When he first entered the world of Destiny 2, the Drifter seemed like just another cool character introduced for the season, and a lot of players enjoyed the Gambit game mode that he brought with him on the Derelict.
Now it's clear that the mysterious traveller once known as Dredgen Hope may be one of the most important characters ever introduced into Bungie's ever-growing world.
"There's some really cool lore there with Drifter and the Nine, and why he's doing what he's doing," Bungie's creative lead Lars Bakken said in the recently released Developer Insight. "We've got some really cool things that are going to happen over the course of the season, and we really want to have a pay off for those things."
Apart from the fact that you kind of have to be a big deal to have an entire season of the game dedicated just to you, his shady past clearly holds the key to a lot of Destiny's ongoing narratives both in the current title, and all future releases.
In a video released by Bungie this week, the developers tease the underlying story of the Season of the Drifter. In part, they touch on the Dredgen's relationship with the Nine and speak about his connection with the Traveler.
According to the developers, and in particular writers Jonathan To and Mallory Schleif, who have been diving into the world of the lore in recent weeks, the Drifter is one of the first humans ever raised back into the world of the living by the Traveler.
When he was first brought back, he was continuously killed by starvation in a barren world. For him, this meant suffering, as his newfound Ghost continued to bring him back just for him to die again.
According to To and Schleif, the wily light-bearer went from "eating aliens" to owning a bar, being trapped on a massive ice planet, and apparently living through all the same battles and wars that the players and Guardians have faced since the beginning of Destiny 1 (nice of him to come help out!).
Right before he meets us, the players, the Drifter has become linked with Orin, an Emissary of the Nine best known for being the face of the competitive Trials of the Nine game mode, now removed.
“[The Drifter and Orin have] been alive since the Dark Age,” To recently revealed. “They’ve been different people from then until now, all the way to when they kind of reunite as you play through the Season of the Drifter endgame.”
"He comes from a period called the Dark Age, which was a tough time. He had to do what he had to do to survive. Drifter used to run with some bad folk, and is a guy that used to be part of many different crews over time. He's a 'shady uncle' that wants to teach you how to fight dirty.
"Overall he's just not who he appears to be. He's Dredgen Hope, he's always encouraging Guardians to ride the line between Light and the rest. His connection to the Nine runs pretty deep and that's where a lot of the questions come from."
So why in the world is this mysterious guy one of the most important characters in our Solar System?
Well, it's clear that he's got a lot going on behind the scenes. With the fact that To and Schleif have revealed there's a lot more bubbling along with Dredgen Hope, it's clear we're going to find out what motivates him in the near future.
It's pretty damn clear the Season of the Drifter won't end with the mysterious light-bearer 'drifting off' again. The question is - what the heck is he going to be doing next?
It's likely he's mixed up with a lot of the Darkness stuff that's coming our way in the coming releases. He seems terrified of what could be beyond the space-horizon, and we know that he's going to be vital whether he sticks around or not.
Funnily enough, creative director Bakken may have given us a small insight into the man behind the mask in the Insight video - "Don't you think Jon To is just the Drifter? That would explain a lot."
Do you think that The Drifter holds the key to the upcoming War Against the Darkness? Or do you think he's just a cool vendor that's bringing us an interesting game mode?
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