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Here's a video of (what might be part of) Destiny's DLC
It's not just mission names and descriptions that intrepid Destiny players are discovering: by taking a special detour on the game's final story mission, you can access a sealed-off area that appears to be tied to the upcoming expansion, The Dark Below. [Image: Activision/Se7ensins]
Bungie confirms Destiny DLC leaks, but DLC is not 'finished'
Leaked info about Destiny's upcoming The Dark Below and House of Wolves DLC is accurate but incomplete, says Bungie Community Manager DeeJ on the official forums today. "We noticed that you noticed that we already have plans for upcoming content packs in Destiny. We do! They have activity names (which may or may not change) and we have a really good idea what they're going to contain. They even have placeholder nodes in the Director, as you've already discovered. But neither of the Expansion Packs we've announced [is] finished. People at Bungie are hard at work to complete content for our first post launch pack, The Dark Below, as I type these words. It will be finished soon. It releases in December. Soon, we'll detail it out for you so you can see exactly what we've been working on." In other Destiny news, Massively's sister site Joystiq offered a handy PSA this morning about unofficial website DestinyPublicEvents.com, which tracks in-game events on timers so you know exactly where the action is.
Bungie: Leaked Destiny DLC descriptions are real, not final
The nuggets of information about coming Destiny DLC packs have been verified by Bungie Community Manager DeeJ in the Destiny forums. Some players this weekend hit an in-game glitch that revealed information about two DLC bundles, The Dark Below and House of Wolves. "We noticed that you noticed that we already have plans for upcoming content packs in Destiny," DeeJ writes. "We do! They have activity names (which may or may not change) and we have a really good idea what they're going to contain. They even have placeholder nodes in the Director, as you've already discovered. But neither of the Expansion Packs we've announced are finished."
Report: Destiny bug leaks expansion mission names, descriptions early
Missions, strikes and raids, oh my! A bug in Destiny has reportedly leaked the names and locations of several pieces of content set to arrive with the expansions for Bungie's sci-fi shooter, the first of which is due in December. According to a YouTube video posted by "Scott M" (who is not the original owner of the video), the expansions will collectively introduce at least two raids and four strike missions. Other, more spoiler-y info ahead. We already knew that Destiny's expansions - The Dark Below and House of Wolves - would introduce new content, but thanks to the YouTube video from Scott M (which you can watch after the break), we have a clearer idea of what to expect. For example, while the latter half of Destiny revolves around finding and destroying something called The Black Garden, a strike mission that appears to be associated with the The Dark Below expansion suggests that the Guardians' enemies are working hard to resurrect it. A raid for that expansion, titled "Crota's End," suggests there is yet more to discover under the moon's surface. Descriptions for House of Wolves content seems incomplete, though. When highlighted in-game, a raid mission apparently tied to the second expansion simply reads, "Reef Raid Description." That's at least better than the House of Wolves strike mission on the moon, which reads, "moon_portal_1." But then, Destiny hasn't really been known for having stellar dialogue.
Gamescom 2014: Destiny's first expansion, The Dark Below, arrives in December
Bungie Director of Production Jonty Barnes just announced at Gamescom that Destiny's first expansion, The Dark Below, will arrive in December, just a few months after the game officially launches. Bungie also released a new competitive multiplayer trailer. Aliens are threatening our way of life and our very existence, but that doesn't mean that we can't take a break from combating this common threat and squabble amongst ourselves, right? Destiny will allow just that with its competitive multiplayer mode, also known as "PvP" if you're new to MMOs. This game mode will take place in the Crucible, a skirmish arena full of good hidey-holes and a ton of objectives for teams to accomplish. There will be special gear that can be attained by duking it out, so at least you have that justification when your commanding officer asks why you're not out there fighting the invaders. The video is below.
