Bungie has announced on their official site that a special pre-launch event will be held prior to the release of "The Taken King" DLC for their popular game "Destiny." The special event begins with the release of Patch 2.0 this Sept. 8 and will run until Sept. 14, in preparation for the DLC's official release on Sept. 15. 

Once the game studio launches "The Taken King" on Sept. 15, the Crucible content will become available only to those who have ordered the expansion, therefore this pre-launch event will be an opportunity for those who haven't pre-ordered to try the new modes out to check whether or not they want to buy the DLC. 

The update will introduce some major changes to the core gameplay of "Destiny." The patch will raise the character level cap to 34 while also getting rid of Light Levels. Those who pre-order "The Taken King" will be able to raise their character levels up to 40. 

Moreover, the pause menu will feature a Quest Screen and the Bounty slots will be raised to 16. The Tower will also be updated to hold Collections and Exotic Blueprints. 

A week-long Crucible event will also be held with Patch 2.0. The expansion's new maps for PVP will be playable to all players, even those who have not ordered "The Taken King." These new maps are as follows: Memento, The Dungeons, Bannerfall, The Drifter, Frontier, Crossroads, Vertigo, and Sector 618. The last one is a PlayStation exclusive. 

Mayhem and Rift, two new PVP modes, will also be playable once Patch 2.0 rolls out. In Mayhem, the cooldown for player powers and special abilities are reduced, while Rift plays more like a traditional Capture the Flag segment. 

According to a report from Design and Trend, Bungie is also extending the period for their "Moments of Triumph" to Sept. 14.

"The Taken King" DLC for "Destiny" will not only introduce new game mechanics and the introduction of Nolan North's voice-over work replacing that of Peter Dinklage, but will also be the game's official introduction to "Destiny" Year 2.