'Destiny 2' January Update: Bungie Details What to Expect in First Patch of the Year

For the first "Destiny 2" update of the year, Bungie is making huge changes on the Raid reward system.

They know that "the rewards could use some more love," which they will rectify in the update. As senior designer Daniel Auchenpaugh explains:

We've been hearing that the current system doesn't feel exciting when you kill bosses, that tokens aren't interesting enough, and that you want more deep-chase items to hunt down. This is our first swing at tackling some of those, and we hope you'll jump in and play with these changes a bit and then let us know how you feel.

Part of the changes to be made in "Destiny 2" via the January update has to do with the Raid armor, which will now drop new perks that function on the Leviathan.

The update will also allow players to get Prestige and normal drops when they clear Prestige. Players will no longer leave Raid empty-handed as the game will now drop a Raid piece for every encounter.

The "Destiny 2" update will also give players the chance to buy a rotating selection of raid gear from Raid vendors. The available items will be changed every week.

Apart from these tweaks, the "Destiny 2" update will add a new item, the Exotic Raid Ghost "Contender's Shell." The description reads:

While not quite at the grind level of the legendary Nanophoenix, we felt like we needed to add a chase item to the Raid pool to make coming back still have reward potential each week. Enter the Contender's Shell. This Ghost can drop from the final encounter in either Leviathan or Eater of Worlds. We also included some bad luck protection to avoid the previously mentioned "Nanophoenix Problem" so that dedicated raiders can rest assured they'll get their hands on it eventually, even if it takes several weeks.

The Contender's Shell comes with some brand new perks that we're hoping helps reward players that keep clearing the Raid even after they've gotten their Ghost. Both active only on the Leviathan, and its lair, they aim to make Leviathan encounter rewards stay awesome. First, Seeker of Brilliance enables the chance for encounters to drop Bright Engrams from their loot pools. Every time one doesn't drop a Bright Engram, we increase the chance for the next. Remember those Exotics that can drop from encounters I was talking about earlier? Well, Seeker of Opulence means those exotics have a 50% chance to pull from a list of Exotics you haven't collected yet instead of the standard list. Lastly, to top off this already pretty rad Ghost, we threw on Seeker of Glory, which provides a tracker for the number of encounters you have defeated on the Leviathan.

The return of The Iron Banner event has also been announced with the first of the year set Jan. 30 to Feb. 6. Bungie promises to feature Season 2 weapons during its run.

The "Destiny 2" update will roll out on Jan. 29, during which backend maintenance will take place. Read all about the patch here.