Best... Around!

Combat against other Guardians not your thing? The ultimate PVE challenge also arrives in your Director on Tuesday at 10AM Pacific. The morning after the weekly reset begins a new invitation from Calus to join him for the Prestige Raid.

We do not expect everyone to be successful in completing this activity. Mechanical changes to the encounters are minimal, but they are there. The Prestige Raid is about mastering a more punishing sandbox. Our goal is not to provide a boon to your character progression, but there are unique rewards to help you shine. Consider this your invitation to prove to the world that you are among the very best of the Raiders who overlook the City.

World First will be counted. We can tell you no more.

Good luck!

Their Stage - Our Story

*There is that word again: Season.

There is a mention of seasons when you inspect your Clan. Now, we're talking about it on the blog. What does it all mean?

We'll be answering that question, and more like it, at TwitchCon.

Panel Discussion: The Seasons of Destiny.
Friday, October 20, 4:30PM Pacific
CoolCat Theater + CoolCat Channel

What do Seasons mean in Destiny 2?

What will change from season to season?

How many seasons can we expect?

When does Season Two begin?

The session will be streamed (I mean, of course it will be streamed, it's TwitchCon), so everyone can tune in and see what we have planned to keep the Destiny community engaged. When the time comes, pile into the theater or click this link to join us virtually.

Servants to the Guardians

HELP.BUNGIE.NET is the central resource for any player who seeks the answer to a question about how to play Destiny. There is a running conversation there. Our mission is not to teach you how to win, but an entire team of support specialists is researching the issues you report. Before you can even ask a question, it may have already been answered in an article they have prepared.

This is their report.

Destiny Hotfix 1.0.3.1
On Tuesday, maintenance was conducted to support the deployment of Hotfix 1.0.3.1 to Destiny 2. Upon conclusion, there was a minor issue where some players were prompted to create new characters in an alternate service environment. No characters or items were deleted due to this issue. For resolution, closing Destiny 2 and relaunching the application would return characters to their proper state.

Event Vendors: Availability Issue
On September 26, Faction Rally vendors were not available in some Tower instances immediately upon the weekly reset. We are investigating the cause of this issue, as well as potential ways to address it. Similarly, Lord Saladin is expected to be impacted when Iron Banner becomes available on October 10. If you are unable to locate Saladin within your Tower after the weekly reset, we advise returning to orbit and launching into a new Tower instance.

Destiny 2 Error Code Investigations
At this time, we continue to investigate reports of CABBAGE errors that are blocking some players from progressing through the Destiny 2 campaign or returning players to orbit from alternate activities.
Some players have been able to reduce the frequency of these errors by following recently updated troubleshooting steps listed in the help article linked above. Some steps listed may need to be taken by an internet service provider to adjust security restrictions on network hardware. We will provide updates on this investigation when available.

Additionally, we are investigating elevated levels Newt, Beaver, Guitar, and Permissions errors impacting Destiny 2 gameplay. If you encounter these issues during gameplay, please post a report to the #Help forum detailing the following:

• Were you in a Fireteam when this error occurred?
  
• What was the activity that you were engaged in when experiencing this error?
  
• Have you followed steps within the Network Troubleshooting guide to ensure proper network configuration for Destiny 2 gameplay?
  

As we continue to investigate the rise in these error codes, we advise all players follow @BungieHelp on Twitter or visit Help.bungie.net for updates concerning server status, known outages, and active issue investigations.

You Oughta Be In Pictures

Years ago now, we chose this playful outro for our weekly address as a way to let you know that we see you having fun, and we love you for it. The emblem that we grant to the winners is a nice keepsake, but the most important thing is that our Creations page continues to be a fascinating place to see the face of the community, and all the people who help to define it.

Movie of the Week: If you're happy and you know it.

Honorable Mention: Aesthetic: Destiny 2 - A New Frontier

Honorable Mention: Destiny 2 Be Brave Metal Cover

[Editor's Note: I listened to the whole channel as I wrote all this. Thanks, man.]

Anyone miss Cozmo yet? I miss Cozmo. I'm so lonely here, with all of you, all by myself. He'll be back next week, with his cats and his chill way of deploying the news. I'm always happy to grab the controls of the blog, but he has taken solid ownership of this community. I have his back, and he has yours.

As we continue to ride this wave, the game will tell its own continuing story. Your Milestones will reveal the mysteries of the weekly resets. We'll plot some more distant milestones right here. There are a few mentioned above to fuel speculation. Destiny is a turbulent landscape that's always changing, so our focus tends to be weekly. There is still a lot to talk about, and the game will serve up new challenges every time you visit that world. In the weeks to come, another wave of Guardians will join our community on the PC. We have more stories to tell and more destinations to explore before the end of this year.

On a personal note; just the other night, after we caught up in the Crucible, I had dinner with a dude I met as my teammate in a Bungie game eleven years ago. I am a product of the Bungie community. My challenge to every Guardian is to look to the human element in Destiny 2 to fuel your appetite for ultimate re-playability. The ultimate loot is the friendships that can grow out of a game like this. There will be more gear to add to your character (next week, even). The rewards that I'm talking about are the people in the community that thrives in this game. If you let them, they'll make your hobby as a light-dealing hero on a starside campaign for glory even better.

Thanks to those of you who are helping us to drive that scene.

DeeJ, out.