Bungie turned an old Destiny 2 raid arena into a Fallen (baby) sanctuary

Destiny 2’s new Season of the Splicer sees Guardians team up with a branch of Fallen, one of Destiny players’ longtime adversaries. This branch of friendly Fallen take refuge in the Last City: Eliksni Quarter area for both protection and convenience. Players can find Fallen all over the Tower and HELM area, mingling with humanity. But the new Fallen House of Light have claimed one familiar spot in the Last City to be their home: the final boss arena from the Scourge of the Past raid.

Bungie added Scourge of the Past to Destiny 2 back in 2018, just a few months after Forsaken and the Last Wish raid. It was a unique raid experience, as it saw players battle through the bowels of the Last City to take on a rogue Fallen house. At the end, players emerged in a large arena to fight what essentially amounts to a Metal Gear bipedal mech called Insurrection Prime.

Image: Bungie via Polygon

When Beyond Light came out, Bungie removed the Scourge of the Past raid alongside all the Leviathan raids, putting them back in the Destiny Content Vault. But now, players can revisit the area where they battled Insurrection Prime on a far more peaceful, but still politically tense, mission.

The Fallen House of Light, led by Fallen-friend-to-the-Guardians Mithrax, has set up a sanctuary in the old boss arena. The area consists of a kind of hangar-like space at the opening, four large buildings, and rubble around the side. These Fallen are not enemies, they’re just trying to survive. Mithrax may be a Fallen Kell, but most of his followers are small Fallen with adorable Fallen babies cradled nearby. They’re refugees, not soldiers.

It’s a nice touch to see Fallen in this kind of environment, but even better is the kind of makeshift culture exchange it offers. Guardians can explore the Fallen refugee camp, and find Fallen artifacts like Shanks, Ether tanks, or even the remnants of Insurrection Prime. When players interact with these objects, Eido, daughter of Mithrax and the Scribe for the House of Light, tells the story of the object and its cultural significance.

Image: Bungie via Polygon

It’s a fascinating way to learn the culture of a group of enemies players have been killing en masse since the original Destiny in 2014. There are some interesting insights into the way Fallen feel about Guardians, like a ward on the wall that Fallen tell their children will keep Guardians away. The Fallen also worship the Traveler, which now rests in the sky above them at all times, so the whole experience comes with this awe of the Fallen having a religious experience around an object Guardians see every day.

Bungie has been doing a lot of work to make Destiny 2’s story more interesting, but the Fallen sanctuary is a really smart step and welcomed reimagining of a beloved boss arena. It’s teaching players about the game’s story in an interactive way, and humanizing the Fallen the way Bungie first humanized the Elites in Halo.

But most importantly, it gives us all a really easy way to see some Fallen babies just hanging out under the Light of the Traveler.