This Week At Bungie - 11/21/2018

This week at Bungie, we give thanks. 

Our weekly check-in is coming at you a day early to make way for the holiday break. Tomorrow, we'll be out of the studio in celebration of Thanksgiving. We'll be seated with family and friends. The table will be set with a bountiful feast. In the background, a parade will march past on our televisions. As each of us gives thanks for the good things in our lives, we'll reflect on how fortunate we are to create entertainment for this amazing community. Destiny is an adventure that evolves year after year, and we've been honored and humbled that you've come along with us on that journey.

In the spirit of the American holiday, we will also be pardoning one of our fine feathered friends—the Colonel. We know she is not a Turkey, but we wanted to make sure that whatever bird she may be, she remains off the menu.

Whatever you find yourself doing over the next few days, whether it's seeing family or binging some Destiny 2, we wish you the best.

Pinnacle Weaponry

Season of the Forge is kicking off next week. With it comes a new pinnacle weapon to earn in the Crucible. We received a lot of feedback that you also wanted a pinnacle weapon to work toward when pitted against the environment. Good news: We have two for you! Vanguard strike missions and Gambit are being added to the list of worthy pursuits with coveted trophies to be claimed. They won't take as much of a time commitment as the Crucible reward does, but they will still require some dedication to their activities.

We asked Sandbox Designer Victor Anderson to give you the full rundown on all three pinnacle weapons for Season 5.

Victor: We have heard your feedback and requests for weapons akin to Luna's Howl to earn in non-Crucible activities like Gambit, and to meet that demand, we've created three pinnacle weapons. I do hope you'll enjoy them.

VANGUARD

Loaded Question—High-Impact Fusion Rifle (Arc)

• Loaded Question's unique perk is "Reservoir Burst: When the battery is full, your next burst deals additional damage and causes enemies to explode on death."
  
• This one went through a couple of cycles—originally it had a completely different perk that didn't quite make the cut. We tried a version that had only a damage bonus, but damage bonuses can sometimes be hard to appreciate when you're using a Special weapon against lower-health enemies, so explosions on kill were added to really sell the "oomph" and deal with waves of clustered enemies.

How to earn Loaded Question:

• Pick up the quest from Zavala
  
• Complete all the following objectives; you can earn progress toward these goals at the same time
  • 500 Fusion Rifle kills (in any strike or Nightfall)
  • 1000 Arc kills (in any strike or Nightfall)
  • 40 strike or Nightfall completions
• Head back to Zavala to receive a fully Masterworked Loaded Question
  

GAMBIT

Breakneck—Precision Auto Rifle (Kinetic)

• Breakneck's unique perk is "Onslaught: This weapon's rate of fire increases as you stack Rampage."
  
• When the plan was made to create more pinnacle weapons for a variety of activities and not just the Crucible, we had to think of something that would fit the activity. This was intended to be a workhorse for Gambit encounters, where killing large numbers of enemies very fast is the name of the game for a significant portion of it, so something with Rampage was an obvious starting point. Pinnacle weapons occupy an interesting space in the sandbox where we can take what is normally a Legendary-tier effect like Rampage and expand on that idea further. We did it with Outlaw for Desperado, and we're doing something similar here for Rampage.
  

How to earn Breakneck:

• Pick up the quest from the Drifter
  
• Complete all the following objectives; you can earn progress toward these goals at the same time
  • 500 Auto Rifle kills
  • 100 Auto Rifle multikills
  • 150 challenging enemies defeated
  • 40 Gambit matches completed
• Complete all of the objectives and head back to the Drifter to receive a fully Masterworked Breakneck
  

CRUCIBLE

The Mountaintop—Lightweight Grenade Launcher (Kinetic)

• The Mountaintop's unique perk is "Micro-Missile: This weapon fires in a straight line and has a massively increased projectile speed."
  • In addition to the above benefits, the projectile instantly detonates on the environment instead of bouncing like a traditional grenade launcher, unless you have Sticky Grenades selected.
• This weapon was created for a few reasons. Other than the Militia's Birthright, we haven't created any new Lightweight grenade launchers since Forsaken. In general, it's a pretty underrepresented weapon type. This gave us an opportunity to explore it as a pinnacle Crucible weapon, and add more variety to the mix of what you'll use and have used against you. The feeling of getting a direct hit for that instant kill is satisfying, so the weapon was built to support it—but to give it more options, it's also the only Lightweight grenade launcher with Sticky Grenades, for those of you who have a more tactical approach to the Crucible.
  

How to earn the Mountaintop: The Quest to earn this weapon lives up to the weapon's name. It's going to take some dedication. We did change it up this season, so you can do some of the steps in a non-competitive playlist if you chose, but you will progress quicker by playing in the Competitive playlist. You still need to rank up your Glory score to Fabled in the end to claim the weapon. 

Step 1

• Reach Glory rank "Brave" within a season
  

Step 2
Each objective earns you progress per action in any playlist, and players can earn substantial bonus progress by completing these objectives in the Competitive playlist.

• In the Crucible, earn Grenade Launcher final blows
  • 750 Total Points
    • Non-Competitive Playlists:
      • Kills: 3 Points
    • Competitive Playlist:
      • Kills: 10 points
• Rapidly defeat groups of two or more opponents
  • 200 Total Points
    • Non-Competitive Playlists:
      • Double Plays: 2 Points
      • Subsequent Kills after Double Plays: 1 Point
    • Competitive Playlist:
      • Double Plays: 5 Points
      • Subsequent Kills after Double Plays: 2 Point
• Earn Calculated Trajectory medals
  • 100 Total Points
    • Non-Competitive Playlists:
      • Medal Earned: 1 Points
    • Competitive Playlist:
      • Medal Earned: 4 Points

Step 3

• Reach Glory rank "Fabled" within a season
  

After you reach Fabled, you can come down from the mountaintop and return to Lord Shaxx to receive... the Mountaintop. 

