Destiny: Rise of IronProducer Scott Taylor puts forth the idea that future DLC expansions could features stories around mysterious vendor NPCs like Xur and The Cryptarch.
While gamers will say what they will aboutDestiny’s story (or lack thereof), it’s still hard to deny therich world that developer Bungie has created. From the various warring races to the unique NPCs, there is a lot of potential forDestiny’s story moving forward, and the hope is that future expansions will explore some of those concepts and characters.
In fact, just recentlyDestiny: Rise of IronExecutive Producer Scott Taylor teased Xur and The Cryptarch as potential expansion story fodder. He wouldn’t outright say whether a future expansion, or even a storyline inDestiny 2, might feature those characters, but the suggestion is that they are on Bungie’s radar.
When I look at the universe of Destiny, I see a lot of opportunity to tell stories about these characters that — you look at the Cryptarch and Xur, we don’t know much about them, but they’re cool characters. I’m curious about them. I want to know more about the Cryptarch. He seems mean. What’s going on with Xur? We’re trying to create these opportunities, and then the expansions are a great place to dive in. You see Cayde and you smile now because you know who Cayde is. I feel like I have a good sense of who Eris is. After this release you’ll know about Saladin, and we’re introducing more characters in the new social space that we hope people are curious about too.
As Taylor points out, it wasn’t until the release ofDestiny: The Taken Kingthat players really began to see where future storylines could go. With the further fleshing out of theHunter vanguard Cayde-6, players began to see the character in a new light. It was the Taken King storyline that informed how players see Cayde-6 now, and makes him feel like a fully realized character and not just a quest giver.
Similarly, the upcoming Rise of Iron expansion will do the same thing forLord Saladin, the quest giver and vendor forDestiny’s Iron Banner event. Players have some ideas as to who Lord Saladin is and his back-story, but that’s only surface level stuff. WithRise of Iron, Bungie is seemingly putting the last remaining Iron Lord front and center, and giving him a chance to shine like Cayde-6.
It’s hard to argue that Xur and The Cryptarch have the potential for interesting backstories, as both NPCs are mysterious figures inDestinylore. There are some hints aboutXur the Agent of NineinDestiny’s grimoire, but Bungie has not confirmed anything outright. The Cryptarch, on the other hand, is mostly a mystery, and could easily support a storyline of his own. For the most part, his backstory exists in side comments made while decrypting engrams, but we’re sure there are interesting places the character could go in the future.
It’s actually interesting to consider that two ofDestiny’s most maligned NPCs could feature into future DLC expansions. At one pointThe Cryptarch was the laughing stock ofDestiny, for the way he would constantly disappoint players with lesser loot. The same goes for Xur, who at times can be a source of genuine excitement, and other times is known for delivering the same old items.
Perhaps those characteristics could factor into the DLC storylines, maybe even a story focused on the history ofDestinyloot. Whatever Bungie does plan, though, we hope the studio borrows from its success with Cayde-6 in fleshing out a side character.
Destiny: Rise of Ironreleases June 11, 2025 for PS4 and Xbox One.
