Destiny 2 was the subject to a big set of leaks over the weekend, with most of the exotics, the skill trees for the third subclasses, and heaps of other information being released into the world thanks to a leak of the Destiny 2 Strategy Guide by Reddit user Namasuki. There is a lot of information that will spoil the game's content for you, so proceed with caution if you want to go into Destiny 2 fresh. In this article, I'll try to avoid story spoilers and try to focus on the new weapons and armor, features, activities, and other content.
To start things off let's dive into the plethora of new exotic weapons and armor pieces that will be available in Destiny 2 (only after reaching level 20, unfortunately). There are a few armor pieces and weapons that are making a return from Destiny 1, but most are brand new. Some of the weapons that will be making a triumphant return are the MIDA Multi-Tool (now with a little brother weapon called MIDA Mini-Tool) and Hard Light. There's been no word yet if any other Destiny 1 exotic weapons will be making an appearance in Destiny 2 either in updates or in future DLC. As for exotic armor, there are a good handful of pieces from Destiny 1 being carried over. Carryovers for the Titan are the Insurmountable Skullfort, ACD/0 Feedback Fence, Crest of Alpha Lupi, and the Dunemarchers; For the Warlocks there is the Skull of Dire Ahamkara, Sunbracers, Starfire Protocol, and the Transversive Steps; Lastly, Hunters have the Celestial Nighthawk, Knucklehead Radar, Young Ahamkara's Spine, and Lucky Raspberry. You can find each of the exotic armors and weapons if you don't want to look directly at the strategy guide pictures (compiled by Reddit user Justinlaforge).
From the looks of things, at least when it comes to the exotic armors, Bungie has seemingly toned down the power and uniqueness of the special exotic perks compared to the exotic armors found in Destiny 1. The weapons look a lot more creative and fun to use, especially the Rat King and the Wardcliff Coil. Unfortunately, the guide doesn't give any indication as to which exotics are obtained through special exotic quests, and which are random drops/bought, but it's safe to assume most will be obtained through drops.
Another part of the leaked strategy guide was the reveal of the changes that will be coming to the third subclasses for each class. Returning again are the Sunbreakers for Titans, Stormtrance for Warlocks, and Nightstalkers for Hunters. Each class' super is basically unchanged, but with the changes that have been brought to the perks within each class, there are new and returning perks that have been put into each of the two paths available. Each class still has the same class ability and have the same grenade and jump options as in Destiny 1. The guide also mentions that you'll need to collect certain artifacts and complete corresponding missions to unlock the third subclasses, similar to how you unlocked them in the Taken King DLC (if I had to guess, I'd say most likely midway through the main campaign).
Lastly, it was revealed that there will be a new Tower available at some point in the game (most likely after the main campaign) The guide shows a map of the new Tower and in the list of vendors in the game there are those that have "Tower" listed for their location rather than or including "The Farm". Another interesting thing to note is that everyone's favorite tentacle faced merchant, Xur, will now be in the patrol areas on the various planets rather than being located in the main social spaces. It will still be random and at Bungie's discretion as to where exactly he appears, but having him be in the patrol areas rather than social spaces is a nice little change. Also, each of the planets looks like they will have their own "Overseer" acting as a vendor for high tier gear and seemingly who you'll go through for each location's adventures.
With Destiny 2 only a few short days away it's nice to get a look at all the new things that have been added and all the things that have been tweaked just waiting to be obtained and unlocked. Bungie has also recently revealed when the Raid and Trials of Osiris will be available a week after launch, so you'll need to get through as much as you can to get yourself decked out in the best gear if you want to take part in those endgame activities. Basically, nothing has been shown of the raid and not even the strategy guide has anything on it, so you'll need to get a crack team together to deal with the surprises Bungie has in store.
Quick Take
I have to admit I'm very excited for Destiny 2. From what I've seen, Bungie has done a lot of listening to fans and have seemingly corrected just about everything I've found lacking in the original Destiny. The exotic armors are slightly disappointing, but I've definitely got my eyes on the Graviton Lance and the Orpheus Rig for my Hunter. Bungie has expressed interest in improving balance in PvP and this may be the end result of that. There looks like there is a lot more to do in Destiny 2 and the small quality of life changes they've made from original are very much welcome in my eyes.