Destiny: Rise of Iron is out, and you know what that means. Confusion. Because what comes along with every Destiny expansion, aside from campaign missions, Strikes, and loot? Yes, dear friends, a bamboozling amount of unexplained, arcane systems and conundrums. Destiny just loves not telling you stuff. And while I maintain that that's a great thing, eventually you're going to need some details if you're going to plumb the game's greater depths and discover its coolest secrets.
So that's what we're setting you up to do here. We've sat down, fine-toothed our way through all those 'What the hell is this for?' niggles that we, as hardened Destiny players, suffered through the first couple of days, and we've answered all of those questions for you. Read on, and understand.
What’s Silver Dust and where do I get it?
Silver Dust is Rise of Iron’s new currency. Its use is reserved for purchasing specific items, namely weapon and armour ornaments from Xur, the colour-filter applying Artifact Lens - which you can get from the Eververse store - and Chromas, also from the Eververse. You’ll also need to use it to equip an ornament, but once you’ve done so it will remain applied to that specific piece of gear as long as you don’t dismantle it, and can be switched on and off with a toggle in the item’s detail screen.
As for how to get Silver Dust, you acquire it from Radiant Treasure packages - obtained from the hardest Strike playlist - or by dismantling ornaments.
How do I get a Boon in Archon’s Forge?
This one is way less complicated than it at first seems. Part way through an Archons’ Forge fight, you’ll hear a siren go off. Scan around the arena, and you’ll see one of the large domes is opening up. There will be a SIVA node inside it, and if you kill that, a second dome will open up with three hammers/axes (haxxors?) inside as a reward for your conscientious killing. And boom, there you go. The Boon is yours. Do that five times, and you’ll have enough for the related quest.
What’s the new maximum Light level for blue engrams?
We’ve seen them go up to 350 , though in practice they more regularly cap out in the 340s. Obviously your mileage will vary depending on how high your equipped Light level is when you decrypt.
What are those bells for (and where are they)?
Head out to the left or right of the Temple’s first main chamber, and you’ll find a small door. Head through, and up the stairs on the other side, and you’ll find a corridor that loops right around the outside of the chamber. Along the way, you’ll also find a series of large bells, each with a button prompt allowing you to ring it. If you sound out each of the bells in the right order to play the Rise of Iron main theme, you’ll get a Trophy or Achievement, but you’ll probably need a team to do that, as the time window for ringing each note is quite short.
What are those flying drones for?
Not much. We think they might be repairing the Plaguelands and Cosmodrome after the SIVA influx, though it’s not entirely clear. But you can ride them if you get up high and make a careful jump.
Why are Splicer Vandals so hard to kill?
If you’re going for headshots and finding that Splicer Vandals aren’t going down as fast as expected, that’s because their SIVA armour makes them work a little differently to the rest of their faction (and vanilla Vandals). Their SIVA helmets give them extra protection, so to score a precision shot, you’ll actually need to aim for the throat.
Why do I keep getting hit by these red things?
Those will be the grenades that some Splicers eject from their neck-holes when you kill them with a headshot. They’ll slowly track you until they hit you, and then they’ll hurt. The chances are you won’t even notice one has been launched, as efficient Guardians generally turn straight to the next target as soon as the last one is confirmed downed. But when fighting Splicers it’s worth keeping an eye on each kill as it drops, just to make sure. If a grenade is launched, just shoot it down. Or, if you’re a jerk, let it track your teammate, as these explosives will lock onto the nearest Guardian target.
Why can’t I find all the SIVA clusters in the Plaguelands patrol?
Because they're not all in the Plaguelands patrol, basically. I know the quest tracker implies that they are, but it lies. Some are in Destiny's picturesque winter wonderland of snowbound desolation, but others are in the Cosmodrome, while yet more are technically in the Plaguelands, but only appear during certain missions. Fear not though, you only need five to progress along the quest to get Gjallarhorn, and completing the SIVA cluster entry in the Record Book only requires 15. There are 30 in total. And if you want the lot, we already have a SIVA cluster guide.
