[GameSpot] - Destiny 2 Crota's End Raid Release Date, Start Time, Possible Exotic Weapon, And Power Cap

[343iBot]

Destiny 2's new Season of the Witch has just begun, and in addition to new seasonal matchmade activities, themed gear, and a new Exotic weapon, Season 22 will also see a reprised raid added to the game. Crota's End, which originally appeared in Destiny's first expansion, The Dark Below.

Crota, the Hive prince who killed hundreds of Guardians during a devastating battle on the Moon that came to be known as The Great Disaster, rose once again in the original Destiny timeline, leading the Vanguard to authorize a new operation to stop him once and for all. Reprised raids are moments in time that Destiny 2 players will be able to revisit, and this raid will see Guardians return to that pivotal battle.

Once again, it'll be a race to the finish for one fireteam to earn bragging rights, glory, and a sweet wrestling belt are on the line, and we've rounded up all the details on this returning raid below, including its launch time, Power requirements, and Contest Mode details.

Crota's End start time

You'll be able to dive into Crota's End starting September 1 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. This is a Friday, right after the Destiny 2 daily reset.

• 10 AM PT
• 1 PM ET
• 6 PM BST
• 7 PM CET
• 3 AM AEST (September 2)

Contest Mode details

Contest Mode will be enabled for the first 48 hours, and clearing the raid is the first step towards gaining access to the Challenge Mode of this raid. This will also enable fireteams to begin working on the special Superior Swordplay Triumph, which has challenges for each encounter. To complete the Superior Swordplay triumph, a fireteam must complete a curated list of challenges in the Challenge Mode.

The first fireteam to finish every Crota's End encounter and loot the final chest will be declared World First and have their victory immortalized with Crota’s End World First raid belts.

Contest Mode changes

Bungie says that it has also made the following changes to Contest Mode, in order to maintain a high bar of challenge for the launch event achievements:

• Increased the cap of player outgoing damage vs. combatants. Keep in mind that the incoming damage cap did not change.
• Some enemies will gain elemental shields.
• All enemies will be more aggressive than in the previous Contest Mode.

Bungie added that enemies will be much beefier in Crota's End, as they'll have increased shields, health, and aggression when encountered.

Power level requirement

You will need to be at 1790 Power to be at the Contest Mode cap for the raid. If you've been playing Destiny 2 regularly since Lightfall, you've likely already reached and surpassed this requirement, as Bungie hasn't raised the power cap for two seasons.

Crota's End rewards and Exotic weapon

We haven't seen any armor or weapons revealed yet for Crota's End, but Bungie has brought back gear from the first Destiny and into Destiny 2 for reprised raids. If this pattern holds up, you can likely expect weapon drops like Word of Crota, Fang of Ir Yut, and Oversoul Edict from the raid. For the Exotic weapon, there's a good chance that the auto rifle Necrochasm could return, as the King's Fall reprised raid dropped Touch of Malice when it first arrived last year.

In Destiny, Necrochasm's signature ability is Cursebringer, which allows kills with the weapon to trigger explosions similar to a Cursed Thrall detonation. If the weapon is making a comeback in Destiny 2, it'll be interesting to see how it has been fine-tuned for the game.

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