So I think I may know what the big update for the spring may be, or at least a future expansion before Destiny 2 (remember, just a speculation).
Looking back to [b]House of Wolves[/b] (HoW), it is the only DLC to have its activity (Prison of Elders) obsolete. [b]The Dark Below[/b] (TDB) is revisited in [b]The Taken King[/b] (TTK), the missions taking place in Crota's "Necrorealm" and even his crystal chamber. Even the Court of Oryx has a replica of Crota to please those who enjoyed taking down the incomplete, green prince of darkness.
After beating each Arena, however, you move on from it. There doesn't seem to be much incentive to do it unless you're farming Motes or Strange Coins from the mass of Treasure Keys you have on your character. Even the Reef remains mostly unvisited other than the purposes of accepting the Taken Bounties from Petra, Trials merchandise from Brother Vance, or that weekly package from Variks.
Now, into the meat of the conversation. I think a future update/DLC before Destiny 2 will be a revamped Arena mode. I understand that Bungie agreed not to delve into Year 1 and bring back the old activities due to the idea of moving players forward with the game, but that doesn't necessarily have to happen with Arena.
[b][u]Spoiler[/u][/b][b]: If you haven't played Taken King, eyes down on the story, Guardians.[/b]
[b][u]Story[/u][/b]
Remember, Mara Sov is supposedly dead; but if you read the Grimoire cards, the Queen's Brother is still alive and the Queen is hinted to be alive somewhere else. In the update/DLC, the Queen's Brother and Mara Sov can both return to the Reef, with the Queen itching for revenge against the Taken Blight and perhaps a few more new bosses.
[b][u]Gameplay[/u][/b]
The Arena can still function the same as before, fight through waves, complete objectives, and kill bosses. However, because TTK has shown improvements on bosses and objective-based missions, this could be implemented in the new Arena. The endgame boss can either be a large Taken boss (somehow restrained by terrestrial means), or another Fallen boss. The Arena has the potential to become a horde/firefight-like activity, and Halo definitely highlighted that gametype. Granted, I know that a lot of people hated the idea of replaying Skolas over and over and over again in order to time the Gjallarhorn shots correctly to kill him, but like I said, gameplay variety has improved since TTK, and that could be put to the test with a new and improved Arena mode.
In the end, there are five reasons why a new and improved Arena would be better for Destiny:
1. The Reef and the Arena hold little significance in the Taken King, compared to other areas.
2. Mara Sov serves as a powerful character in the game insofar, it'd be a shame to see her go just like that.
3. Prison of Elders serves as a farming location, have it serve another (fun) purpose as well.
4. Arena was a brand new mode introduced in House of Wolves, not expanding on it would limit the game's playability.
5. Boss improvements and new objectives can definitely improve Arena's playability and could increase replay value.
And who knows, maybe this could be a prelude to Destiny 2's kickoff event, such as the Tower being raided by the Darkness' armies, thus you have to protect it. The mode can still be Arena, but it'll take place in the Tower and the aim is to defend it. Everyone's heard of the Battle of Twilight Gap, right? Who doesn't want to relive that legendary battle?
I know there were plans for the Vex Void and Forge of the Gods expansions from the leaked footage of their speculated timeline a long time ago, but because they're already moving onto Destiny 2 with nearly a year and a half to go, it seems like their focus is on a big update event(s) (i.e. SRL, Festival of the Lost, Crimson Days), and another expansion. Unless...Deej is saying "update" when he actually is implying a "smaller expansion" like TDB or HoW; Or that's just a bunch of black wax and it's actually just an update event.
Comment with your thoughts on this, please!
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Post is obsolete. 41 and 42 PoE were added a mere month ago.