For expansions, the Destiny 2 community chased one of Bungie’s most closely guarded secrets. It’s known as a wish—the 15th wish in the Wish Wall. The last mystery in Forsaken. It hasn’t been discovered, and its pursuit has been the calling of many guardians.
Destiny 2 has had its share of mysteries over the years, but few—if any—are as mythical as the 15th wish. It’s related to the Last Wish raid in Forsaken, a 2018 expansion with secrets layered over hints and covered in clues. And now, five years later, Bungie has finally pulled it from the ether and into reality.
This pattern points to the Forsaken raid, and with season 23 being called Season of the Wish, it’s fair to assume this code will play a huge role—after all, Bungie would not have dug up the 15th wish (or named a season after it) if there weren’t major plans in place. And it may be one of the most important seasons in Destiny 2‘s lifetime.
The 15th Wish in Destiny 2, explained: History and mystery
The wishes in Destiny 2 are tied to the Wish Wall in the Dreaming City’s Last Wish raid. The wall is a blank slate, but inputting certain combinations on it grants you specific effects—for instance, bringing you to specific checkpoints, granting you extra drops, or even getting the Drifter to voice the raid.
Bungie hid those patterns in physical plates scattered over the Sol System. Most are in the Last Wish raid, though you can also find them in the Shattered Throne, Nessus, or the pre-vaulting Titan. Each of them works as a cipher, notating the order and placement of specific symbols on the Wish Wall. Enter them correctly and you get an effect, from cosmetics to voice-overs to checkpoints.
The plates and the Wish Wall have been a known part of Destiny 2 for years now. In the early days of Forsaken, however, they kicked off a game-wide scavenger hunt, with players all over the world looking for these codes. It started when guardians uncovered mysterious plates with patterns, content creator evanf1997 recounts in his brilliant video on the 15th wish.
While these patterns seemed incomprehensible at first, the discovery of the Wish Wall gave meaning to the plates. Each combination counted as a wish, and the game pointed to 14 of them to discover. The community flocked to find them, leaving no stone unturned in their hunt.
Though the game only showed triumphs for 14 wishes, the API indicated a trace of a 15th wish (which is still up on databases such as light.gg). API data isn’t necessarily final and could reflect outdated or scrapped content, but that didn’t stop guardians from chasing the ghost.
While the search raged on, famed data miner Ginsor mentioned a possible location for wish 10, but “there was not a single file” for wishes three and 15. The third wish being absent from the files wasn’t a surprise, since it was discovered from a cutscene rather than a physical plate. Because of that, Ginsor believed the 15th wish was either time-gated or found somewhere outside regular gameplay. It was shaking up to be one of Destiny 2‘s biggest mysteries.
Despite a near-endless amount of attempts by a near-endless number of guardians over the years, however, the 15th wish never surfaced. It fell into the territory of urban legend, becoming close to the Destiny 2 equivalent of Bigfoot. And even though it still popped up in conversation, it never showed up in-game.
Until Bungie revealed it in a cutscene five years later.
Bungie reveals the 15th Wish
The 15th wish came along on Nov. 7, shown in a cinematic after completing the Test of Truth and Lies in Savathûn’s Imbaru Engine. Finishing it leads you to an unblemished Ahamkara egg, and after the Guardian returns to the H.E.L.M., they uncover a familiar pattern on Savathûn’s wings.
The cutscene, however, seemingly didn’t give players the exact 15th wish. Our Guardian is still studying it, and cracking the code is bound to be a major plot point in season 23. Though Bungie officially bringing the 15th wish into the fold is the culmination of a five-year chase—and a setup for what may be one of the most meaningful seasons in Destiny 2 history.
Why is the 15th Wish so important?
Wish 15 has been permeating guardians’ imaginations for years now, and finding it’s not a myth is an important point for a good portion of the community. The closest comparison we can draw? Imagine if you found out Bigfoot in the original Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has been real all this time.
Parts of the Destiny 2 player base have been asking for more secrets in the same vein as the old secret missions such as Zero Hour and the Whisper. The developers delivered, for instance, with the Wicked Implement quest in Season of the Deep and the Imbaru Engine in season 22.
It’s also vital to the ongoing narrative, especially as the game builds up to The Final Shape. The wish magic may be the key to opening a portal to the Traveler’s Pale Heart, which is the destination for the new expansion. And if the mystery wasn’t enticing enough, the fact that a new Ahamkara could surface is also a major plot point. Ahamkaras draw power from wishes and can twist those desires in their favor, which may not bode well for the Vanguard.
It’s too early to tell what sorts of secrets the 15th wish hides, but its mere existence could be a setup for a tremendous victory for Bungie—a studio that desperately needs a win after an outrage-inducing wave of layoffs, largely missed projections, heavy burnout, and one of the lowest points in player trust.
Published: Nov 8, 2023 06:53 pm