The Dark Below is real
Remember The Dark Below? The speculation and the agony? The short-lived controversy? Even after it was revealed to be a hoax, there were still a few who insisted that The Dark Below really was a thing. In a nutshell, they were right. The Dark Below really truly is an expansion. Just not for WoW. You may have heard of Destiny, the much-anticipated upcoming MMO from Bungie -- the studio famous for its creation of the Halo franchise. It's to Bungie that The Dark Below belongs, and it's the title of Destiny's first expansion. You see, those interested players who purchase one of the two Destiny collector's edition releases: Destiny: Ghost Edition or Destiny: Limited Edition will get special access to the Destiny Expansion Pass, which includes Expansion 1: The Dark Below, and Expansion 2: House of Wolves. So there you have it, everyone. The Dark Below is alive and well, albeit in an altogether different virtual universe, owned and developed by a different studio in a different state. Thus ends forever the mystery of The Dark Below. May it rest in peace, and live up to its, uh, Destiny.
Possible Blizzard trademark: "Heroes of the Storm"
A potential new trademark for Blizzard Entertainment has been filed in New Zealand, according to posters over at MMO-Champion. The trademark, Heroes of the Storm, is currently listed as being under examination on the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand's official website. This means that the trademark has not been officially filed as of yet -- and given the back and forth about the legitimacy of the supposed trademark filed for "The Dark Below" that turned out to be a hoax, one should probably keep that in mind when discussing the possible legitimacy of this trademark. However, the trademark is filed for computer game software, and we still haven't heard a peep as to just what the next expansion is going to be. Does Heroes of the Storm sound like the next Warcraft project? Or perhaps an upcoming expansion card set for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft? It certainly doesn't sound like a title for anything Diablo or StarCraft related, and Wrathion's made his fair share of references to fire raining from the sky, which sounds pretty stormy to me. While we don't have a definitive on whether or not this trademark will be approved and filed, it definitely gives us some more food for thought.
Know Your Lore, Tinfoil Hat Edition: The Dark Below
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how -- but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. I see them! A million worlds glittering in their perfection! One above all others! We have fallen, we must rebuild the final Titan! Do not forget. Wrathion may have just finished chowing down on the heart of the Thunder King when he rattled off that strange speech about this bizarre "final Titan," but what he said seemed to indicate there is far more going on in Pandaria than we'd thought. Or, on the other hand, there is far more going on in Azeroth than we thought. Things that must be taken care of, things so urgent that Wrathion is attempting to set the war between Alliance and Horde on fast-forward so that we can skip that part and simply jump to what he thinks is the important stuff. Earlier this week, Blizzard appeared to be trademarking something called The Dark Below, and many have speculated that it's the name of the next WoW expansion, largely because of the existence of Ozumat and his title, Fiend of the Dark Below. The trademark was later revealed as a possible hoax -- and later still, revealed to be a trademark in Europe. So is it WoW? If it is a WoW trademark, what could possibly be in an expansion with that title? I have absolutely no idea. But that makes for some excellent Tinfoil Hat speculation, so why don't we look at what could potentially be lurking in The Dark Below? Today's Know Your Lore is a Tinfoil Hat edition, meaning the following is a look into what has gone before with pure speculation on how it happened. These speculations are merely theories and shouldn't be taken as fact or official lore.