Where are the Iron Medallions needed to make Gjallarhorn?
These are all in the Plaguelands patrol (with the exception of the first one, which you’ll find part-way up the mountain climb at the Iron Temple, and the last two, which are in the Wretched Eye Strike). They’re actually really easy to find though. Just track the quest, and they’ll turn up as markers in your HUD when you get close. The only tricksy one in patrol is in Site 6, but that’s only because Site 6 doesn’t turn up as part of the standard, circuitous flow of the Plaguelands. To find it, you’ll need to go into the Archon’s Forge, and then through the SIVA-tainted corridor you used to reach the Warmind facility in the campaign. Head through the Warrens and drop in as you did before.
What the hell is an assassination patrol / quarantine patrol?
These are normal patrol missions you’ll get now Rise of Iron is out. You’ll find them in the Plaguelands but they’re not as common your standard ‘kill the guys’ or ‘scan the area’ variants. If you can’t see any straight away, use your sparrow to move between locations until one appears. You can also try picking up a patrol mission, abandoning it, and then returning to the area. Or booting back to orbit and returning, if pickings seem particularly dire. The Lord’s Watch and Archon’s Keep areas seem to be particularly good for them at the moment.
Assassination patrols are represented by a star within a circle icon (the same as the ‘kill an enemy leader’ version) and ask you to, well… kill an enemy leader. They’re not too high powered so you should have no problem handling it solo. Quarantine patrols are represented by a SIVA mark - a sort of broken diamond, or abstracted, backwards ‘Q’ - and have you killing an Elite Splicer unit then defending a zone. Make use of the hammer/axe provided and you’ll have no trouble.
What the hell is a noble deed?
Basically anything you do in patrol on the Plaguelands. Pick up and complete missions, take part in public events, enter the Archon’s Forge. It’ll all count towards your noble deeds. Combine this with bounties and get extra bonuses at the same time.
How do I get ornaments for my guns?
Mostly, you get them from Radiant Treasures or buy them from Xur (for 25 Silver Dust). But there are a few you can get from the Record Book, by winning a flawless victory in the Trials of Osiris, or in the Wrath of the Machine hard mode Raid.
What’s in the new Record Book, and where are my rewards?
The Record Book is a new way of logging your activities and achievements through Rise of Iron. It will track all kinds of stuff, from kills made, to Raid and Strike triumphs, to Crucible glory. For every two entries you complete, you’ll unlock a piece of the Days of Iron armour set - that cool, medieval-looking stuff you’ve seen in the trailers.
Each unlock will give you the equivalent piece - helmets, gauntlets, boots, etc. - for all three classes, meaning that you can equip it to any alt. characters you might have at the same time. Task progress is also shared between characters, which makes things a bit easier. Every other completed entry will give you shaders and emblems. Just remember that you’ll have to manually activate each reward by clicking on the completed task, and then go back to the front page of the book to claim it.
I’ve unlocked a reward in the Record Book. But why is it saying my inventory is full?
Because, confusingly, the Days of Iron Armor comes in unlockable packages of three pieces, rather than just, well, three pieces. So it gets stored in your Consumables inventory rather than your armour list. And then you have to unpack it into your armour list. So clear some space out of your consumables and try again. Yes, we know it’s stupid.
How do I start the exotic Khvostov quest?
Like this.
Where do I get skeleton keys from?
SIVA Strikes and the Nightfall. You use them to unlock the Strike Hoard chests that now appear at the end of Strikes - containing loot unique to each mission - and can carry up to five at a time.
Okay, how do I get the new Thorn, then?
Like this.
What the hell is an attunement?
Attunement is just what you do with an Iron Lord artifact in order to be able to equip it. Just take it over to the respective Iron Lord statue in the Temple, hit the button, and away you go.