We got a lot of feedback from players that they didn't like splitting their progress toward the Crucible pinnacle quest. All these objectives use account wide constructs so players can complete these objectives on ANY character. 

That should give you an idea of how pinnacle weapons will work in Season of the Forge. Next week, you can start earning them and see for yourself. 

Bungie Foundation

The Bungie Foundation aims to reduce distress and suffering in children through entertainment. On a daily basis, this sees us working with hospitals to put games into the hands of young people whose hearts need a lift. There are moments, however, when we expand our mission to include others who also need a helping hand.

Our hearts are with all of those who have lost their homes or loved ones by the ongoing California wildfires. By purchasing the Destiny 2 Bungie Foundation Pin between now and 12/31/18, 100% of the profits will be donated to Direct Relief's efforts to support.

We have been proud to partner with Direct Relief on a variety of disaster relief efforts due to their unwavering dedication to the people they serve, prompt support using customized methods that specifically meet the needs of each situation, and full transparency on the use of all donor funds.

Please help us in supporting the amazing work they're doing for the residents and first responders in California. 

By the Hammer of Sol... What a Savings

With Thanksgiving comes another American tradition—Black Friday. No need to fight the crowds; the Bungie store has you covered for any holiday shopping you have left to do for fellow Guardians. Or just treat yourself. You deserve it! Check out some of our new wares. 

Black Armory Friday on the Bungie Store begins 11/23 at 12AM PST.

Comical

We are proud to announce our next web comic, "Cayde's Six." 

Heroes may die, but their stories are forever told. And some heroes have more stories to tell than others.

Cayde-6 had a job to do, so he gathered a crew of unlikely troublemakers and headed to the Reef. The plan was to hunt Fallen Barons in the Tangled Shore. The plan was to bring outlaws to justice. Maybe the plan didn't go so well. Or maybe it did. Depends on who you ask. After all, when someone goes looking for trouble, sometimes they find it.

"Cayde's Six—Part 1" sets the stage for a showdown between Cayde-6 and the vile Scorned Barons who, eventually, helped claim his life. But this is no eulogy. It is adventure. It is action. And it is a reminder that while a hero may be gone, he will always be remembered through the many stories that carve his legend.

"Cayde's Six—Part 1" will be released on 11/29 in all of our supported languages. Feel free to check out our other web comics while you wait at comics.bungie.net.

Changing Seasons

The DPS team is always working diligently behind the scenes. They are making sure you have the info you need to have the best Destiny 2 experience.

This is their report.

Clan Rank Resets

In addition to the ranks discussed last week, clan ranks will reset at the start of Season of the Forge.

Players have until the season transition on November 27 to achieve Clan Rank 6 and unlock the clan staff from Season of the Outlaw. On that date, when Season of the Forge goes live, all clans will reset to Clan Rank 1.

Weekly Raid Bounty

With the release of Destiny 2 Update 2.1.0 on November 27, all players who have access to the Last Wish raid will be able to claim its weekly bounty from Hawthorne in the Tower Bazaar.

During Season of the Outlaw, players needed to have achieved Clan Rank 4 to unlock Hawthorne's weekly bounty. In Season of the Forge, this bounty will be available to all players who have unlocked the Last Wish raid, regardless of clan rank.

Infamous, Once Again

As called out last week, we would like to remind players that once Season of the Forge begins, players must complete at least one Gambit match before turning in Gambit bounties brought over from Season of the Outlaw.

Players who turn in these bounties after Season of the Forge begins, but before playing a Gambit match, will not correctly receive points to their Infamy rank from these bounties.

Season's Greetings

For a final reminder, as we transition into Season of the Forge, players may experience a variety of unforeseen issues in the week between November 27 and December 4.

The Destiny Player Support team is currently working to consolidate a list of temporary changes that may impact the player experience during this week-long window. In the meantime, we would like to remind players that issues encountered in game are best reported to our #Help forum. When we have more information to share about this week-long transition, we'll be sure to let you know.

Destiny 2: Forsaken Known Issues

In addition to the items listed above, Destiny Player Support is tracking the latest issues reported by players on the #Help forum. Provided below is a brief overview of the latest known issues in Destiny 2: Forsaken.

• Blade Barrage Tracking Issue: We are investigating player reports describing the Hunter Blade Barrage Super tracking allies when activated.
  
• Sword Perks not Activating: We are investigating an issue where some Sword perks are not activating as expected under some circumstances.
  

For the latest known issues as soon as they are available, players should visit the following known issues threads: Destiny 2: Forsaken and PC known issues.

Found Footage

It's a short week, but the show must go on. Here are this week's winners.

Movie of the Week: Become Legend

Honorable Mention: Solo Shattered Throne (No Guns)

We gave you a little info on Season of the Forge today, but we know you all have many more questions on what the next season of content contains. On 11/27, we will release a ViDoc to show you what you'll be playing and tell you more details on our plans going forward. We will also have a full gameplay calendar to draw a clear picture of what to expect for the rest of the year and beyond.

Thanks for continuing to be an incredible community. We look forward to showing you a glimpse of your next adventures.

<3 Cozmo