Destiny: The Taken King Won't Have New Raid At Launch

Not that you’ll be lacking for other things to occupy your time when Destiny’s next expansion, The Taken King, launches in a couple of weeks, but it looks like said content will not initially include the game’s newest Raid.

This news comes to us via IGN, who recently hosted a discussion with The Taken King director Luke Smith during PAX East 2015. According to Smith, Guardians will have to do a bit of waiting before they can challenge Oryx to an epic battle:

It’s not going to be available on day one. We definitely have a plan for when it’s going to be available. I’m not going to announce the plan for it on the Youtube gaming stage. But I promise for people who are excited about the Raid will know when it’s time to take time off work. We’ll give em’ a heads up.

Now before you grab your pitchforks and torches, I think it’s important to note that Smith discusses a “plan” for when the Raid will be released. In other words, it doesn’t sound like this is an example of the content simply not being ready when The Taken King launches.

From all off the Taken King announcements that have been made over the past few months, as well as the two recent livestreams leading into the Sept. 15 arrival of the DLC, it’s clear that Bungie has big plans for the future of Destiny. They’re tweaking a lot of systems with this next update, as well as packing in all sorts of new content like gear, missions and modes.

One of the other aspects of the new content that the developer is touting is a stronger emphasis on solid storytelling. My guess: The Raid will be unlocked after some in-game event take place that will pave the way. I, for one, would much rather have events lead into the biggest chapter of the Taken King DLC over the course of a few weeks rather than blaze through the new campaign in a day or two and then go directly into a battle with Oryx.

The arrival of Oryx is supposed to be a pretty big deal. You can’t build anticipation for an event like that without laying some groundwork first. If Bungie has these new Taken enemies run amok within Destiny for a few weeks and THEN grant access to the big fight, I think the story will be better served for it.

Then again, that’s just my speculation. Maybe Bungie is holding off for other reasons and my dream of breadcrumbs leading to a satisfying conclusion are just wishful thinking. Either way, it sounds like Smith and Co. plan to make some sort of announcement about why the new Raid is being held for a while, so we’ll keep you posted as new information becomes available.

Ryan Winslett

Staff Writer for CinemaBlend.