In comparison to the previous two expansions of Destiny, The Taken King features a "full campaign", three new multiplayer "strike" missions, and seven new Crucible maps.[5][6] Three new Crucible modes were also added, "Rift"—a capture the flag-like mode, "Mayhem"—which greatly lowers cooldown times for abilities, and "Zone Control"—a modified version of Control where points are awarded only for capturing and maintaining control of zones.[7][8][9][10]
The expansion introduces a new faction of enemies, the titular Taken—the slaves of Oryx. Taken enemies are variations of the existing enemies seen in other parts of the game as a whole, but have a darker, undead-like appearance, and have new abilities and attacks.[11] The Dreadnaught, a Hive ship situated within the rings of Saturn, serves as a new playable environment in The Taken King; Bungie described the location as being "an inscrutable loot-filled fortress", emphasizing secret treasures and bosses contained within.[12] At the Dreadnaught's Court of Oryx, players can use special runes to summon enemies for public battles; defeating its enemies requires the use of distinct strategies. All participants in Court of Oryx battles receive rewards, but the player who initiated the battle will receive higher-valued rewards. The runes correspond to three difficulty levels, ranging from easier fights to "just below Nightfall".[13][14][15] A new raid mission, "King's Fall", was opened on September 18, 2015 at its lower difficulty; the hard version became available on October 23, 2015.[16][17] Beginning December 1, 2015, the raid also contains a weekly bonus challenge, in which defeating one of the bosses in a specific, specified manner will yield additional rewards.[18]
Each of the three character classes feature a new, third sub-class. Each focuses on an element that had not been represented among each class's preexisting sub-classes, and features a new super ability. The Hunter class's new Void-based sub-class "Nightstalker" includes a bow-like super known as the "Shadowshot" that tethers enemies together, limiting movement and preventing enemies from using abilities for a short time. The Titan's "Sunbreaker" sub-class features a solar-based super, the "Hammer of Sol", creating a flaming hammer that can be thrown at enemies, or used for close-quarters combat. The Warlock's new sub-class, the arc-based "Stormcaller" includes the super "Stormtrance", which produces lightning bolts that chains between enemies.[19]
The new "Legendary Mark" currency replaces Vanguard and Crucible marks, and are shared across all of a user's characters.[20] Legendary Marks can be used to re-purchase exotic items that had already been found by a user, along with upgraded versions of some pre-existing exotics, through the new "Exotic Blueprints" system (although this also requires Exotic shards),[21][22] and engrams that are guaranteed to contain a legendary weapon.[20][22]Upgrades for Year Two items no longer increase their statistics; instead, Legendary gear can be "infused" with higher-levelled Year 2 items of the same type to improve their stats.[23]
