SRL is a blast, of course. Great racing lines, absurd crashes and collisions, and plenty of good natured trash talk makes it so much fun to race. What I wasn't expecting was for the three updated Strikes to be so good!

The Omnigul Strike's opening encounter packed with Wizards and Ogres was a fun change. The middle section at The Last Array probably isn't changed enough. But the end Omnigul fight is fantastically devious. Getting locked into that final room with the more distinct waves of enemies that trigger based on damage done to Omnigul can quickly turn tense in a hurry. I had one utterly fantastic save right at the end where a bunch of enemies mixed in with multiple cursed Thrall had gotten right upon us. We were goners, but my Helm of Saint-14 Ward of Dawn I out down to revive an ally blinded the entire group at the last possible moment and secured us the win.

The new Taniks Strike didn't play all that differently for the most part. Then we got to the end and the new SIVA based shield mechanic turned what was a Strike with a somewhat predictably ho-hum ending into a mad, bonkers, crazyball scramble to survive. It'll probably get easier over time now that we know what to do, but surviving that first play through was epically fun.

And finally, the new Nexus Strike had some fun new encounters. The big opening number at the room with the stairs was enjoyably frantic, the process needed to take down the Vex shield blocking the way after the research lab played well what with all the threats impeding our progress. The final battle against the Nexus Mind isn't super different, but the updated enemy mix with Taken plus having to go get the Vaukt of Glass relic made add clearing just more frantic enough to make the encounter feel fresh.

In contrast to the Festival of the Lost's stingy paywall locking up all the neat rewards, The Dawning has been very generous with loot so far. I've gotten entire sets of new armor, a guaranteed new Sparrow and at least a couple of Exotic engrams, multiple shaders, and a quest for a new exotic weapon. All without paying a coin of Silver. It feels so, so much better!

Sparrow Racing, cleverly updated Strikes, and an abundance of loot? I'm liking The Dawning so far! :)