While the Lightfall expansion certainly won’t be remembered as Destiny 2‘s best, Guardians still have more to come. The next expansion for Destiny 2 is called The Final Shape, serving as a finale to the series’ first saga.
In it, players will finally confront The Witness, the orchestrator of nearly all of the game universe’s strife. And along the way, it looks like players will even reunite with Cayde-6, who notably died during the Forsaken expansion. Though Bungie promises a conclusion to the decade-long conflict between the Light and Darkness, the expansion reveal initially underwhelmed players. And now, after layoffs at Bungie, some estimate lousy news will keep coming with an expected The Final Shape delay.
Every Destiny 2 expansion acts as the kick-off point for the next year of content. Typically, each expansion contains an initial set of story missions, a new locale, and new activities like Raids or Strikes. The following year is accented with seasons that build on the story and ultimately lead to the next expansion.
The Final Shape will be the first entry to break from the now-standard seasonal model since the game’s Shadowkeep expansion. Instead of seasons, The Final Shape will introduce later “Episodes” to expand on the story. Three Episodes are currently planned, named Echoes, Revenant, and Heresy, respectively.
What is the release date for The Final Shape?
Though Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reports that inside sources confirmed the delay of The Final Shape, Bungie has yet to comment on the claim. The initial release date for the expansion was February 27, but if reports about the delay are accurate, it’ll be pushed out until June. The last time there was a delay of this magnitude, it was just before The Witch Queen expansion.
Though the result was a six-month-long season, the lengthy period was supplemented with the Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack. Given the abruptness of the alleged delay, there are fears that the same preparations are not in place for the seven-month-long Season 23.
Fans aren’t taking the report well, with many using social media to voice frustration. While the information is still unconfirmed, albeit from a reliable source, Bungie’s silence has only fueled the fire. While the studio did respond to fans’ criticisms via a later post, it still made no mention of The Final Shape‘s release date.
Is there a trailer for The Final Shape?
Bungie showed players their first look at The Final Shape during the expansion’s showcase through a cinematic reveal trailer. The reveal is narrated by Ghost and opens with a montage of scenes showing Guardians being initially revived, the raid on the Vault of Glass, and treacherous exploration on Europa. Ghost notes that despite all we’ve triumphed over, the next fight could be the last. The trailer then shifts to showcase some of the new environments and enemies before a glimpse of The Witness is shown. The reveal ends with a Fireteam of Guardians rallying before a charge.
Another trailer for The Final Shape came shortly after the reveal, reacquainting players with an old friend. The minute-long trailer opens with Ikora Rey sitting by a campfire. She solemnly recounts many of the milestones Guardians have conquered over the years, including the defeat of Nezarec and the alliance with both the Cabal and Eliksni. Finally, she says, “I wish you could’ve been there.” And the camera pans to show Cayde-6 sitting across from her, who replies, “Yeah, me too, kiddo. But hey, I’m here now. Whereever the hell ‘here’ is.”
What is the destination in The Final Shape?
Past Destiny 2 expansions have introduced a new destination, centric to the expanding narrative, for players to explore. The Final Shape will be no different, allowing players to chart The Pale Heart of The Traveler. The locale promises to be one of the most unique destinations featured in the franchise. So far, Bungie has shown alien landscapes alongside architecture created from Guardians’ memories. It has even been noted that the locale will react based on players’ efforts in the Campaign.
During Bungie’s The Final Shape showcase, the team offered a glimpse of what could be expected from The Pale Heart. One feature of note was the return of the original Destiny Tower, though reformed through the influence of the Traveler. This was shown alongside clips of spiraling hallways, bridges formed from petrified hands, and even Guardians traversing Escher-like stairways. Bungie has promised the new destination will exemplify the physical manifestation of a clash between Light and Dark aesthetics.
Will there be a new subclass in The Final Shape?
While Destiny 2 expansions have created a recent trend of introducing new subclasses or substantially reworking existing ones, The Final Shape is taking a more conservative approach. The Beyond Light expansion previously added the first Darkness-themed subclass, Stasis, followed by Strand alongside Lightfall. In between, Bungie overhauled all of the Light subclasses over the course of The Witch Queen. For The Final Shape, each Class will receive a unique Super tied to a specific Light subclass alongside additions like Aspects.
As seen during Bungie’s showcase and in the trailer for The Final Shape, Titans are set to receive a new Void Super called Twilight Arsenal. The ability allows players to summon and throw three massive Void axes. Upon impact, the axes pull enemies in and erupt in a Void explosion. That isn’t where the Super ends, though, as each axe will remain where it landed for Guardians to pick up and wield. Titans were also shown using a new Aspect that consumes grenades to summon a shield that charges it is damaged. It can be released in a concussive blast to devastate foes.
Hunters will soon be able to teleport around the battlefield and unleash devastating attacks with the toss of a knife. The new Arc Super allows Hunters to do this up to three times in succession, becoming like a deadly lightning bolt in a fight. This Super will be supplemented alongside an Arc Aspect that lets players whirl their Arc Staff with a leap into the air that also makes all nearby allies Amplified.
Rounding out Solar subclasses are Warlocks, with a new Super that turns Guardians into a fiery tempest. The Warlock Solar Super will be the only first-person Super outside of Golden Gun and will ramp up the heat on many basic abilities. Instead of traditional grenades, the Super summons a fiery avian companion that dashes around to seek out enemy groups. This can bounce to multiple foes and compliments the massive increase of melee projectiles Warlocks can toss. The Super also has the added benefit of empowering allies’ Solar weapons with the Scorch effect.
