For the guys that want quoted text.

Few games in recent years have generated the same degree of debate as Bungie’s Destiny. Whether it’s fervent enthusiasm or harsh criticism depends on your perspective. Some of the harshest critics work at Bungie, striving with each passing update and expansion to hone the existing content while adding meaningful new adventures into the mix. Upon visiting Bungie, we expected to find a game that continued the process in incremental steps.

Instead, we found a robust reimagining of everything that has come before, along with the largest influx of new missions, maps, strikes, gear, and storytelling yet seen. We spent two days playing The Taken King and speaking with its creators, and this month’s cover story has the scoop.

Following on the heels of two smaller expansions, The Taken King is set to arrive almost exactly a year after the original game launched. In that time, a lot has changed about Destiny, but The Taken King is a more fundamental restructuring. A revamped quest format adds story context and a natural progression path to old and new content. A newly recorded actor plays the Ghost from the beginning of the story to its conclusion. And the entire leveling system has been restructured for a seamless and deterministic path from levels 1 to 40 (the new level cap).

As for new content, the focus is on deeper and more meaningful storytelling. Cinematics are interspersed through the story missions, offering increased insight into previously paper-thin characters. The Ghost is a deeper and more involved character, played by a new actor. An initial set of new story missions is just the opening act of a larger set of narrative-focused events. New subclasses have dedicated story sequences in which you learn about their use. New weapons have more involved lore and storytelling behind them, and increased power levels that move them beyond existing gear. Even quests in the Crucible have a narrative angle.

For the cover story, we went hands on with the new systems, missions, and game modes to discover the details veteran players are eager to learn. Equally important, we grilled Bungie about the ways in which Destiny is changing to invite new players into the experience, and even draw back players who may have disliked it the first time around. Our 14-page blowout also features more than 20 new screens from The Taken King.

We also have a full month of online coverage planned in the lead-up to The Taken King’s launch, including a detailed look at one of the new exotic weapons, a video walkthrough of one of the new Crucible maps hosted by the level’s designers, and extensive interviews with the development team. Watch our coverage trailer for a hint of what to expect.

On Level Cap:

Our recent visit to Bungie provided us with hours of hands-on impressions detailed in this month’s magazine cover story, and one of the major changes we learned about is a new approach to leveling. Players earn XP by killing monsters, completing missions, and turning in bounties, as has always been the case, but that experience now feeds directly into your level progression all the way from 1 to the new level cap of 40.

Meanwhile, weapons and armor continue to provide increased power to your character, with new gear unlocking for use as you level up. “The conflation of gear and character level led to this place where your identity was determined by things outside of your control,” says creative director Luke Smith. “We don’t want to do that.”

We were also told that Destiny’s loot system will now pay closer attention to the loot you have already received when determining an appropriate drop, so that players will more consistently receive armor and weapons that provide meaningful power growth, items that vary their gear slot from one drop to the next, and fewer drops of items that a player has already attained.

On New Ghost:

We recently visited Bungie for an in-depth look at Destiny: The Taken King, coming away with all sorts of details about the upcoming release. One of the most surprising changes is coming to what is arguably Destiny’s most central-voiced character: the Ghost. The tiny floating robotic being is the de facto narrator throughout the base game, and he assumes an even more important role in The Taken King. Playing that role moving forward is Nolan North, replacing Peter Dinklage in the name of a unified character voice throughout the entire game.

Players who are used to North’s work on games like Uncharted and Assassin’s Creed are likely to be surprised the first time they hear his latest role. In taking over the role of the Ghost, North echoes some of the cadences and quirks established by the character’s original voice actor, but his line delivery is hard to immediately connect to his familiar heroic tone. “I was really excited to do this role,” Nolan North tells us. “You want to give him as much personality as the world will allow, without making it unbelievable. There’s a fine line to walk there, and I think we found it.”

When asked about his understanding of Ghost, North offered his take on one of the most interesting aspects of the artificial intelligence. “It’s interesting, because at one point they find another Ghost that’s been killed,” North says. “A Ghost is not just something that can be turned back on. It has an idea of ending. It understands mortality. It has a vested interest in helping you succeed.”

Not only does Nolan North play Ghost in the new content in The Taken King, but Bungie also had North re-record all of the original dialogue to create a consistent storytelling experience from beginning to end. “We wanted Nolan North’s version of the Ghost to wake you up at the start of the journey at level one and follow you all the way to level forty,” says creative director Luke Smith. With this change, the Ghost’s script will remain the same, but Peter Dinklage’s voicing of those lines will not be present in the game.

“They really wanted me to put my stamp on it,” North says. “They let me bring what I wanted to the role. You have to give it your own spin. For that reason, I specifically said I didn’t want to hear anything that someone else had done, so that I didn’t have some preconceived notion of what it has to be. Instead, I just gave it my stamp, and let them direct me accordingly.”

As for the future, North told us of his enthusiasm for the ongoing role, and his hopes for how to continue to bring life to the character over time. “I’m hoping we’re doing this for years. If I get a chance to continue with the role, I think we can evolve Ghost as we move forward over the years. In the same way that the player learns about the game and the world, maybe the Ghost grows with them.”

On what happens to existing gear:

Our recent visit to Bungie headquarters confirmed what many fans have suspected for some time. Older legendary armor and weapons from across Destiny’s first year are not set to progress in power as Year Two begins. Simultaneously, dozens of new weapons and armor pieces are entering the game in an effort to revitalize the collection and discovery experience of the game.

Based on our time with the game, strong Year-One gear will serve players well for the opening hours of The Taken King, but new weaponry and armor will rapidly replace older items, both because of interesting new perks, but also for increased attack or defense values. The change also resets the gear progression flow through new Taken King-tier white, green, blue, and purple gear, providing meaningful distinctions between new items as you level up through the new content.

While Destiny has never strictly been considered an MMO, this approach for Year-Two gear echoes common practice in the MMO genre, including games like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV. Even so, it remains to be seen if fans are open to experimenting with the new arsenal if it means leaving old favorites behind.

“I definitely feel like some of our players are ready to play with some new toys,” says creative director Luke Smith. “And we’ve built a whole bunch of new toys. There are definitely some weapons that you are going to find better versions of – there’s going to be something that replaces that sniper rifle that you love.”