Destiny: Rising's Place on The Timeline Explained

For over 10 years, Bungie’s first-person MMO Destiny has enthralled players with its mythic sci-fi story, loot, and engaging gameplay. Destiny has transformed and evolved thanks to multiple expansions, gameplay improvements, and its direct successor, Destiny 2. For most of the franchise’s lifespan, Destiny’s tale of the Guardians of Light versus the forces of Darkness has predominantly remained restricted to its two mainline games save for a few grimoire anthology books. That is until the upcoming release of the first Destiny spin-off game, Destiny: Rising.

Destiny Rising: 6 Things You Might Have Missed In The Mobile Game's Announcement

There are a few key details fans and newcomers alike may have missed in Destiny: Rising's announcement trailer and developer preview.

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By Anastasia Maillot

The Setting of Destiny: Rising

Destiny: Rising is a free-to-play mobile game and not intended for release on modern console platforms. While the game is still in its pre-alpha stage, Destiny: Rising appears to play very closely to the mainline Destiny games, with players embodying Guardians to fight Fallen, Hive, and Vex forces in first-person gunplay. Despite these similarities, the biggest difference between Rising and the mainline Destiny games is its setting and time period within the Destiny universe.

In Destiny: Rising’s Developer Preview video, Bungie lead producer Tritia Medrano explained that Destiny: Rising is set in an alternate universe from the mainline Destiny games. On top of that, Rising is set shortly after the Collapse and the arrival of the Traveler on Earth when it begins orbiting above the ruins of humanity.

According to design lead Murty Wu, Rising is set specifically after an as-yet-unknown alien invasion where humanity is just beginning to build the foundations of the Last City underneath the Traveler. Here, the common roles and structures seen in Destiny 1 and 2’s Tower have not yet been established, meaning Guardians are rising without anyone to guide them.

Returning Characters and Groups in Destiny: Rising

While the Last City is only just being constructed in Destiny: Rising, players will still encounter a few familiar faces and iconography in the game. The Vanguard may not be established, but the Iron Lords are around defending humanity from the forces of darkness as well as the subjugating Risen Warlords.

Fans may have already spotted one familiar face in Rising’s marketing: the future Vanguard of the Warlocks, Ikora Rey. Fans will actually be able to play as Rey as well as other legendary Guardians known and unknown, including the Iron Lord Titan Jolder and the Vex-slaying Titan Kabr. Players will still be able to craft their own unique Guardian, but this time they have a name: Wolf.

Destiny: Rising’s Potential Narratives

Given how Destiny: Rising is set around the tumultuous era before the Vanguard, Rising may have players take part in the creation of the Iron Lords and eventual defeat of the Warlords. Without the Vanguard, Guardians initially rose up directionless in how to use their Light-based powers and Ghosts. For some, they abused their power to dominate emerging settlements in the guise of protection similar to outlaws seen in the United States’ Wild West. Others eventually united with the selfless goal of helping humanity and sought to either defeat or turn the Warlords to join their ranks. Destiny: Rising could have players become some of the first Iron Lords.

Additionally, Wu noted that Rising takes place before the establishment of the Hunter, Titan, and Warlock classes. Due to this, each Guardian and player will be able to develop their own unique fighting style to use in combating the Darkness. Based on this concept, Destiny: Rising could see the players become the first members of the Vanguard and help establish each Guardian class with their associated fighting styles. In a sense, Destiny players in Rising could become the founders of this alternate universe’s Tower and Guardian protocols.

Destiny: Rising’s upcoming Closed Alpha test will feature 11 unique characters for players to try out.

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