Watch this Destiny player solo the new Crota’s End raid

Destiny‘s Crota’s End raid is currently the hardest content in the game, but that hasn’t stopped one Guardian from completing it on his own.

A player who goes by the name of ”sc Slayerage” managed to complete the whole thing from start to finish solo—it is designed for six players. As you’ll see in the video above, the Hunter’s invisibility helped in getting past the first few areas. The only real issue he came across was with the final fight with Crota. At level 31 his damage just wasn’t enough to complete the fight, so he was forced to leave and level up to 32 in order to complete the raid.

“sc Slayerrage” has also previously completed Destiny’s other raid, The Vault of Glass, with just two people.

Crota’s End was added with The Dark Below DLC, which is available now for $19.99 and adds the raid, a new Strike (two for PlayStation), three PvP maps, new weapons, and armor, and ups the maximum Light Level to 32.

Watch this Destiny player solo the new Crota’s End raid

‘Destiny’ Player Completes ‘Crota’s End’ Solo

At this point, those either playing or casually following the accomplishments of Destiny players should simply expect every possible outcome. Just days after the game’s first expansion, The Dark Below, was released with new missions, new loot, and a new Raid pitting them against a god-like being in ‘Crota’s End,’ a single player has completed it from start to finish. The video has to be seen to be believed.

It’s not hard to believe because of the difficulty required; other videos have shown how exploits and abilities can be used to allow Sunsinger Warlocks to solo entire sections of Crota’s End. It’s also possible for players to reach the first Loot Chest of the Raid without any additional Guardians. But while players are still seeking to hit the Level 32 level cap, a single player able to “casually one-man” their way to the finish – at Level 31 – just wasn’t expected. At least not this soon.

It likely won’t be possible for much longer, going by how quickly Bungie has addressed previous exploits (like pushing the Vault of Glass’s Templar boss off a ledge), but the player responsible for the feat – going by ‘The Legend Himself’ (fittingly) – was also the first to defeat the Vault of Glass with only one other Guardian. Take that experience with some clever jumping, feigned deaths, and impressive weaponry, and even Crota can’t survive for long.

It’s at this point that we remind players that the ‘Hard’ version of The Dark Below‘s raid won’t even be available until January. It seems impossible to assume that by that time, solo-ing Crota’s End and dispatching its final boss in a matter of minutes. It only took a few hours for the devoted players to complete it, and just days longer for it to be cracked wide open enough for a single player to stroll (or sprint) through. Who knows what the next week will bring?

It’s hard to believe that even Bungie’s development team isn’t surprised to see how quickly their latest gauntlet has been solved. Crota’s ability to intimidate may drop for every player who watches the video from start to finish, but it still remains a long shot that many more will be able to duplicate the feat (consider that challenge issued, Destiny fans).

Destiny: The Dark Below is available now for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Follow me on Twitter @andrew_dyce.

‘Destiny’ Player Completes ‘Crota’s End’ Solo

‘Destiny: The Dark Below’ Review Roundup: Thin On Content

Players who have committed more than twenty hours or so to sci-fi first-person shooter Destiny know that it is the kind of game that demands new, exciting content as frequently as possible. The game’s loot and experience grind is a lot of fun, but like most MMOs, hardcore players find themselves very quickly revisiting the same content repeatedly to hunt down gear and materials to upgrade said gear. Three months after launch, the available end-game content is getting a bit old and players are ready for a new challenge and a change of scenery. The Dark Below attempts to feed that need with a $20 DLC pack.

The Dark Below introduces several new but short story missions (only two of them replayable), a new Strike, a Raid, and three new multiplayer maps. There is also a bundle of new gear and for PlayStation users, an additional Strike. The new bosses supposedly offer a nice challenge and the new content should fit nicely into the rotation of end-game grinders who are eager to pick up some new armor and weapons.

Destiny launched to mixed, yet generally positive reviews three months ago, but the two consistent complaints were that the game lacked variety and was short on content. We spent a lot of time mastering the available end-game, so we’ve been anxious to find out if the The Dark Below is able to solve the game’s few glaring problems. We’ll have our review up shortly (we’ve been putting some serious time into the new content), but so far the general consensus seems to be that the content isn’t quite substantial enough to flesh out the repetitious world of Destiny.

