Destiny's upcoming expansion, The Taken King, will not allow players to upgrade their existing legendary gear to a higher tier. This follows the news that Peter Dinklage's role is being replaced by Nolan North.
This differs from its previous expansion, House of Wolves, in which players could improve their old armor and weapons by upgrading them. The process is called "Ascending", and requires players to earn a currency called Etheric Light to pay for the upgrades. Etheric Light is difficult to acquire and the only way to get it is to complete high level events or through the limited Iron Banner PVP event.
This was done in response to criticism about the game's first expansion, where old gear was rendered useless after players discovered new equipment.
Instead of allowing players to upgrade their gear, Bungie wants to add a ton of new weapons and armor to encourage players to get back into the grind and earn new items.
The Taken King comes out on September 15 for all existing platforms that the game is out on.