Highlights

  • The Pale Heart in Destiny 2's upcoming expansion is a unique, bizarre location designed to make players uncomfortable.
  • Its structure and design are connected to the Traveler and Guardians, adding depth to the game's lore and making for unique gameplay where the Heart can shift to feature areas from past content.
  • The Pale Heart is a world crafted by the Traveler's consciousness, changing based on the presence of those within, offering a nostalgic experience.

With the release of Destiny 2's upcoming expansion, The Final Shape, there will also come the most unique location in the game to date: the Pale Heart of the Traveler. In fact, this is likely the first time a Destiny 2 staff member (in this case, associate producer Nix Kinney) described a location as "weird." The Pale Heart has been specifically designed to make players feel uncomfortable with some of the most bizarre art and design choices that have ever been seen in Destiny 2. As players head into the Traveler in pursuit of the Witness in The Final Shape, they will arrive in the Pale Heart and continue their journey through Destiny 2's most eccentric location yet.

While simply beholding what the Pale Heart is will surely be an interesting experience in and of itself, there is a reason for it all. The Pale Heart isn't weird for the sake of being weird. In fact, its structure and design all stem from its connection to the Traveler and the Traveler's connection to Destiny 2's Guardians. In light of that, it's worth exploring what the Pale Heart is and why it has taken on the shape and appearance that it has, as it all ultimately comes back to the Traveler itself.

Destiny 2 Final Shape Cayde 6
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How the Pale Heart Connects to the Traveler

The Pale Heart Is Still One of Destiny 2's Most Elusive Mentions

While Bungie has done what it can, and Destiny 2's lore entries as well, to explain what exactly the Pale Heart of the Traveler is, it remains one of Destiny 2's most elusive mentions, continuously confusing even the most studied veterans of the game. In fact, it's likely the Destiny 2 community won't know the full extent of what the Pale Heart is until they traverse it in The Final Shape. While it is the main location in the upcoming expansion, enough has been said about the Pale Heart to indicate it is much more than a new location for players to visit.

At the end of Destiny 2's Witch Queen expansion, the Witness is finally revealed, making mention of the Traveler's "pale heart" that "holds the key." It could be that the Pale Heart of the Traveler is only so named on account of the Witness referring to it as such. He calls the Traveler's heart "pale" in the context of the Traveler being afraid, which makes sense, considering being pale-hearted means to be a coward and the Traveler has made a habit of constantly running from the Witness. However, as the Witch Queen comes to a close, the Withess confirms that the Traveler can no longer evade him, and he then enters the Traveler through a triangular portal at the end of the Lightfall expansion.

The Pale Heart of the Traveler Is a World Crafted by Its Consciousness

As far as the Pale Heart goes as a location, it has been confirmed by Bungie that it is a world crafted by the Traveler's consciousness. Specifically, the Traveler's Pale Heart changes according to the presence of those within it. In this case, it would be the Guardians, who have now been around since the beginning of Destiny almost ten years ago. That being said, the Witness entered the Traveler way ahead of the Guardians, which means the shape of the Pale Heart has had plenty of time to be influenced by the presence of the Witness.

When the Guardians enter the Pale Heart in The Final Shape, it will once again take shape according to what they've experienced, which includes a host of nostalgic locations and images from the last ten years of Destiny — like the original Tower from the first game, oversized Ghosts, and the Cosmodrome from Destiny's Rise of Iron expansion. As Bungie has stated, the Pale Heart is a "labor of love," so players can expect a nostalgia-heavy experience.