Here's What You Missed On The 'Destiny 2' Livestream

With a release date set just four months away. Bungie showed off the first batch of gameplay footage for the highly anticipated Destiny 2. Last month, the studio teased fans with the logo and a cinematic trailer, and now we get to see a glimpse of a “world without light.”

Surprise Attack

In the cinematic trailer, we saw that the Tower, the base of operations in the first Destiny, as well as the city protected by the mysterious Traveler, was under siege from a new enemy called The Red Legion led by a towering figure named Ghaul. The gameplay shown during the event featured the initial attack by Ghaul and the Red Legion on the Tower. Ghaul and his minions believe that they deserve the Traveler’s power, and they attack Earth in order to take it hostage. As you make your way through the Legion’s attack on the Tower, you get to see some of the new abilities and weapons available to your Guardian. For starters, weapons are now classified as Kinetic, Power, or Energy, which could change the weapons you choose for any activity.

The early loss of the Tower and Traveler are part of the sequel's philosophy, which according to game director Luke Smith is “a new beginning for everyone.” Ghaul’s attack on the Traveler also meant that your previous subclasses, and their powers, are gone. In its place are new subclasses for you to try out. Hunters can swing their flaming swords at enemies with Dawnblade, Warlocks can hurl bolts of lightning from their staff through the Arcstrider, and Titans can unleash their inner Captain America skills by wielding the Shield in the Sentinel subclass. You’ll also have four new areas to explore—Earth’s European Dead Zone, Io, Titan, and Nessus—as well as new activities such as using treasure maps or hunting down lost sectors, which are dungeons that contain dangerous bosses and special loot. Bungie didn’t want to bog players down with too many transitions between worlds, so you can now travel to different areas in the game without returning to orbit each time, too.

Familiar Ground

For veterans of the first game, there are still many familiar activities that make their way to Destiny 2 such as strikes, raids, and of course, the competitive Crucible. Bungie also added some new features to these existing activities such as heroic objectives for public events, four-versus-four player matches in the Crucible, and a new heads-up display during competitive matches that will tell you if other players have their Super ability ready, for example, or if they picked up ammo for their powerful weapons.

Even though you don’t necessarily need to play with others to enjoy the game, it helps to join a group if you want to try more challenging content such as strikes or raids. In order to make it easier for solo players to find a group,, Bungie added a new feature called Guided Games, which will allow you to browse through clans that can play with you for a single session. If you find that you enjoyed playing with that group, you can then request to join their ranks. Speaking of clans, Bungie will also have full support for these massive groups in the game. The includes the implementation of rosters and an in-game banner that will serve as your logo.

The PC Version

With Destiny 2, PC players will finally be able to join the fight, and we found out a bit more about what’s in store for the PC version of the game. When you play, you'll have access to a few graphical options, such as support for 4K resolution, uncapped framerates, an adjustable field of view, and support for 21:9 monitors. You can also have text chat, as well as the ability to remap controls on the keyboard and mouse.

PC hardware requirements for the game aren't available yet, but those at the event will get to play the game on PC in addition to the PlayStation 4. Aside from the Man O' War Chroma headphones, Ornata Chroma keyboards, and Deathadder Elite mice provided by Razer, which will partner with Bungie for Destiny-themed peripherals, you can take a look below at the specs of the PCs that are running the demo.

You would think that the game would be available through the massively-popular Steam storefront, but that’s not the case. Instead, you’ll access Destiny 2 through the previously-named Battle.net service, which is now called Blizzard. In a way, this makes sense, because Bungie’s games are published through Activision, which also owns Blizzard. By putting the game on Blizzard’s app, the company won’t have to fork over 30% of its revenue to Valve every time the game is bought through Steam.

Eyes Up, Guardian

Even though a select few are playing an early version of the game today, there are still plenty of chances of try out Destiny 2 before launch, specifically at E3 and during the beta that’s coming later this summer. In the meantime, you can watch the gameplay trailer above or replay the entire presentation on Bungie’s Twitch channel. Destiny 2 arrives on store shelves on September 8.