Rumors on the sequel to massively popular space shooter Destiny started heating up late last year, with Activision finally confirming in its earnings report released in February that Destiny 2 will be coming out this year.
A blog post uploaded by Destiny developer Bungie proclaimed that the first game is coming to close, while answering certain questions regarding the highly anticipated sequel.
'Destiny' Nears Its End
In the blog post, Bungie said that it will be revealing the last live event for Destiny, named the Age of Triumph, on March 8. The developer said that the live event will be "a fun and memorable celebration" to bring the first major chapter of Destiny to its fitting close.
The weekly rituals for Age of Triumph will launch on March 15, and the sandbox update for Destiny's last live event will be rolled out on March 22.
'Destiny 2' Will Not Carry Over 'Destiny' Progress
Bungie then dived into one of the most important questions that have been surrounding Destiny 2, and that is if players will be able to carry over their characters from Destiny into the sequel.
The answer is, only partly. According to Bungie, players who have reached Level 20 and have completed the on-disc Black Garden story mission will be able to transfer the class, gender, race, face, hair, and marking selections of their characters into Destiny 2. The developer is also planning to award veteran accounts with honors that will reflect the accomplishments that players have accumulated in Destiny.
Everything else, as previously rumored, will not be carried over, and that includes the character's level, unlocked skills, farmed currency, and accumulated gear and weapons.
The Decision Behind 'Destiny 2' Being A Clean Slate
With basically only the looks of Destiny characters to be transferred to Destiny 2, both old and new players will begin the sequel with clean slates and on an even playing field.
According to Bungie, sequels are opportunities for players to start new adventures, where they can explore new worlds, go through new stories and earn new loot. As such, the decision to not transfer progress from Destiny into Destiny 2 was made so that Bungie can focus on major improvements and advancements without having to take into account guns and powers that were carried over from the first game.
The decision might come as a crushing blow to players that have grinded away at the game ever since Destiny was released in 2014, especially due to the massive amount of work and time required to acquire certain armor sets and weapons.
However, it will give new players a chance to enter the Destiny universe without feeling like they are hundreds of hours behind compared to veteran players.
Bungie's move to not carry over progress from Destiny to Destiny 2 is a bold one, but it is the correct direction to take for the space shooter to be able to provide a new spark to the community.
The specific release date for Destiny 2, however, is not yet revealed, with the wait to begin after Bungie rolls out Age of Triumph.
