Destiny 2’s Season of the Hunt begins

It’s time for Season of the Hunt in Destiny 2, and this season players will be taking on the bloodthirsty Xivu Arath.

In the prose book Destiny Grimoire Anthology, Volume I: Dark Mirror, we’re introduced to the game’s latest villain as Xi Ro, one of three heirs to the Osmium Throne. Xi Ro is called “the youngest and bravest” of the three — a would-be knight who “can fight, but not lead.” When the Osmium King is slain by conspirators from a neighboring “continent,” the three siblings manage to survive.

“I am Xi Ro, youngest daughter of the dead king. I will take back my Osmium Court and kill the traitor Taox,” she says. “I swear vengeance.” Her siblings are to become the Witch Queen Savathûn and Oryx, the Taken King.

Xi Ro is overcome with hate for her enemies. Through symbiosis with the worm gods of the Deep, she’s reborn as Xivu Arath. “In your immortality,” the gods tell her, “you may never abandon cunning.” And so she becomes the Hive god of war.

This could make for some interesting possibilities as the season really gets rolling. In a new trailer released on Thursday, Guardians strike a deal with Spider in the Tangled Shore as the Hive god moves to fill the power vacuum left by her sibling Oryx. With the Darkness comes chaos, and “enemies old and new” threaten humanity — as well as the Fallen.

This would be a great time to reintroduce the Dreadnaught from the original Destiny, for example. In the Taken King expansion, the Dreadnaught was a massive ship once occupied by the titular villain. Players have fond memories of killing that Hive god five years ago.

As we go after cool new enemies and chase exotic gear like the fan-favorite hand cannon Hawkmoon, it’s also nice to have new bits of lore and story to discover. Crow, the Awoken prince formerly known as Uldren Sov, makes his return this season. And we get to spend more time with the warlock Osiris, traveler of time and space.

Bungie’s doing an exceptional job of giving players new things to do. Next week, we’ll have a fresh raid, and we can watch the community’s elite players race to be the first to finish it.

The hunt is on.