Despite the middling reception to Destiny 2’s fifth major expansion in Lightfall, the live service train has kept chugging along. Season of the Deep launched in late May, kicking things into gear as we creep towards the conclusion of this decade-long saga. From new details on the Veil to the attempted resurrection of the Taken King, much has been happening in the now partly undersea world of Destiny.
Perhaps most interesting of all, is the reveal of the origins of the Witness, as well as the need to bring the dreaded Witch Queen back from the dead to prevent catastrophe. It’s the answers we’ve been waiting for since Lightfall dropped earlier this year, and we got to sit down with Bungie to discuss the narrative escapades of the season thus far, alongside what we can expect in the coming months.
Season of the Deep’s Unique Nautical Setting and the Return of Titan
Regardless of their overall quality, Destiny 2’s seasons have always succeeded in delivering unique player fantasies through settings and seasonal activities. When asked about how the team landed on the nautical concept of season 21, senior design lead Tom Farnsworth discussed the process; “We knew we wanted to go back to Titan and tell a story with Ahsa. We’d planted some seeds there years ago that we wanted to revisit. When talking about those aspects with our narrative lead, he asked about the idea of going underwater. It was a provocative question, you know? We don’t really usually do that, water in Destiny is often just a hazard off to the side. That’s a challenging space to go into, it’s almost like building another game.”.
“We’re trying to find a unique narrative direction to take the overall story that’s surprising and lined up with a compelling aesthetic. The visuals for going underwater is a huge opportunity to create new spaces in the game. Bioluminescent coral and sunken Hive ships – there’s a lot of rich gameplay and visual space for us to lean into”.
Design lead on raids and dungeons, Brian Frank, also chimed in on why the team leant into the Arcology as the setting for the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon; “The setting was immediately identified as an opportunity to create a link to the past and a nostalgic premise for returning players. Our lead for the raids and dungeons team actually worked on the original palette and environment for the Arcology. We had some expertise and familiarity with the environment going into it. The first area of the dungeon gave us an opportunity to create something more open-ended. You’re left to explore and wander, and it lets us include Sparrows in the activity.”.
Dropping Curtains and Parting Veils
The one thing the community wants more than anything else in regards to narrative at the moment, is answers. Who or what is the Witness? What’s the Veil? And what does the Final Shape look like? We’ve been getting a lot of answers over the course of this season, with it all coming to a head during week 5’s cutscene, revealing the origins of the Witness.
Senior narrative designer, Robert Brookes, spoke to these big reveals; “There’s so many curtains to drop, or should I say veils to part. It feels great to explore and reveal some of the story people have been champing at the bit for. We’d always planned that Lightfall would lead into a period of answers, but not necessarily answering them as it happened. The Veil Containment quest that’s available now has content that runs for the entirety of Season of the Deep’s calendar. There’ll also be entries at the start of the next two seasons. I think those are going to be revelatory – not just for the Witness, the Traveler, and the Black Fleet, but also some of the stories that will be coming up after The Final Shape. It’s awesome to be able to get that out there and see how the players react. It’s really rewarding.”
Robert was asked to expand on the idea of the seasons being a bridge between Lightfall and The Final Shape. “In a lot of our previous releases, the seasons ramp up to a major expansion which is kind of like the end of that story. The next set of seasons starts a new one. We saw this with Beyond Light and The Witch Queen. Lightfall is a bit of a different experience in that it isn’t just another ramp-up, it’s a bridge. There’s the fallout, the deconstruction of events that happened and the way characters react to it. Each season will hand-off to the next more immediately than before. We want it to be the same when we hand-off The Final Shape into what comes next.”.
The War God Takes Centre Stage
While the Witness is putting its final plan into motion, the last of the three big Hive Gods has emerged to keep us at bay. Xivu Arath made her voiced debut in Season of the Deep, with Kimberly Brooks taking up the mantle of the anguished Hive God of War. Xivu has made herself known to be a ruthless tactician over the years, but Season of the Deep looks to add more depth to her character. The Ghosts of the Deep dungeon has positioned Xivu in a way that has her questioning her faith in the Darkness and the Witness. The previously infallible Sword Logic is crumbling before her at its very foundations.
When asked about the angle the team took with Xivu’s characterisation, Robert got excited to share his insights. “These were some of the first things I wrote for this season, actually. We were still trying to figure out what Xivu Arath’s voice would sound like, it’s different than just writing her in all caps and making her angry like she is in the lore. I wanted to show depth to her because she’s not only a brilliant tactician and invulnerable war god, she’s also a person deep down inside. There’s emotional conflict there – I thought it would be compelling to reflect on her loss. Her brother is dead, her sister turned on her and is dead. You feel the raw emotion she doesn’t show anyone other than her siblings and herself.”.
Robert talks about how they wanted to reinforce this through her vocal performance; “We wanted her to speak with the cadence of something akin to a Southern Baptist pastor or a megachurch pastor. Having that rising cadence like she’s preaching to her Hive sycophants. Then you get these vulnerable moments where her voice is small in comparison. She doesn’t sound like a war god, she sounds like a person who’s scared and vulnerable. While the Hive Gods are genocidal, evil monsters, they still were and are people who’ve made terrible choices. I wanted to humanise them while still showing they’re beyond redemption.”.
Nikko also chimed in to touch on her relationship with the Witness and the way she’s perceived as a God of War. “That’s why we were excited to bring a voice to her – she’s no dummy. Xivu isn’t some crazed berserker running into battle, she’s very smart. She’s been around for a while, enacting the plans of the Witness but she’s in an awkward position. She’s been told answers are coming in regards to The Final Shape and her place in it but she’s not getting them. Anyone would start having doubts in that position.”.
The Return of the Witch Queen
Season of the Deep delivered what might be its biggest surprise at the conclusion of its story. The discovery that our only hope of following the Witness lies with Savathûn. While many players expected the return of the Witch Queen, it remains to be seen how much of an impact she’ll have on the ongoing narrative. When asked about her role in coming events, senior narrative designer Nikko Stevens explained her place in the greater story; “She will be a part of the story moving forward, but Savathûn’s role won’t be as prevalent as it was in The Witch Queen. That expansion and the seasonal events leading up to it were her story, whereas here, she’s a piece of the larger narrative – it doesn’t revolve around her.”
Robert doubled down on this, expressing that seasonal narratives have characters that fit better into their themes and settings than others. “We’re an ensemble story now with quite a large cast. When we craft narratives, we look for the best fit for that beat – what characters do we want to have involved in this, and does it make sense? That’s what we’re going to do with Savathûn going forward, it’s what stories make the most sense for her to be in. It’ll fluctuate depending on what we’re doing, but there’s definitely more to tell with Savathûn.”.
If you need to catch up on recent events, Lightfall and Season of the Deep are available right now, with the promise of two more full seasons before The Final Shape launches early next year. If you’re keen for more information on the future of Destiny, be sure to tune into the Destiny Showcase on August 22nd as we move into the conclusion of this epic saga.
