Enter the House of Wolves
Destiny’s first expansion brought more of what was already in the base game, it just made things a little tougher. Larger hordes, more mechanics, and a few new enemy types rounded out the features of The Dark Below, but the developers had something completely different in mind for the followup. The House of Wolves was a Fallen-centric expansion that ditched a Raid in exchange for entirely different team activities. It was the first time Destiny saw any real change and it was good.
The house of wolves featured a handful of new campaign missions that tasked players with chasing down Skolas, a dangerous Fallen Kell with a serious homicidal streak. Heading over to the Reef to deal directly with Petra Venj (one of the Queen’s closest friends and advisers), this expansion introduced new and slightly more fleshed out NPCs, new exotics, new armor sets, and two challenges that would test even the toughest of fireteams.
First, there was the Prison of Elders, a wave-based activity that had fireteams of three go up against the toughest enemies in the universe. Each successive round would add new side challenges to the fold to keep players on their toes, forcing them to become better in every way. The four difficulties available offered rotating final bosses, as well as better rewards when you moved up in levels. It was a transforming end-game that figured out how to keep itself fresh so players wouldn’t grow bored. With some unlockable Exotics and easily the most difficult boss of Year One, the Prison of Elders was a nice change of pace.
On the PvP side, players were given the Trials of Osiris to test their mettle against the best that the Crucible has to offer. Each week, a new map was chosen for teams of three to face of in an elimination match. Those that proved to be unstoppable got to visit the Lighthouse, an opportunity awarded only to the best. House of Wolves managed to provide something worthwhile for both the PvE and PvP players of Destiny, something the previous expansion failed to do. It was a strong effort as Bungie started looking towards the anniversary of their newest game.
