Destiny's major 2.0.1 update is now live, and here's everything it does

Destiny developer Bungie just patched the game to version 2.0.1, and the studio published the full patch notes on its website, listing details on microtransactions, the Iron Banner, Trials of Osiris, the fabled Black Spindle and more.

Tess Everis returns to the Tower with update 2.0.1, and she'll be selling emotes for real money as a vendor for the Eververse Trading Company. This represents the debut of microtransactions in Destiny, with players now able to buy a new in-game currency called Silver from the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store.

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Bungie added another new feature to Destiny with the 2.0.1 patch: For the first time, players will be able to re-roll exotic armor for different perks and stat boosts. Exotic armor pieces now have a "Twist Fate" node that requires Glimmer, armor materials and a new item called a Glass Needle. Xur will sell that special curio every weekend.

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Update 2.0.1 also fixes a host of issues, at least one of which players were actually happy about. The Black Spindle exotic sniper rifle, which debuted last month exclusively in a Daily Heroic story mission, was dropping at 310 attack. That was unintended, and today's patch will drop all existing and future Black Spindles down to 290. The update also introduces a drastic nerf to shotguns: the wholesale removal of the Shot Package perk, which has been replaced with perks that don't boost range.

Bungie made some tweaks to Destiny's reward economy with update 2.0.1 as well. The first chest in the King's Fall raid will now offer additional materials and a higher potential number of Moldering Shards. Players will get more Motes of Light from completing public events and earning experience, but they'll receive fewer Motes from bounties, faction rep packages and dismantling items. Both rep packages and bounties will award fewer Strange Coins, too.

The Iron Banner is now live, while Trials of Osiris will return this weekend, Oct. 16-18. It'll be the first time players are experiencing those on-again, off-again Crucible events since the launch of Destiny: The Taken King. The new Iron Banner brings with it an updated power curve, which Bungie detailed in a separate blog post.

The new curve falls off linearly from the start until a level delta (difference) of five. So if you're 50 Light below the person you're shooting, you'll only do 90 percent of your usual damage to them. That may sound like a more generous curve than ever, but The Taken King's curve provides for a more aggressive damage reduction than any previous setup — at least "for the first 3 levels or so," according to Derek Carroll, senior designer at Bungie.

"This means that, assuming everyone in your match is close to max-level (or "your level"), minor differences in power will matter more than ever," Carroll explained. "We're assuming that matchmaking will do its thing and keep skills close, so your gear will give you the edge (or hold you back) when playing in power-enabled playlists."

The new Iron Banner curve bends slightly at a delta of five, so that by a difference of 100 Light, the lower-level player will suffer a damage reduction of about 22.5 percent. The biggest drop-off comes at a delta of 15 (about 150 Light), where the weaker player will only be doing 65 percent of their typical damage.

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"There's just a lot more room between full-power and full-sadness, given that there's a lot more room between a new character and an endgame player in The Taken King," said Carroll.

Bungie's redesign of Iron Banner also extends to its rewards. All the Iron Banner weapons and armor pieces will be available to purchase from Lord Saladin in the Tower as usual, but players should see those items more regularly as end-of-match drops. If you do want to buy gear, you'll need to pay for it with Legendary Marks instead of Glimmer. And the "Tempered" buff, which increases reputation gains over the course of the week, is automatically applied to your character now.

Trials of Osiris is changing, too. Although teams that go 9-0 will continue to visit the exclusive Lighthouse area on Mercury, Bungie is tweaking matchmaking to make that run "more competitive." Winning teams will get rewards directly on the end-of-match screen. And Brother Vance in the Reef will now sell Trials gear, including some items found in The Lighthouse.

Check out Bungie's blog post for the full patch notes. For more on the expansion, read our review.