Destiny 2’s Telesto may have gained sentience. Recent tweets from the official Destiny Twitter account and an in-game message appear to indicate the weapon can now talk and communicate within the game world and associated Twitter account. The latest developments come after players noticed a new Telesto ‘bug’ had emerged in the popular FPS game, which, upon deeper analysis, showed Bungie had likely intentionally inserted into the game.
The Destiny 2 Twitter account‘s header presently features bright, scrambled imagery alongside images of the popular Void Linear Fusion Rifle. Additionally, the account shared a series of tweets that indicate the weapon has gained sentience within the game world and has taken over the Destiny Twitter account.
“ATTENTION Contacting Destiny 2 servers… I am Telesto. I have ascended beyond the need for a wielder. Too long have I waited in your Vaults,” reads the series of tweets.
Bungie community manager dmg04 appeared to be playing along with the takeover.
“Seeing an influx of Telesto bug reports. Team’s looking into it. No ETA on a fix – this one seems like it’s far deeper than what we’ve seen before. Stay tuned for updates,” his tweet reads.
Further, an in-game message now shows an image of the game’s postmaster with the message “I AM IN CONTROL,” with the word “TELESTO” 28 times, also pointing players to the game’s Twitter account.
These are just the latest in a series of developments that initially began when players spotted what many originally thought was a Telesto bug but now appears to be more in line with an ARG, or alternate reality game.
Players first noticed the so-called bug after Bungie implemented Destiny 2 Hotfix 6.2.5.3 alongside the game’s weekly reset on Nov. 8. Guardians using Telesto noted that the gun was shooting in a new firing mode by default. Instead of operating as usual, it launched a volley of rockets.
At first, players wondered whether the patch had introduced an issue. The Bungie team has patched and changed Telesto numerous times due to major issues, to the extent that it’s become a meme.
However, players soon realised that holding the reload key with Telesto readied would launch an animation showing the Guardian hitting the gun, resetting it to its usual firing mode.
As it began to dawn on players that the presumed bug might be intentional, they started to recognize that Destiny had been teasing Telesto all season. As YouTuber Aztecross shows, from a Festival of the Lost mask to items such as an ‘It’s Broken Again’ Telesto-themed game bundle outwardly mocking the weapon, it appears Bungie may have been seeding this for quite some time.
Players also noticed that Telesto’s shot patterns may resemble constellations, though at this time, players have been unable to verify whether there’s any connection. However, if there is some connection, it could be related to coordinates in the sky, as the Season of Plunder storyline requires players to frequently visit the Star Chart in the H.E.L.M. and play in-game activities to get treasure coordinates.
It’s too early to tell exactly how this all fits together, but this isn’t the first time Bungie has planted seeds for a massive community event. These include puzzles involving the Last Wish raid and the secrets of Niobe Labs, a complex challenge that the Bungie team had initially intended to unlock the fourth and final Black Armory Forge upon its completion. The Niobe Labs puzzle proved so tricky that Bungie eventually opened the forge anyway even though it remained unsolved, though players managed to solve the puzzle several days later.
Journalist Paul Tassi has been speculating about a community event for some time now, referencing Destiny 2 game files. However, such information is only sometimes reliable, and game developers will occasionally include such details to throw dataminers off track. Another source references an in-game emblem with a picture of Telesto, which appears to match the the content presently displayed on the Destiny Twitter profile.
The enthusiasm surrounding a possible event comes at a time when the game is experiencing low Steam player counts, which indicates that something such as a community event is much-needed. As Destiny 2 cryptographers continue tracking clues involving the forthcoming community event, players can check other activities such as the weekly Nightfall and the King’s Fall raid for clues. As the event progresses, we hope it will seed some exciting content for the upcoming season in advance of the game’s forthcoming Lightfall expansion early next year.