Destiny Will Be Improved Before House Of Wolves' Launch

Destiny's player-versus-player activities are going to be much more tempting soon. Bungie plans to boost the rewards for Crucible matches prior to the House of Wolves expansion's debut. 

"Shortly before the hunt for the House of Wolves begins on May 19th, all players will download Update 1.2.0 for Destiny power leveling," Bungie's David Dague said in the latest Weekly Update. "It will be another evolution for the experience you know." 

When Update 1.2 goes live, Legendary items will become possible end-of-match rewards in the Crucible. Furthermore, you'll earn twice the usual Reputation and Marks at the end of a match. The first time you finish a daily feature Crucible activity each day, you'll get a reward package. The changes should hopefully encourage players to push through a losing battle and stay until the end rather than quitting. 

Iron Banner will be undergoing a couple changes as well. Spawn locking, an exploit that allows one team to essentially delay the respawns for their enemies, will be fixed. Furthermore, Iron Banner vendor Lord Saladin will begin selling Etheric Light. This new currency, available at Rank 3 and 5 in Iron Banner, allows players to upgrade any Legendary or Exotic weapon to the new damage cap of 365. It's a way for players to keep their old favorites relevant even as Bungie adds newer loot in House of Wolves. 

Lastly, three maps ("Pantheon," "Skyshock," "The Cauldron") from previous expansion pack The Dark Below will be made available to all players. You'll encounter them in the rotation for "select playlists" that weren't announced just yet. 

"As always, the full suite of changes will be itemized and scrutinized in the Patch Notes," Dague said. "We’ll set your expectations for the exact date when all these changes arrive as it draws nearer." 

Destiny's House of Wolves expansion will bring a number of other big changes for the Crucible. The largest is the new weekend activity Trials of Osiris, designed for teams of three. In Trials, teams will face off against each other in a new Elimination mode. They'll keep going until they hit nine wins or three losses. A team's final record during a Trials run will determine what kind of rewards they can purchase from new vendor Brother Vance. In addition to new equipment, Vance will sell consumables that make it easier for players to improve their record. For example, the Favor of Osiris adds a win to the team's Trials run. 

The expansion also enhances the usual Crucible modes with three new maps: "Black Shield," "Thieves' Den" and "Widow's Court." PS3 and PS4 owners will have exclusive access to a fourth map called "Timekeeper." 

House of Wolves will make some changes to currencies as well. Commendations will no longer be needed for buying Legendaries. You can burn your remaining supply off for bonus Reputation. Players will have  plenty of new currencies to gather, though.