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Eurogamer (Tom Bramwell):

Multiplayer fans will appreciate the new maps, the bounty-style quest steps are a good idea and there is certainly plenty of stuff to do and unlock, but in a game where the content has worn thin so quickly, taking aim at our precious loot just at the point we finish upgrading it is a huge mistake.

Score: 6/10

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Destructoid (Chris Carter):

Alas, The Dark Below needed more to truly sell itself to most of the fanbase. Four Strikes, not two, would have been about right. Crota’s End is fun, but I feel like it was shorter than Vault of Glass, and it was a bit easier to pick up. I’m not too sure on the longevity of this raid either unless Bungie has something special up its sleeve for January’s hard mode.

For now, there’s an easy test to judge whether or not you should pick up The Dark Below: did you play Destiny from launch all the way up until the first expansion? If so, you’ll want to get it as soon as possible. If your enthusiasm has faltered over the past few months and you never really got into the first raid, you can wait or pick up the Season Pass at a later date after more incremental improvements have been made.

Score: 6.5/10

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Polygon (Samit Sarkar):

I’ve gotten all the way to this point without mentioning The Dark Below’s price of admission, a steep $19.99. The problem isn’t just that, and I wouldn’t feel much better if the cost were much lower. The Dark Below is thin on content, and it fails to expand the scope of Destiny in any meaningful way. Bungie has adopted language from the MMO genre to describe this DLC as an “expansion,” but the studio doesn’t establish any legitimate claim to the term.

Polygon followed up with an opinion piece on how the DLC punishes the game’s most important players.

Score: 5/10

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Ars Technica (Steven Strom):

It has all the trappings of the most abusive, microtransaction laden mobile game: time gated content, infuriatingly random drops, and multiple currencies that change in importance on a whim. No matter how enjoyable the shooting and jetpack-fueled bouncing, it’s that slow drip of gear and the promise of a new level I’ll probably never reach that’s kept me addicted this long. The only difference is, instead of microtransactions, Destiny has The Dark Below—a $20 promise of a new level 30 that I’ll probably never reach.

Score: N/A

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Are you surprised that the reviews seem to be so harsh on the lack of additional content in The Dark Below? How many additional Strikes and Raids do you think twenty dollars should earn you? Is the economy and progression system (the grind) too punishing? Let us know in the comments.

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Destiny: The Dark Below is now available on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Follow Denny on Twitter @The_DFC.

‘Destiny: The Dark Below’ Review Roundup: Thin On Content

Penny Arcade’s ‘Destiny’ Comic Hits Home

Much has been said on the subject of Bungie’s Destiny — it’s certainly one of the biggest releases of 2014, but it’s also proven to be one of the most controversial. The game has been subject to a thorough analysis by both its fans and its detractors, but it might just turn out to be gaming web comic Penny Arcade who manage to really cut to the core of what makes Destiny such a hot topic.

While Penny Arcade might be as well known for the Child’s Play charity as much as the web comic itself these days, the team of Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik can still provide some very insightful commentary on the industry. Today’s installment, entitled ‘Fan Fiction’, is a very good example of that.

Eschewing the lame gags that video game web comics all too often rely upon, ‘Fan Fiction’ lets us in on a private conversation between a Guardian and her Ghost. It’s a simple scene, but it’s well told — and it’s the sort of narrative that many would say is missing from the game itself.

Earlier this week saw the release of the first expansion pack for Destiny, The Dark Below. Players desperate for more to do in the world of Destiny have attacked the new content with some vigo;r, with the records for fastest run through of the game’s new Raid, Crota’s End, being hotly contested over the past few days.

However, for anyone more interested in seeing Bungie follow up the intricate lore that they put together for the Halo series, the new expansion won’t offer all that much. There are very interesting ideas going on in Destiny — the Penny Arcade comic demonstrates just how much potential the game has for ‘Fan Fiction’ — but it’s disappointing to see how poorly it’s capitalized upon in the game itself.

