Destiny 2‘s first DLC, Curse of Osiris, has finally launched, and it’s a breath of fresh air. New story missions, new Strikes, new adventures, and – most importantly – new loot await. Let’s jump right in!
Story
Curse of Osiris has added new story to deepen the lore behind the legend himself as well as introducing new characters and reintroducing old characters. One old face coming back is Brother Vance.
He plays a meaningful role in the story as he tries to help your Guardian out by giving you a way to revive Sagira (Osiris’ ghost). Ikora is the one who backs you all throughout the story, which is a nice change, as we get to see a side of her that wasn’t shown before in any expansion.
Not only do we battle the Vex from the past, present, and future, we also fight simulated versions of all of the previous enemies minus the Taken. These simulated versions are a bit stronger, but that’s to make up for the increased level cap and Power level. The story is actually one of, if not the, coolest stories we have gotten in Destiny since The Taken King.
The only gripe about the story is that it is very short. There are only a handful of story missions, and two of those missions are repurposed very slightly into the two new Strikes. The story really should have been twice as long, and the new Strike should have been brand-new yet still tied into the story. Hopefully Bungie can deliver a heftier story in the second DLC.
New Loot
With any expansion, we always get new amazing loot to chase after. With Curse of Osiris, we get seven returning exotics as well as eight new ones. We see the return of Helm of Saint-14, The Stag, Jade Rabbit, and Telesto to name a few. One exotic that had everyone going nuts was the new hand cannon version of Red Death from D1 called The Crimson. This hand cannon shoots in three-round bursts and has the same perk as its older brother (kills grant health regen), which is an awesome call back to D1.
Eververse has a new, updated inventory with new ghost shells that look awesome; new armor that is Vex inspired and badass; and new exotic emotes, ships, and sparrows. The new stock is pretty awesome, and it shows that season two will not disappoint in the loot drops when it comes to the expansion. Did I mention that ornaments have made a return? Yeah, the ornament system is back, and to get them for your armor sets, you have to grind in either the Crucible or whatever activity is listed on the ornament. Nice touch.
Exclusive to the DLC, weapon forging has been added to give Guardians another incentive to grind in the endgame in order to create new weapons that are fused with Vex tech. This is brand-new and a slightly missed opportunity to not have weapons have random rolls that you can grind out to get god-rolls.
Endgame
The endgame has been tweaked with the additions of the Heroic Strike playlist and Heroic adventures, but it’s a bit disappointing that there are only three on Mercury. The new Raid content that has been added is the new Raid Lair in the Leviathan ship. The Lair is the first of two (that we know of) and will have new mechanics, puzzles, boss encounters, and its only specific loot table. So that is a much-needed addition to make the raid feel brand-new again.
The Strikes haven’t changed besides having a higher power level recommendation. As mentioned earlier, the two new strikes are story missions that have been slightly tweaked. That is just lazy and downright insulting. Being a video game programmer is not something that is easy at all, but making two Strikes that are tied to the story without being copied and pasted from the story is something that was 100% needed.
The Crucible has gotten two new maps on Titan that are a blast to play. This is basically the extent of what has been added to the Crucible outside of the new maps and armor ornaments.
Verdict
Overall, Curse of Osiris has added amazing moments, character development, and memorable characters to the ever-expanding universe of Destiny. The new loot table is impressive and satisfying as usual, and the longevity of the endgame was extended – but not by enough to keep us all happy. There is still the Raid Lair set to be released at a later date, and that should keep the hardcore players going after they burn through all the content in a few days.
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris gets a solid 7/10. Good yet short story and amazing loot to earn.
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