So, this is a little theory I have regarding the location of the City. Thought I'd share it on the forums. First off, when the Cosmodrome was abandoned by the Fallen at the end of Destiny 1, the Grimoire stated that this signaled the end of the Fallen siege of the City. This means that the Cosmodrome must be relatively close to the City, if they are able to use it as a base to launch attacks.
Then, I did some research on actual Russian Cosmodromes. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a Russian space facility located in Kazakhstan. It makes sense that, at the advent of the Golden Age, humanity would decide to simply use an existing spaceport instead of building a new one. Secondly, the surrounding area seems to match the look of the Cosmodrome quite well.
If we accept that the Baikonur Cosmodrome is the Cosmodrome of Destiny, then we need to find the Tower. Since the Tower is located in a mountainous region, I looked for the nearest Mountain range, which happens to be the Tian Shan range in neighboring Krygyzstan. The mountains of the Tian Shan range are similar in appearance to the mountains that surround the City.
It's next to impossible to get a more precise location, but it's possible that the City could be located in the modern day town of Talas, which appears to match the general appearance of the area around the City.
Additionally, the stories about, Jagi's Host, a group of Firebreak titans that went missing after the battle of six fronts, say that they were last seen "marching towards the Caspian Sea," which happens to be due west of the Tian Shan range. So, what do you guys think?
inb4 "omigod I can't believe you actually care about this game" comments
Edit; Hooooly Crap, this blew up.
There's a few themes that I've seen come up in the comments, so I'd like to address them now (there's way too many to reply to them all).
First off, many people have noted that the Traveler cannot be seen in Old Russia. However, though the Tian Shan range is the closest mountain range to the Cosmodrome, it is still well over 400 miles away, and much of the range is even farther away than that. So, it's not surprising that you can't see the Traveler in the Cosmodrome.
Second, many people have said that it is located in North America. In D1, people did some calculations using the position of the sun, and decided that the City was located in South America. However, now those same calculations, when applied to D2, show the City being in Nepal. Many people have also pointed out that Hawthorne said she had to "cross an ocean" to help refugees from the City, which indicates a location in the Americas. However, given that Hawthorne has spent her whole life in Eurasia, it's possible that she has never been to a true ocean, and is in fact describing one of Eurasia's inland seas. This also depends on where the Farm is located. Hawthorne could be referring to the Caspian or Black seas, or even the Mediterranean.
Finally, I would like to talk about the Nepal claim, which is actually pretty solid. The current skybox indicates that the City is located there, and apparently there are some landmarks that correspond neatly with the Himalayan landscape of a particular City in Nepal. The only evidence I have that *may* contradict that claim is the description of Jagi's host, which read, "Jagi's host was last seen marching South of the Cosmodrome, towards the Caspian sea." This proves that the cosmodrome is close enough to the City to be considered a landmark. Secondly, if the City is in Nepal, then the Himalayas stand between the Caspian Sea and the City. Given that Jagi's host likely set out from the City on foot, pursuing the retreating Fallen, it is unlikely that they would have trekked across the Himalayas. However, you can march from the Tian Shan range directly to the Caspian Sea without running into any real obstacles. Thanks for your input, guys! :D
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this is actually a really good theory on the location. Sadly we can't be sure but this provides some very good facts to back it up. Do you think you could post a image on a map of approximately where it is.