Penny Arcade’s strip touches on things that the game should; the terror of the Hive, the loneliness of being a solo Guardian and even the personality of the Ghosts that accompany them. Destiny might be able to deliver the satisfying gameplay that made Halo a huge success, but it’s difficult to argue that there isn’t more than could have been done with its narrative.

However, given that we already now that work has begun on Destiny 2, perhaps we’ll see the burgeoning franchise find its feet in its second installment. It’ll certainly need to make good on the failings of its predecessor if it’s going to prove to be anywhere near as financially successful.

Destiny is available now for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

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Source: Penny Arcade

Penny Arcade’s ‘Destiny’ Comic Hits Home

‘Destiny’: Crota’s End Raid Beaten in 6 Hours

The thriving community behind Destiny has shown that Bungie still knows how to turn an online shooter into a phenomenon. They have outdone themselves yet again, as just hours after the game’s expansion, The Dark Below, was released, the first group of players have already completed the newest Raid, Crota’s End.

The task was completed by a group of 7 players – known as Invigorate Gaming – in just over 6 hours. Admittedly, the Raid was beaten on the standard difficulty (since the Hard version won’t be coming until January). Even so, the feat is an impressive one, since it was Invigorate who previously captured the record of defeating The Vault of Glass first as well.

Veteran players may argue that the truly impressive record completion times and fire team size will come with the increase in difficulty to Crota’s End (although the Raid is brutal in its current form), but if the record-setters have brought any fact to light, it’s just how quickly dedicated Destiny players are burning through content faster than Bungie can produce it.

Crota was defeated by 7 players in 6 hours. We’ve reached out to @InvigorateINV for comments. Stand by… pic.twitter.com/ZesgGYZoUv

— Bungie (@Bungie) December 9, 2014

 

That isn’t to say that Crota’s End was the only major update brought with The Dark Below, and the completion time pays no mind to the increased emphasis on story Bungie is focusing on, beginning with the titular Crota, a godlike being revered by the Hive. With new weaponry and gear, it’s safe to assume that players will be just as eager to play through Crota’s End until the studio reveals the next planned expansion.

Kill Confirmed: Crota has met his end. RT @LtJohn5: World first repeat? @Bungie @InvigorateINV pic.twitter.com/Mmt1i97RfM

— Bungie (@Bungie) December 9, 2014

It’s a difficult task ahead of the development team: keeping seasoned players engaged with new, more difficult content and overpowered weapons, but somehow continuing to keep Destiny friendly to newcomers (or making the more controversial decision of simply prioritizing the veterans over the beginners).

Whether the mysterious changes coming to Crota’s End in January will address that problem, or more fun-focused gameplay like the rumored Racing Mode will help Destiny appeal to the swarms of new players receiving a home console or copy of the game in the coming weeks. And then there’s the music lovers being courted by Bungie as well.

Have you tried your hand at Crota’s End yet, or have you been kept busy by the other Strikes and loot unlocked with The Dark Below‘s arrival? Share your own impressions in the comments, and we’ll keep you posted as more record-breaking achievements roll in.

Destiny: The Dark Below is available now for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Follow me on Twitter @andrew_dyce.

‘Destiny’: Crota’s End Raid Beaten in 6 Hours

Destiny’s Weekly Strikes Are Now Only Available To DLC Buyers

Destiny has been a monster release in more ways than one. After a reported cost of $500 million to develop and promote, a lot was expected from the Activision-published title. That cost turned out to be barely a risk, however. Players bought it it droves, and Activision made that $500 million back through day one sales figures. Bungie’s multiplayer space shooter has even picked up some awards, including “Best Online Experience” at The Game Awards 2014.

It’s no surprise, then, that Destiny’s first additional content pack The Dark Below has kept the buzz going. Alongside new story missions and weapons, some of the main highlights of the DLC are the additional strikes and raids on show (with an extra strike for PS3 and PS4 players). Not only that, but Bungie has also upped the ante in terms of difficulty levels for the new strikes in The Dark Below.