WoW Moviewatch: The Dark Below Revealed
There's been plenty of speculation about the new expansion this week. Wowcrendor decided to step up to the plate and reveal details about the mysterious name. The Dark Below Revealed takes you under the shiny surface of WoW and into the dark recesesses of the underneath. It's a short video but worth a couple chuckles. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
The Dark Below: Once bitten, twice shy
Now you'll all no doubt remember the short-lived saga of The Dark Below that took place this week. It was posted over at MMO Champion, and took the WoW community by storm, before MMO Champion themselves dug a little deeper and published a retraction. We were all fooled, probably because we wanted to be, but now Reddit has waded into the fray with some more information. Of course, at this stage, we're taking a once bitten twice shy stance, but let's lay out the facts here. You can see in the header image that this information is coming from a site called TMview. This is a trademark search site for the EU, and is linked on the official Office for Trademarks and Designs website as a trademark search tool. It is definitely a legitimate site. So we now have to ask if the trademark has been legitimately applied for and registered. It is registered under a legal firm called F.R. Kelly, acting on Blizzard's behalf. You can see an image of the section of the record here, or search it yourself. The law firm are specialist patent and trademark attorneys. Also notable is that the trademark status is currently under examination, with the application received two days ago. About when MMOC first published their story. What's more, the law firm is the same one that registered Reaper of Souls. You can see that what I'm trying to do here is not assert, but simply present what we can gather for your consideration. Was it a cover-up? Are Blizzard just grabbing the trademark for safe-keeping? We don't know. But it's certainly interesting. Caution is advised.
The Dark Below is likely a hoax
It happens to all of us now and then, and there was something fishy about The Dark Below from the out, but we couldn't confirm it. The trademark was undiscoverable on the US trademarks website, right up until it appeared in the form of, well, a form. A form is just that, a form. It cannot be used as evidence of a submission of a trademark, nor of the creation of a submission. A form really is simply a form. And we should have been more suspicious. The original source, MMO Champion, fell play to the same ruse, as did other media outlets, and just like them, we're calling ourselves out. It happens, and this is yet more evidence why things like these should be read with caution. Or, this is Blizzard's most epic double-bluff yet. Editor's Note: We've reached out to Blizzard for comment. We'll update this article if/when we hear back.
What we know about Ozumat, the Fiend of the Dark Below
Due to some news that's come to light this week, people are curious about The Dark Below, and its relation to World of Warcraft. As a result, the end boss of the Throne of Tides expansion, Ozumat has come to people's attention. The dread beast's title is Fiend of the Dark Below, and therefore (with the news that the next Diablo III expansion is likely to be named Reaper of Souls) a possible connection to the new expansion, always assuming of course that The Dark Below is in fact said expansion. So, what do we actually know about Ozumat? Well, turns out, not a heck of a lot. Here's a rundown of the kraken to krak all krakens.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls?
After yesterday's furore over the rumored Blizzard trademark, "The Dark Below", with every man and his dog confidently asserting that this was the name of the next Diablo III expansion, Blizzard has played a decisive card. A new subcategory of the Diablo III website was added very early this morning, titled Reaper of Souls. The above image is all the site holds for now, and if you're unable to read the writing it is ostensibly a quote from the Book of Tyrael, saying "Death, at last, shall spread its wings over all". Now, while this is by no means a complete, firm confirmation that Reaper of Souls is the title of the next expansion, it's certainly looking that way. So that leaves the question of The Dark Below -- what could it be, if it is even a trademark? It did show up eventually on the US trademark registration site, but it's certainly not conclusive. So that adds to the recently registered "Cute But Deadly" trademark in the list of marks of mystery. What's your take?
Blizzard trademark hints at next WoW or Diablo III expansion [Updated]
According to the ever-churning rumor mill, Blizzard Entertainment may be on the cusp of announcing a new expansion to World of Warcraft or Diablo III. The studio has just snagged a new trademark for The Dark Below and identified that trademark as "computer game software" and "downloadable electronic game." The trademark could be for a new game or unannounced IP, but it's more likely the title of an upcoming expansion to one of Blizzard's big existing titles. Smart money is on Diablo III, since Blizz did tease its August 21st Gamescom press conference by saying it would, "capture the attention of the Heavens, Burning Hells, and all the shadowed places that lie between." We also know that Blizzard plans to show off a brand new cinematic at Gamescom -- cinematics tend to come with either new games or new expansions. Any guesses on what The Dark Below might be? [Thanks to Sharvis for the tip!] [Update: Our sister site WoW Insider argues convincingly that this particular registration was merely a hoax.]
