The SIVA storyline was introduced in Destiny 2 during the Rise of Iron season. The Rise of Iron season was dubbed as one of the best seasons, primarily because of the storyline and SIVA’s involvement in it.
Truth be told, SIVA is a self-replicating piece of nanotechnology that as developed by Clovis Bray. One of the most dangerous pieces of Golden Age tech, SIVA was used by Rasputin to eliminate all the Iron Lords in Destiny 2. The only weapon that can still harness the power of this technology is the Outbreak Perfected Pulse Rifle. Other than that, all other sites containing this technology have been quarantined by the Vanguard, and from the looks of it, that’s how it will be for a long while.
Bungie Might Not Revisit the SIVA Storyline in Destiny 2
In an exclusive interview with PC Gamer, Senior Narrative Designer, Nikko Stevens revealed that the developers might be done with SIVA for good. Back when Season of the Seraph launched, fans did expect this havoc-wrecking bot to return alongside Rasputin. However, this technology wasn’t mentioned by the developers at all.
“So whenever the Warmind comes up, whether it was back in Season of the Worthy or now, SIVA has been a part of the conversation narratively. We talk about it, we kick it around. But ultimately, I think SIVA is a story that was told in Rise of Iron, and was finalised in Rise of Iron.”
Nikko Stevens, Senior Narrative Designer
It’s been a while since the Rise of Iron storyline took place in Destiny 2. Keeping that in mind, the developers feel that involving SIVA in any of the upcoming storylines would be looking backward. While that isn’t really that bad an idea, Bungie is pushing forward with respect to Lightfall. There are a lot of changes that we’ll be seeing once the new season goes live. These changes include additions to the weapon loot pool, activity changes, and more. So, the decision to not revisit this piece of nanotechnology does sound like a smart decision.
However, things will become slightly complicated if and when Bungie plans on reprising the Wrath of the Machine raid. With rumors suggesting that the raid could go live sometime over the course of Lightfall, it’s unclear how Bungie plans on approaching the subject. The last raid to be reprised was King’s Fall. Although it had no connection to the storyline during the Season of Plunder, the Taken threat is still real. Yes, the connection between the two is somewhat of a stretch, but there’s still a connection.
“So it is a consideration. It’s something that’s always in the back of our minds. We definitely have people in the studio who want to do things with older elements of Destiny. And whenever we find an opportunity to bring them in that makes sense, we do our best to make sure it happens.”
If Bungie were to reprise the Wrath of the Machine raid in Destiny 2 Lightfall, it might be hard for newer players to relate to the context of the activity itself. Yes, Outbreak Perfected is related to the SIVA storyline, but it does very little to explain how grave the situation was and how dangerous this nanite technology actually is. Taking all this into account, Bungie hasn’t discarded the idea completely, but there’s no telling when it will come to fruition.
Destiny 2 is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.
– This article was updated on January 27th, 2023