Unfortunately for players who don’t want to spend $20 on the new DLC pack, it looks as though the release of The Dark Below will have a negative effect on the vanilla version of Destiny when it comes to the aforementioned strikes. Both the Weekly Nightfall activity and Weekly Heroic activity are set to The Will of Crota – The Dark Below’s new strike this week, meaning that players who do not have the additional content will not be able to access this week’s activities. Essentially, the most rewarding activities outside of the raid have been stripped away from non-DLC buyers.

It is, of course, somewhat expected – after all, The Dark Below launched today and Bungie will have been itching to unveil what the expansion pack has in store. However, it’s still a kick in the teeth for players who have not purchased the DLC pack yet, or who have no intention of getting it. After all, it is literally stopping players from accessing an important part of Destiny’s content. A potential and all-too-obvious workaround could have seen Bungie including an alternative strike for those without The Dark Below.

David “DeeJ” Dague, Bungie Community Manager, has confirmed that this exclusion is not just a one-off. In future weeks, The Dark Below’s strike could also rotate back into contention as a weekly strike. Speaking on Twitter, DeeJ revealed that “featured heroic activities will be a blend of old and new from week to week.” This was backed up by Bungie’s head of community Eric Osborne. Speaking with Polygon, Osborne stated that “activities like nightfall will periodically feature expansion 1 content.”

It’s not just the playable content that could be a hindrance to players, though. For those who are unfamiliar with Destiny, or who are at low levels, the weekly strikes are the only way for players to earn “strange coins.” These strange coins are a rare currency for the mysterious vendor Xur, who only appears once a week with a variety of high-end gear. By not being able to access this week’s strikes, some players will have to put off buying that top level item.

What do you make of the news? Do you think it’s fair on players who have fought to reach level 30 if they don’t want to buy additional content? Or do you think it’s fine for Bungie to switch out DLC strikes periodically? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Twitter, Polygon

Destiny’s Weekly Strikes Are Now Only Available To DLC Buyers

‘Destiny’ Update Raises Weekly Strike & Daily Story Mission Difficulties

It’s a big day for Destiny players as the highly anticipated Dark Below expansion is slated to arrive at 1am PST later tonight. The DLC will bring with it several new pieces of content including two new strikes (one if you’re on Xbox), a handful of new story missions, new weapons and gear, and a brand new raid called Crota’s End.

But before Destiny unleashes its selection of new content, Bungie has released a new hot fix that paves the way for The Dark Below. The patch addresses some unannounced bugs with the DLC and also raises the difficulty levels for some of Destiny‘s weekly and daily story missions.

Although Bungie doesn’t reveal what the challenge levels for each weekly strike (Heroic and Nightfall) will be, we do know that the Nightfall will go from level 30 to level 28. And so it’s safe to assume that the Heroic Strikes also go up by two levels at each tier. As far as the daily story missions are concerned, those have already jumped up by two levels at every tier so the max difficulty is now level 30.

Alongside these new challenge levels, Bungie’s latest hot fix also patches some bugs in The Dark Below. However, since the DLC isn’t actually live we have no idea what the bugs could have been. It does bode well for the experience that Bungie is trying to make sure it runs smooth before players go hands-on. Now if only they could address those Vault of Glass glitches.

Here are the full patch notes:

This small hot fix follows last week’s update, which was quite a rather large one. Not only did that update pave the way for the new exotic upgrade system but it also introduced new base game changes as well. Now players have easier ways to procure destination materials and better odds of getting legendary engrams from the Cryptarch. That update was really the big one for The Dark Below, whereas today’s patch covered a few smaller things.

Nevertheless, it’s no doubt a big week for Bungie and Destiny players, who have been craving new content practically since launch. Granted, some feel that having to pay for new missions, raids, and strikes is devious, especially when one considers how light on content the retail offering was. Nevertheless, there is genuine enthusiasm for The Dark Below launch and we expect to see plenty of players milling about at 1am PST.

How do you feel about Bungie raising the challenge levels for the daily and weekly missions? Should they have raised the challenge levels so soon?

