Everything We Know So Far About Destiny 2 The Witch Queen

The Witch Queen launch date is quickly approaching as we begin the second week of February. Soon we will be face to face with Savathun and her new Hive Guardian army. But Hive Ghosts and Guardians are not all all we have to look forward to when the Witch Queen arrives February 22nd.

Savathun's Throne World and a new destination

When we got our first swampy glimpse at where the Witch Queen expansion, many guessed we would be heading to Old Chicago or somewhere akin to old Destiny concept art. However, after the first trailer it was revealed we would be heading no where other than Savathun's own Throne World.

Throne Worlds are Ascendant Realms that exist "outside our material world." They are extradimensional planes of existence created by Hive gods so that they can not die in our world, only in these pockets. For seasoned Destiny players, this will not be their first time stepping in and fighting a Hive leader in their Throne World. But if you are unfamiliar with the challenges that come with fighting a Hive leader in their territory, be prepared.

The campaign looks to take place here entirely with Guardians assisting Ikora Rey in discovering the truths that hide within this unfamiliar territory. On launch day everyone will be able to start in the Witch Queen campaign as Bungie has promised to boost all player to 1350 power.

A New Raid

With all new expansion come a new Raid and this one is shaping up to be no skip in the park as it seems to take place within a sunken Pyramid ship in Savathun's Throne World.

The raid will open up Saturday, March 5th, 2022 at 10am PST.

Weapon Crafting

If you haven't already take a look at our roundup of the newly revealed exotics and Weapon Crafting system here because Bungie is planning a massive overhaul of how weapons work in Destiny 2.

From the most recent TWAB we received even more details that flesh out how this system works.

It all starts with finding weapon blueprints Bungie refers to as "Patterns" and then collecting the materials to fulfill the Pattern's requirements. After crafting the weapon you will then need to use it to defeat enemies to fully unlock its potential.

Bungie states that there will be even more quests and objectives to complete to continue your enhancements for your crafted weapons.

It will also be possible to target specific traits when you are crafting weapons, Bungie gives the example of this as "if you find a Deepsight Resonance Legendary Auto Rifle with the Rampage perk, you can complete an objective and extract the essence of the perk to then craft a weapon with Rampage or another perk that increases damage."

There seems to be no limit to the possibilities this system has as Bungie has described that you will be able to even reshape your weapons as you swap out the barrel, mags, traits and more down the line.

Glaives

Destiny 2's first first person melee weapon is also coming with Witch Queen. This will in fact be the first weapon you craft at the Enclave.

But these Glaives aren't just great for shish kabobing Sentinel Hive Titans, they also will feature a variety of perks that will be class specific:

Titan Glaive - Edge of Action

The Titan , Edge of Action,  comes with a great supportive feature that actually fires a Titan Bubble with a mid range projectile. This could be an extremely effective weapon for when you are trying to move your team out of a tight situation.

Warlock Glaive - Edge of Intent

The Warlock Glaive, Edge of Intent, is the true supporter class Glaive as it fires a mid range Healing Turret. This gives Warlocks another extra turret to add to their army of “battle buddies.”

Hunter Glaive - Edge of Concurrence

In true Hunter fashion this Glaive does nothing for your team or allies, it is all about dishing out a shocking death to your enemies. This weapon shoots chain lighting that seeks like a cold snap grenade and looks to be extremely effective at basic ad clearing.

Void Subclass Revamp

I am personally looking forward to the Void Subclass revamp the most as it will bring Void in line with how Stasis is customizable and unique to every player's personal style.

Void will be reshaped to include three negative status effects towards enemies, similar to how Stasis does already, these will be:

• Suppression – The target is knocked out of any active abilities and can’t activate any abilities/movement modes as long as Suppression persists. Afflicted enemy AI combatants can’t shoot their weapons.
• Weaken – The target takes increased damage and has their movement slowed. Enemy AI combatants fire their weapons with decreased accuracy.
• Volatile – The target is afflicted with unstable Void energy and will explode upon taking additional damage or on death.

There will also be three positive effects to give to you and your team:

• Void Overshield – A protective barrier of Void Light which reduces damage taken from combatants.
• Invisibility – You vanish from sight and do not appear on enemy radar.
• Devour – You feast on the energy of your foes. Kills restore you to full health, grant grenade energy, and extend Devour.

These will be available in a variety of ways and across the classes as you unlock new enhancements to reach your true purple potential.

More Endgame

Bungie has stated there will also be two new Dungeons and a reprised Destiny Raid coming in 2022. The reprised Raid will be free similar to Vault of Glass when it launched.

However for the first time in Destiny 2, endgame will also include the campaign for the first time as the Witch Queen will be replayable at a Legendary difficulty.

Bungie is also planning on doing weekly rotations of all Dungeons and Raids available currently so fireteams can be incentived to explore older locations.

Tons of quality-of-life improvements

While the Witch Queen will be bringing a ton of new, Bungie has not forgot about big improvements the game has needed for a long time.

Blue Engrams will stop dropping for players in Playlist activities after they reach the soft power cap of 1500.

Seasonal Artifacts will be able to have all mod slots unlocked over the entirety of the season.

Banshee-44 is doing away with his token system and moving to a reputation system similar to how Gambit, Crucible, and the Vanguard system is now.

Masterworking costs are also being dropped dramatically to be 10,000 glimmer and an Upgrade module for Legendary armor and weapons and 20,o00 glimmer and an Upgrade Module for Exotic and weapons.

And though this isn't something to look forward to, it is worth noting that when the Witch Queen launches the Forsaken campaign will be vaulted for the foreseeable future. If you are looking to maximize the time you have left, I recommend running the Harbringer and Presage a few more times before February 22nd.

Don't worry though, the Last Wish Raid and Shattered Throne dungeon will both be staying for now!

What do you think of everything that is coming? Let me know in the comments or @Suttledge on Twitter.

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