The world has finally had its first look at what awaits in Destiny 2 after a live event in Los Angeles was used to show off the first gameplay trailer.
The Bungie franchise returns on September 8, complete with a host of new modes, worlds, weapons and enemies.
Here’s everything you need to know so far.
The story
At the heart of Destiny 2 is loss, Bungie told us on-stage at the gameplay unveiling.
The game opens with The Tower – the last safe human city on Earth – coming under surprise attack from a cabal force known as the Red Legion.
Led by Lord Ghaul, the Legion have their eyes on the Traveler and The Light, believing it should be theirs to wield.
Their attack strips all Guardians of their powers, with players then forced to fight back in order to steadily regain their abilities in order to take on the Legion.
New game modes
Exploration is now a huge part of the Destiny experience – players will find and encounter much more when on patrol, with several new modes being introduced to fuel this.
The first is Adventures – short side missions with their own self-contained stories and a glimpse into the universe of Destiny and the characters that live within it.
New dungeon levels are also being introduced called Lost Sectors. Scattered across the various worlds, each houses a wealth of treasure, but each is also guarded by a unique boss you must defeat first.
These modes are also supported by an overhaul to the Destiny interface that means players no longer have to go into orbit in order to launch different activities in the game.
Called Director, it enables players to pick a landing zone and seamlessly jump anywhere across different worlds and to different activities.
And, of course, there are a new Strikes and a new Raid on the way too – though details on the latter remain a secret.
New worlds
As well as new game modes, many of the landscapes within Destiny are new as well. There’s four major new areas that we’ve seen so far, each of which offers unique terrain and experiences as a result.
Three are new planets, but the biggest new destination is in fact an area of Earth. Known as the European Dead Zone, it features lush forest, an abandoned town and a Red Legion military base among its landscape.
Titan – one of Saturn’s moons – is another of the new features. Entirely covered in ocean, the landscape is peppered with man-made structures and is where Guardian Commander Zavala is regrouping after the fall of The Tower.
Another moon added to the destination list is Jupiter’s Io.
Bungie tells us it is a mystical place and the last known site visited by the Traveler during the Golden Age. It’s also where Guardian Warlock Ikora Rey has fled to, but is now also overrun with enemies.
Then there’s the machine-laden world of Nessus. It’s unstable and strange according to Bungie, and it is also where fan favourite Cayde-6 is found.
All four locations are also set to be loaded with Lost Sectors, Adventures and other content too, so we’re told.
Clans and Guided Games
A big new feature on the multiplayer front, Destiny 2 is to introduce the full support of player-created clans for the first time.
Groups of friends will be able to custom create clans – complete with banners and shared rewards between members.
A bold new matchmaking feature is also coming to Destiny 2, known as Guided Games. Designed to help solo players quickly jump into multiplayer games, the feature enables single players to partner with a clan for a short period in order to tackle a mission.
On the clan side of things, if they’re a player or two short they can turn to Guided Gamers to help them out.