Destiny 2’s current season is a great example of everything that seasonal content can do for the game’s story. While a lot of MMOs, and even Destiny itself, have relied on expansions as a means to progress story content, this method can result in long droughts for fans. With the seasonal approach that Destiny 2 has been using, the game has complemented its core expansions with quality storytelling and world-building. The most recent Beyond Light expansion delved into some of the most lore-rich moments in Destiny 2 and has continued to be propped up by both Season of the Chosen and Season of the Splicer.
Season of the Splicer, in particular, has brought the game some incredible moments. With the threat of Savathun only growing stronger, many Guardians have found themselves on the front lines of the fight. Expunge and Override missions provided a great way to show the depth of the Vex simulation and the threat that they encompass, while the audio between Mithrax, the Vanguard, and City leaders helped to develop the Eliksni peoples to be more than just hostile aliens.
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Once known as the Fallen, the Eliksni were given space during Season of the Splicer to not only be clear allies to humanity, but panicked refugees as well. While Mithrax has been well on his journey to becoming the Kell of Kells, his development and voice this season has shown why he has garnered support from his kin. Even in the face of such titans as Saint-14, Mithrax told the perspective of the Eliksni while lobbying for a better relationship and more support from the Vanguard.
At the same time, both the Vanguard and the Eliksni had to balance the ever-growing influence that Lakshmi-2 wields. Although the Exo is lightless her position within the Future War Cult has put her at odds with Osiris, Ikora Rey, Saint-14, and even the player’s Guardian. Her rhetoric is often inflaming and divisive, though it is rooted in past traumas.
Balancing these characters and their stories throughout Season of the Splicer helped to make each new Override and Expunge mission feel like an event with consequence. Events that lead up to the confrontation with the Taken Vex; Quria, the Dreaming Mind. The missions and story also paved a clear path for players to follow while still laying the foundation for the upcoming Witch Queen expansion.
The mission themselves are likely only a taste of what players will experience when The Witch Queen expansion does arrive, but the magnitude of the transgressions showed clearly how much of a threat Savathun has become. The Hive Witch Queen dispatched one of her most formidable pawns to disrupt the Last City while simultaneously taking up residency within its walls.
While her proximity to the main line of missions didn’t culminate in her reveal the lore books that were provided throughout the season have painted a very clear picture. The threat that Savathun poses will likely change the game even more than the powers of Stasis did, and in ways some people might be able to imagine.
Conveying this information might be where Season of the Splicer has excelled the most. While the gameplay was fun, the addition of armor synthesis provided some expanded aesthetic options, and the introduction of the Eliksni quarters showed how old divides can be bridged, Season of the Splicer’s slow burn is likely what has turned the most heads. With each mission’s dialogue and interaction, something with Osiris felt off.
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The Warlock is mysterious as ever, but an air of mocking arrogance had begun to waft around him. The increasingly worrying conversations that Osiris has throughout Season of the Splicer has led many to question whether or not the Warlock is still trustworthy. While he has always been divisive in Destiny’s lore, the final pages from the Beneath the Endless Night lore book begin to point to an Osiris that may be more than players have realized.
His conversations with Lakshmi-2 suggests she knows something about him, and the future, that players do not. As their scene unfolds, the idea that he may not be who he once was continues to be conveyed. The nature of their interaction seems to carry an almost psychic nature as they each access each other’s words without them being said allowed aloud.
While the events that transpire between pages nine and 10 of Beneath the Endless Night are yet to happen, the final page paints a future that is both grim and full of hope. The pages were viewable thanks to datamining before the season got into full swing, but recently a lot of people have read the page in their Destiny triumphs section since it became available. On them almost every major player in Destiny’s story is present. Lakshmi-2, Ikora Rey, Zavala, Lord Saladin, Saint-14, and Mithrax watch over a mixed crowd of people. Humans and Eliksni are in a clear state of mourning. Absent from all of this is Osiris.
Although it doesn’t sound like the Warlock perished, since Mithrax tells Saint to go look for his lost phoenix, it is clear that at best Osiris is missing in action. With how much players have learned from the season so far it might be a thread that isn’t pulled on until after The Witch Queen is revealed.
Savathun is a worthy foe and gains power from the confusion she causes. Her lies, scheming, subtle actions, plans all feed into her power, and Osiris is one to test these. He is no stranger to the complicated thoughts of the Vex and even succeeding in saving his once lost lover, Saint-14. While he alone might not be a match for Savathun, he is a worthy adversary and likely gained the Hive Queen’s undivided attention before anyone realized it was too late.
The current calendar for Season of the Splicer puts just a week between the Solstice of Heroes ending and the beginning of the epilogue. There have been major implications throughout the current season that will likely culminate in the next two weeks. In that time, players will likely experience what it is that is referenced on page 10 of Beneath the Endless Night and witness the seed for Destiny 2’s future.
Highlighting this even more is the planned reveal date of The Witch Queen expansion. While the anticipation for Savathun’s arrival has already set the tone for what is to come the pacing from here on out will be incredibly important. There are bound to be endless questions at the end of August, but if Season 15 does as much as Season of the Splicer has, there will be even more to worry about before next year comes around.
Destiny 2 is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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