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Destiny 2 The Dawning start time, weapon and 8.1.5.1 patch notes

Destiny 2's Christmas event, The Dawning, is back, and with it there's a fresh new weapon to earn in Bungie's long-running MMO shooter - here's what's new and when it arrives

[Destiny 2 The Dawning key art]

Time to bake some more cookies(Image: Bungie)

Destiny 2's Christmas event, The Dawning, is here for all Guardians to celebrate as a free update.

The Dawning has been around for years, and while there are definitely some players that would like Bungie to make some bigger changes to the formula, there are plenty of goodies to earn this time around - including new exclusive emblems.

Expect snowballs, cookies, and a fresh new Linear Fusion Rifle to enjoy - here's when you can start playing.

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The Dawning 2024 start time and date

As with all Destiny events, the update will coincide with the weekly reset at 5PM GMT/ 10AM PDT/ 1PM EDT today, Tuesday 10 .

Expect some server queues to get back online, however, and if you're getting a CAT error you'll need to close the game and check for an update.

Full Patch Notes for version 8.1.5.1

Here are the full notes, as per Bungie.

[Destiny 2's new Dawning armour]

Destiny 2's new Dawning armour is certainly eye-catching(Image: Bungie)

Activities

Seasonal

The Dawning

• The Dawning is now live. Snowballs are available to use against combatants in several activities. Three new emblems can be found inside of A Gift in Return packages. Check the December 5 TWID for details on how to increase chances. Confectionary Commander emblem Epicurean Extraordinaire emblem Handcrafter Hunter emblem A New Weapon has been added. Mistral Lift - Adaptive Void Linear Fusion Rifle New Astral Stasis Drake armor has been added. Available in the Eververse store.

Tomb of Elders

• Fixed an issue where players waiting for revival after the final Tomb of Elders boss has been defeated would spawn in the Warden's Office and could not claim rewards.

Onslaught Salvation

• Fixed an issue where the bonus Heatwave round was occurring less than intended.
• Fixed an issue where an invisible ledge was present near the third defense location on Kells Grave.

Crucible

Matchmaking

• Updated backend thresholds to improve matchmaking times and quality of matches.

• Adjusted fireteam MMR weighting in 6v6 playlists to avoid redundancy with Fireteam Matchmaking.

• Increased the score threshold at which teams are broken up, in order to allow more matches to recycle and improve matchmaking times.

Dungeons & Raids

Vesper's Host

• General Fixed an issue where the first secret chest would only reward the first player opening it. Fixed an issue where the Icebreaker Catalyst was not always awarded to players who died during their run. Fixed an issue where players could crash during the boss death.
• Second Encounter Fixed an issue where the boss would sometimes not reform properly after DPS, resulting in an infinite damage phase.

Garden of Salvation

• Fixed an issue where the Consecrated Mind boss could be pushed off its starting platform and immediately end the encounter. Feel free to keep using Stasis, if you want...

Salvation's Edge

• Fixed an issue where the incorrect wipe text was displaying during the Witness encounter.

Exotic Mission Rotator

• Fixed an issue where the Featured Exotic Mission was not granting Pinnacle rewards.

UI/UX

[The Destiny 2 Dawning 2024 Event Card rewards]

The Event Card is packed with festive treats(Image: Bungie)

Fireteam Finder

• Fixed an issue where the Vow of the Disciple raid was missing the Master option in Fireteam Finder.

Gameplay and Investment

Exotic Armor

• Hunter Raiju's Harness Re-tuned Super energy granted by defeating Arc-debuffed combatants. Minors: Increased Super energy granted from 0.3% to 1%. Majors: Increased Super energy granted from 1.7% to 2.5%. Players: Increased Super energy granted from 3.1% to 4%. Minibosses and bosses: Decreased Super energy granted from 4.5% to 4%. Decreased amount of Super energy granted for defeating Arc-debuffed combatants while Gathering Storm is being cast to approximately 80% of the previous value. Maximum total energy granted this way remains the same, at 50%. Note: The lightning summoned by Raiju's Harness on allies and enemies near the user will always apply status effects before dealing damage.

Revenant

Tonics

• Fixed an issue where Tonic quest progress could become blocked on specific characters.
• Fixed an issue where the Tonic of Worldly Arms Armor and Tonic of Worldly Chest Armor had incorrect descriptions.
• Fixed an issue where Legendary Tomb of Elders Weapon Tonics were targeting the incorrect weapons. This fix went live last week in a hotfix.

General

• Updated the Gjallarheart armor ornament sets in Collections to use their appropriate names.
• Reduced the requirements for the Fight to the End Triumph from 5/15/30/50 to 5/10/20/40.
• Fixed an issue where the spawn sound effect can be heard briefly before the ship goes into the warp screen animation.
• Fixed an issue where an unintended sound effect can be heard in Orbit when joining a Gambit match in progress on Cathedral of Scars.

New Weapon

[Mistral Lift in Destiny 2]

Destiny 2's latest festive weapon, the Mistral Lift(Image: Bungie)

The latest Legendary weapon for the Dawning is the Mistral Lift, an Adaptive Void Linear Fusion Rifle (try saying that ten times quickly).

Bungie says it can drop with Envious Arsenal and Bait and Switch, but also that older weapons will get refreshed.

"Avalanche with Rewind Rounds will be outstanding, Zephyr has a great combo with Rimestealer and Cold Steel, and Glacioclasm will terrorize PvP with Lone Wolf and Closing Time," the latest Bungie blog explains.

How will The Dawning 2024 work?

As in year's prior, the bulk of The Dawning will see players fetching ingredients from various sources to bake into cookies in their festive oven, before handing them out to NPCs in the Tower and beyond.

We have some new faces in the game's social spaces now, so maybe we'll get to deliver some festive cheer to Mithrax and Eido. We already know that Nimbus is a fan of the new Neomun-Cake...

Players can also expect snowballs to be found in missions like Strikes. These can freeze enemies and do big damage, so have at it!

New this year are a series of rare emblems in gift packages received from handing out cookies. Bungie says you'll get increased chances of earning one if the community hits a series of goals each week.

As per Bungie, these are the cookies you'll need to make each week:

Week 1 (December 10)

• Gjallardoodles for Zavala
• Bright-Dusted Snowballs for Tess Everis
• Starwort Thins for Elsie Bray
• Neomun-Cake for Nimbus

Week 2 (December 17)

• Traveler Donut Holes for Ikora
• Classic Butter Cookie for Eva Levante
• Dark Chocolate Motes for The Drifter

Week 3 (December 24)

• Vanilla Blades for Shaxx
• Lavender Ribbon Cookies for Saint-14
• Etheric Coldsnaps for Variks

Will you be jumping into The Dawning?

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