Warmind, Destiny 2's next DLC, involves aggressive debugging
Ra~ra~rasputin!
Bungie have finally unveiled the second expansion for their MMO-lite FPS Destiny 2. In Warmind, players are headed to Mars to meet up with a new cutscene-featured heroine named Ana Bray (see her in the fancy trailer within), and help her get an old computer back in working order. With guns. There may also be ancient undead transdimensional insect-people involved, so pack a can of bug spray or two.
Warmind looks to be similar-ish in scale to the previous expansion, Curse of Osiris, although with perhaps a little more new terrain to explore. The primary new location is Hellas Basin, a frozen patch of hell on Mars' chilly north pole. Somewhere under this ice lies the interminably lore-teased Rasputin, an ancient planetary defense AI, probably with a liquid-cooled CPU. Also, wasn't this a plot point in Doom 2016, too?
Outside of getting your marching orders from the new protagonist stand-in, there are a few new things to do out in the galaxy as a whole. Probably the addition to see the most use is the Escalation Protocol mode, which looks to be a pretty standard horde/survival game-type that mixes boss battles in with the rank-and-file shooting fun. From the looks of it, you'll mostly be shooting at The Hive for this expansion, so expect suicidal bugs and giant eldritch crystals that scream at you a lot.
There's also a new Raid Lair instance set on Leviathan. It's called Spire of Star, and will probably be the only place you can earn the absolute fanciest, shiniest, most fashionable gear of the expansion, so expect plenty of players queued for it at any given time. It will also undoubtedly be the hardest thing in the game for some time to come, so bragging rights come as standard.
Next on the feature-list is three new Strikes (standalone co-op missions), with a fourth set on Nessus remaining PS4-exclusive until presumably autumn this year, when it should open up for all. On top of all this, there's also the usual bucketload of new outfits, guns and fancy cosmetic items for those deep into Guardian fashion.
All in all, it's about par for a Destiny 2 DLC pack. More places to go, slightly reskinned enemies to shoot, and a handful of new co-op specific missions. One feature I am a bit saddened to still see the lack of is a proper Hard Mode. While I appreciate that for many, much of Destiny 2's appeal lies in its almost hypnotically rhythmic combat, I could personally stand to be shot at by at least 50% more.
Warmind is out on May 8th, and is available either standalone, or as part of the current Season Pass.