Destiny April Update brings big POE changes, updated Strike, increased Light Level & more!
It’s no secret that the Destiny content has been very dry in recent months, with many Guardians running on empty fumes and in some cases, moving away from the game entirely. Even with Bungies attempts to please fans with minor events such as the Sparrow Racing League and Crimson Days it has done little to build excitement. Although many have been holding on to some hope that the much talked about April update might give players a reason to return back to the game and following Bungie’s live Twitch stream yesterday, the signs are looking positive.
Arguably the biggest change to the April update will be to the Prison of Elders. Since The Taken King dropped last year, the POE has been practically pointless, unless you wanted to farm Strange Coins and Treasure Keys. However, POE will now have a Level 41 stage to take on, which will include the Taken and eight updated bosses, not to mention new and improved armour and gear to earn.
Also the Prison will include a new mode called Challenge of the Elders, which almost sounds like the Prison’s version of Trials of Osiris. In COTE, you must visit Variks to gain entry by claiming an Elders’ Sigil. COTE will feature a scoring system, weekly boss battles, gameplay twists and rewards for your three-man/woman Fireteam. Each week bosses and gameplay modifiers will change for up to 16 unique encounters, which is a bold and challenging statement. Your scores will then be tracked on the Elders’ Sigil claimed from Variks, as well as on the Bungie.net online leaderboards. In addition to the Challenge of the Elders, a new kiosk machine and Eververse Store will feature in the Reef.
Your Guardian’s Light Level will also raise from 320 to 335 and it will be done so via the new gear earned from April with the increased difficulty from the Prison of Elders, Court of Oryx, Kingsfall Raid (which will now bag you 320 gear on normal difficulty), Heroic and Nightfall Strikes, Trials of Osiris and Iron Banana…sorry Iron Banner.
From the Reef, this is where your new story quests will be activated and will bring not only Variks, but also Petra back into the fold. It will involve a set of quests and The Blighted Chalice Strike. Here you will not only take on the Taken legion, but also a new boss called Malok described as a “powerful would-be Taken Prince” who looks to claim Oryx’s fallen crown. The Winter’s Strike that featured in the vanilla Destiny will also be getting a Taken update, with the Taken consuming the mighty Archon Priest.
As touched upon above in regards to the increased reward drops, Kingsfall Normal Raid will now earn you 320 Light Level Drops, with the Hard mode dropping at 330. Also the Court of Oryx Artifact drops will have a Light Level of 335.
Out of interest, if you missed yesterday’s Bungie Twitch stream, you can watch it here as Bungie Lead Designer Ryan Paradis and Senior Designer Tim Williams talk you through some of the new April content. Yesterday’s stream was the first of three April update livestreams.
The April update will go live on April 12th for all that own Destiny: The Taken King, you can read our review of the game here.