At the start of Destiny, players grab a beat-up assault rifle that looks like something straight out of a modern military shooter. The weapon gets players through the introduction to the game, but it becomes almost worthless mere minutes later as players begin to find bigger and better weapons.
However, Bungie and many players haven't forgotten about the old assault rifle, officially dubbed the Khvostov. More than a few players tossed the weapon in their vault for pure nostalgia purposes. It's for that reason Bungie is bringing back the battered weapon as a powerful exotic in Destiny's upcoming Rise of Iron expansion, as revealed by Game Informer.
"We really wanted to pay homage to that," lead designer Ryan Paradis tells the magazine. "Let's tug at the heartstrings a little bit. Let's give this gun a little bit more fiction and purpose. It's one of the true military weapons we have in the game that really feels like an assault rifle, so it was kind of neat for us to bring that back."
For the most part, the Khovostov's exotic form looks exactly as players remember the weapon, only less broken (though there will still be the option for players to use the weapon's iconic broken sight). Much like Sleeper Simulant weapon in The Taken King, acquiring the Khvostov 7G-OX will have players embarking on a quest that will return them to the early areas of the game where Khvostov was originally found. Players can begin the quest by finding a part of the weapon randomly from chests in the game's new Plaguelands area or a random reward for participating in the Archon's Forge battle arena. Those who held onto the original Khvostov after all these years can also break the weapon down to obtain a part for the new and improved version of the weapon.
"We devised that mission to take you back through those original spaces," Paradis says. "Sure, you've seen them a lot since then, but you haven't gotten Ghost's perspectives on it. So he's talking about the time he found you and ‘Remember when we were first here?' The Khvostov was the everyman's gun and we still want it to be the everyman's gun. We want this to be your exotic and really tell the story of the guardian and how far you've come."
As with most weapons in Destiny, the Khvostov 7G-OX can be upgraded in a number of ways. It's capable of being fired in full-auto, semi-auto or burst, and can also be upgraded with a number of additional perks, including a larger magazine.
The return of Destiny's first gun is just one of the surprises Bungie looks to have in stores for players when Rise of Iron arrives on Sept. 20. You can read more about Rise of Iron via Game Informer's hub.