Destiny: The Dark Below releases December 9, 2014 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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Source: Bungie

Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina

‘Destiny’ Update Raises Weekly Strike & Daily Story Mission Difficulties

‘Destiny’ Character Progress To Carry Over Into Sequels

If you participated in the public beta tests for Destiny, it was expected that your progress wouldn’t carry into the full release. That wouldn’t be fair or make much sense given the nature of the game and the beta program. Knowing that there’s a 10-year plan in place for the franchise however, including expansions in between, we very much expect to continue our character progress from Destiny to Destiny 2. And that very much is the plan for Activision and Bungie’s popular shooter.

Destiny won two categories at The Game Awards this weekend for its score and online gameplay experience, and has a big presence at the PlayStation Experience event in Las Vegas since it features a pile of PlayStation exclusive content, including a bonus Strike co-op mission and a special exotic weapon coming next week in The Dark Below expansion. That new content is just a tip of the iceberg for the future of the game with the DLC season’s pass already including a second expansion coming in 2015. After that, we can expect more DLC before the inevitable Destiny sequel.

While Destiny dropped the ball on the story and character front, it does share similarities to BioWare’s Mass Effect series where players (in that case, all controlling Commander Shepard) have a character on a long-term journey. The only way that works in Bungie’s 10-year plan is if players can carry over their progress from game to game, something we’re sort of already doing with the expansion next week. Mass Effect handled that brilliantly, letting players transfer characters through save files from each game to their successor (including all of their decisions made through the titles).

While it’s not official that Destiny players will be able to transfer or load their characters into Destiny 2 in a similar fashion, it’s obvious it will work that way as new planets and locations are added to the game’s map. It’s even easier now given the current-gen hardware. Bungie community manager DeeJ (real name: David Dague) teases as much in a conversation with IGN:

“The idea is that the Guardian you have created is something you can bring along with you on that adventure. If you take a look at the way people have played other games for a long period of time, they’ve had a relationship with the same character for a very long time.”

He also explains that the development team is always planning and building ahead.

“I’ve seen new concept art, I’ve seen new exotic weapons up on people’s screens…it’s a lot of fun to walk around the studio, because there’s always somebody thinking about the next place you’ll go, the next enemy you’ll fight, the next thing that you’ll earn for doing those things.”

Looking at the immediate future, Destiny: The Dark Below launches on December 9th, and on December 16th there will be another Iron Banner in-game competitive multiplayer event. There’s no release date yet on the second expansion, House of Wolves, or what could come after but we anticipate Destiny 2 won’t come until 2016-17, assuming Bungie even goes the full sequel route. For all we know, Destiny can continue to grow for years and years simply by adding new planets and eventually, other systems, alongside new enemies, abilities, gear, etc. The game is essentially a launch platform for everything in the Destiny franchise to be built upon and your character(s) will be there for the whole ride.

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Destiny Guide: What’s New With The Dark Below Expansion

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Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.

Source: IGN

TAGS: Activision, Bungie, Destiny, Destiny 2, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

‘Destiny’ Character Progress To Carry Over Into Sequels

‘Destiny: The Dark Below’ Timed PlayStation Exclusives Revealed

Despite being offered on four consoles, Sony was determined to make Destiny a PS4 selling point when the first-person shooter launched earlier this fall. One of the major reasons to play the game on a PlayStation console, rather an an Xbox 360 or Xbox One, was the exclusive content being offered by Activision and Bungie only on Sony’s platforms (as a timed exclusive). The upcoming first expansion to Destiny continues that trend with a pair of timed exclusive incentives only on PS3 and PS4.

Much like the original Destiny release, The Dark Below will offer a PlayStation exclusive cooperative strike mission. In a game that is already so full of repeat content, actually having an extra strike to grind for gear and experience actually makes a significant difference and at the same time screws over Xbox players paying the same price for DLC. In addition to the exclusive mission, players on Sony consoles also have access to a new exotic shotgun.

