Destiny: The Taken King Possibly May Do Away With Light Level, Introduce Perks

Destiny: The Taken King has been announced over E3, but we have only seen glimpses of what's to come. Today, Kotaku previewed the game at E3, presenting players with a bit more information on the upcoming expansion. However, these changes could bring both positive and negative reactions to the table.

First of all, the ultimately positive additions of the third subclass, an entirely new destination, and two additional PvP modes. No one can be negative about these additions. Though subject to change before release, there is expected to be a major overhaul to the equipment system.

There's a new set of equipment perks, but this seems more experimental than final. Perks, found on equipment, are a tad different than additional effects--some raised reputation gain, increased weapon growth, and allowed you to even select which stat your armor would boost.

To quote the preview's idea of perks:

And the items had crazy perks like “Agility +3 for 5 seconds after Void double kill.” The Bungie dudes there told us the item stats were all placeholders, but it seemed like they were experimenting a lot. Even the bonds had talents — the Warlock Bond on my demo character had “Increase upgrade rate on autorifles” and a perk that increased your Vanguard rep gain. Craziness!

Also found within the demo is the lack of upgrade slots to increase light. So, it seems that the Light Level may be eradicated altogether, and instead the armor would instead act as vanity gear. Class items, like the capes hunters wear, may actually have perks, giving them more use than fashion.

Of course there's additional changes featured in Kotaku's preview, such as the appearance of Titan Vanguard Commander Zavala, serving as a mission guide, 20 slots for bounties, and a new progress tab, which keeps track of your bounties, mission progress, and faction standing. Also there's the potential that the Ghost that followed you like a puppy may be no more.

Aww...

Destiny: The Taken King launches on September 15 and will be set on Phobos and Oryx's Dreadnought.