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Destiny 2 kicked off the Season of the Forge on November 27, and its next major DLC, The Black Armory, is due out on Tuesday, December 4. Bungie recently released a new video explaining the annual pass and teasing The Black Armory's offerings, giving players quite a lot to chew on in the meantime. We also spoke to Bungie about how annual pass content will be released and what that means for The Black Armory, so we've got plenty to share about the loot-filled DLC.
The Black Armory release date is December 4
The Season of the Forge started on Tuesday, November 27, but the Black Armory won't open until the following week on December 4. Per Bungie's breakdown of the annual pass, Black Armory content will roll out through March 4, 2019, while the annual pass will continue through August 2019.
The new Destiny 2 power cap is 650
More guns means more power. The Black Armory is upping the max power level by nearly 10%, all the way to 650. The level cap will be 750 by the end of the annual pass, but even if you don't own the annual pass, you'll be able to climb to 650 once Black Armory is out.
Per Bungie's latest blog post, the soft power cap still stay at 500 power, but players under 550 power "should expect to see Prime Engrams drop more frequently and receive higher power bumps, to help them reach end-game levels."
Our guide to the Black Armory is Ada-1
The Black Armory's mysterious Exo gunsmith - previously thought to be Gaunt, a character from the original Destiny - is named Ada-1. She's one of the few surviving Golden Age gunsmiths, and she needs your help reclaiming four Lost Forges once operated by Japanese, Norse, and French gunsmiths. With every Forge you reclaim, the titular Black Armory, located in a new area of the Tower, expands.
The Lost Forges are a new type of three-player, matchmade horde mode
The Lost Forges are key to the Black Armory, and represent a good chunk of the DLC's content. These Forges play out as three-player horde-type encounters where you and two teammates fight off waves of enemies while collecting and depositing weapon parts. From The Black Armory's release on December 4, a new Forge will become available each week. According to the early Black Armory roadmap, the Volundr Forge will open on Tuesday, December 4. The Gofannon Forge will arrive a little early on December 7 to make room for The Dawning event on December 11, and the Izanami Forge will open on December 18.
On the PlayStation Blog, design director Evan Nikolich said these Forges will be above the current 600 power cap, but will not be as difficult as something like a raid encounter. The goal of the Forges, Nikolich said, "was to add to the endgame ritual play of Destiny." Fittingly, they will reward 650-power gear once players raise their level (presumably to around 642 or so).
Bungie says the Lost Forges play somewhat similarly to Escalation Protocol and Blind Well, but thankfully they come with way more loot. (They also support Strike-style matchmaking, so no more zone spamming to group up!) Each Forge rewards a new Exotic weapon (you can check those out below), as well as Forge armor and new weapons with unique Black Armory mods (which can also be applied to other Forsaken gear). Bungie showcased several new Legendary Forge weapons in a new teaser trailer, including the No Feelings scout rifle, Kindled Orchid hand cannon, Hammerhead heavy machine gun, and Threat Level shotgun. These come the Forge as well as the Scourge of the Lost raid (more on that below).
Wield the elite weapons of the Black Armory. Doors open tomorrow, Guardians. pic.twitter.com/AoqGbLmTL9December 3, 2018
The Black Armory does not have a traditional campaign
Unlike the Warmind and Curse of Osiris DLCs, The Black Armory doesn't have a campaign mode. It's not without new quests and characters, but its story will be told primarily through lore and triumphs. Bungie says Ada-1 has plenty to share about the world of Destiny.
Scourge of the Lost is a full-fat raid, not a raid lair
The initial development roadmap for Destiny 2's annual pass said The Black Armory would add a new raid lair thought to be connected to the Last Wish raid, but Bungie has now confirmed that the Scourge of the Past raid included in the DLC is a proper standalone raid. It's set in Earth's Last City, and while it isn't as big as Last Wish, it's still much larger than the Leviathan raid lairs. Interestingly, Bungie compared Scourge of the Lost to the Wrath of the Machine raid from the original Destiny's Rise of Iron expansion, citing "high action, high adrenaline" encounters.
Scourge of the Past will release on Friday, December 7 at 9am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm BST. Its recommended power is 640, but you can attempt it at any power level.
The Black Armory's new Exotics look sharp
At its core, The Black Armory is a DLC about collecting awesome guns, so you'd better believe there are some cool new Exotics in store. The DLC comes with four new Exotics, as well as a returning Exotic by the name of The Last Word, which will arrive on January 29 with a new Exotic quest. We caught a sneak peek of these beasts in Bungie's teaser video, and we also got a closer look at the Exotic perks on Izanagi's Burden, Anarchy, and Le Monarque. You can check those out here.
Heavy machine guns are back, baby
Fancy new Exotics aside, the most exciting weapons in the Black Armory are the big ol' machine guns. These heavy weapons were as reliable as they were popular in the original Destiny, and if the previously released Exotic machine gun Thunderlord is any indication, they're back in rare form for Destiny 2.
We spoke to Bungie about how Destiny 2's annual pass content will be released, and how it changes the way the studio does DLC.
