Take a deeper dive into The Dark Below, Destiny’s upcoming expansion

By Will Fulton Published January 28, 2015

take deeper dive dark destinys upcoming expansion below destiny eris — Image used with permission by copyright holder

We already got a first look at Destiny‘s first expansion, The Dark Below, when the opening cinematic leaked, and now Game Informer has shared a behind-the-scenes video that provides more information and shows off a bit of gameplay.

The Dark Below introduces three new maps to the competitive play in Crucible. Pantheon is the first symmetrical map in Destiny, with three lanes through which to channel your furious gunplay. Skyshock is divided into discrete areas that favor vehicles and infantry, respectively. Finally, The Cauldron is a tight arena with distinct areas that makes it a great map for small team rumbles.

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The expansion also adds a host of new exotic weapons and armor to customize your play style. The trailer shows off some fast and vicious swordplay among other new gear in action. Many of these come from Eris Morn, a new vendor in the Tower and the main quest giver of the expansion’s content. Eris was once part of a group of Guardians that sought to destroy the Hive entity Crota, but failed and spent years hiding in the tunnels beneath the Moon’s surface, awaiting her chance for revenge.

Learn more by watching the trailer over at Game Informer, or go to Planet Destiny for an itemized collection of screen shots and details. The Dark Below comes to all platforms for Destiny on December 9. The expansion is available by itself or as part of the Season Pass.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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Bloomberg suggests that these layoffs, like others at Sony this year, are tied to internal game delays. While Destiny 2: The Final Shape is publicly slated to come out in February 2024, Bungie reportedly told staff that it's now going to come out in June 2024. Meanwhile, we learned that Bungie's revival of Marathon was apparently targeting a 2024 launch -- although no release window was given officially -- but will now come out sometime in 2025. These delays make the PlayStation 5's 2024 game lineup look pretty sparse right now outside of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and it suggests that Destiny 2's next season will be one of its longest.
As of now, Sony and Bungie have not publicly commented on the layoffs or delays, but we will update this post when they do say more about it.

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A titan wielding a grenade launcher in Destiny 2..

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Seasoned Destiny 2 players know they can count on the elusive merchant Xur to make an appearance with special exotic items every Friday, but what's not so clear is where you'll be able to find him. Below, you'll find a map with a marker that indicates where Xur is, as well as a list of his wares.

Who is Xur?
If you're new to Destiny 2 and need a bit more information about how this works, you should know that Xur is a special vendor who sells exotic weapons and armor. Each week, he comes to the solar system with a slate of goods, including an exotic weapon and one piece of exotic armor for each character class. As of The Witch Queen, he now stocks legendary armor and weapons and sells additional exotic weapons with random rolls every week.
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The trouble with Xur is finding him. We always know when Xur will show up -- at the 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET reset each Friday. The question is where Xur will be. Previously in Destiny 2, Xur’s location was marked on the map. He’s now unmarked and harder to find each weekend. Here’s where to go to track down Xur, the Agent of the Nine, as well as everything you need to know about what he’s offering this week.