The new PlayStation exclusive strike is called The Undying Mind and takes players back to Mars. Guardians and their ghosts will return to The Black Garden (which we all know too well by now) to battle a Vex machine-beast. We don’t have any other details about the mission yet, aside from the image below of the titular foe, depicting a new variant of the Vex Hydra. A similar Vex Hydra unit named the The Nexus Sekrion is the also the final boss of The Nexus strike on Venus so if you’re looking for actually new strike bosses… maybe in the next expansion.

Although the availability of an extra strike will likely be more exciting to the majority of Destiny grinders (and those of us still trying to hit 30…), the exclusive shotgun also looks like a lot of fun. The exotic-class weapon is a full-auto arc, four barrel shotgun. The 4th Horseman holds a five shot clip and an incredibly fast fire rate. Five shots may not sound like a lot to get off before a reload, but we have a feeling it will be enough to down just about any enemy you run into.

Xbox users aren’t totally out of luck though, as both of these exclusives are timed. We don’t know exactly when the strike and the new weapon will arrive on Xbox consoles, but the timed exclusive deal runs through autumn 2015, so it will be sometime after that. Combined with The Dust Palace strike, Exodus Blue PvP map, and a handful of weapons; the PlayStation exclusives in Destiny are definitely piling up. All that exclusive content didn’t stop the Xbox One from being the most popular console on Black Friday 2014, but it definitely provides plenty of motivation to stick to Sony for Destiny.

Do you think the exclusive content is enough reason to play Destiny on a Sony console rather than a Microsoft one? Is it enough reason to purchase a PS4? Let us know in the comments.

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Destiny: The Dark Below releases December 9, 2014 for PS4 and Xbox One at a price of $19.99.

Follow Denny on Twitter @The_DFC.

Source: PlayStation Blog

‘Destiny: The Dark Below’ Timed PlayStation Exclusives Revealed

‘Destiny: Dark Below’ DLC Video Shows Sword Gameplay & New Exotics

In a little over two weeks Bungie will give Destiny players their first taste of post-launch story content in the form of The Dark Below DLC expansion. As previously detailed, The Dark Below will include a set of new story missions, one new Strike mission (or two for PlayStation players), a new Raid, and tons of new weapons and gear to collect.

But before Bungie lets players go hands-on with The Dark Below there’s still plenty of legwork to be done. Specifically, Bungie needs to explain to Destiny players why this expansion is worth the $15 price tag.

Luckily, the coming week will deliver those much-needed Dark Below details as part of a preview feature from Game Informer. The publication recently visited Bungie’s studio and was able to get all the important details on The Dark Below and get hands-on time with its new story content.

To better give players an idea of what to expect in the next week, the folks at GI have put together a teaser video highlighting all the new elements in The Dark Below. The footage features closer looks at each of the new story missions, provides more back-story on the character of Eris, showcases some of the new weapons and gear, and even teases some new gameplay experiences as well. Check it out the video here.

First and foremost, it sounds like Bungie is trying to deliver a more cohesive story experience with The Dark Below. It doesn’t matter if players are off on quests or going through the new Strike, everything should tie together through the character of Eris.

Eris, as the video and epilogue cinematic explain, was the member of a raid team who descended into the depths of the Moon looking for the Hive god Crota. The details get a bit fuzzy from their but it sounds like the team found more than they bargained for and only Eris survived. Now, she sends players on a series of missions that will eventually culminate in the new 6-player raid, Crota’s End.

Gameplay-wise, the new content looks pretty familiar, although it is nice to see the sword mechanic return. We don’t know how much of a factor the sword will play in The Dark Below, but considering it played a small part of a single mission we’re hoping Bungie has more sword missions planned this time around.

While the prospect of new content is intriguing we’re still wary given how limited the retail Destiny package was. As Project Director Jason Jones says at the top of the video, players wanted more. However, they didn’t want more in the form of paid DLC.

Hopefully, the upcoming details about The Dark Below – including more about those awesome legendary and exotic weapons – will do enough to convince players this is a value. Stick tuned to Game Rant for more.

What do you think of this closer look at The Dark Below? Do you think it will add enough to the game to keep you going?

Destiny: The Dark Below releases December 9, 2014 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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Source: Game Informer

‘Destiny: Dark Below’ DLC Video Shows Sword Gameplay & New Exotics