Character progression and classes

As in the original game, players are able to improve their characters, referred to as Guardians, by gaining experience points (EXP) — when a set number of experience points are accumulated, the player's character will level up and gain improved statistics which further enhance performance in battle. As of the Shadowkeep expansion, this leveling system has since been replaced with the "season pass" system where players use EXP to "rank up", which rewards different items each rank (while there is no max rank on a season pass, seasonal rewards end at level 100). Quests, including the "main scenario" quests, are specific tasks given to the player by non-player characters (NPCs) which reward items and EXP. Completing main scenario quest lines progresses the overarching plot of the game.^[3]

Destiny 2 features the same three-character classes as the original Destiny. Each class has its own specific upgrades, perks, special abilities, and three sub-classes that allow players to finely tune their individual characters to provide a different play style. The three classes are Warlock, Hunter, and Titan. After choosing a class, players select one of three species for their character: Human, Awoken (bluish-gray-skinned descendants of Humans), or Exo (humanoid machines). They can then customize their characters, such as changing their gender or skin color. A character's species is cosmetic and does not affect gameplay. Players can create two more characters to have a character of each class.^[2][4]

• Hunters continue to have access to the Solar-based "Gunslinger" sub-class from the original game and the Void-based "Nightstalker" sub-class from the original's The Taken King expansion, both with gameplay changes. The Hunter's new sub-class for Destiny 2 is the Arc-based "Arcstrider", replacing the "Bladedancer" sub-class of the original. Arcstrider's super, "Arc Staff", focuses on an electrified staff and a large amount of rapid mobility.^[4] Forsaken added three new supers for each of the Hunter sub-classes: "Blade Barrage" for Gunslingers, focusing on throwing a volley of flaming knives; "Spectral Blades" for Nightstalkers, allowing players to see through walls and attack with Void daggers; and "Whirlwind Guard" for Arcstriders, which allows players to block and reflect projectiles by spinning their Arc Staff.
• Warlocks continue to have access to the Void-based "Voidwalker" sub-class from the original game and the Arc-based "Stormcaller" sub-class from the original's The Taken King expansion, both with several changes. The Warlock's new sub-class for Destiny 2 is the Solar-based "Dawnblade" with a super called "Daybreak", replacing the "Sunsinger" sub-class of the original. The Daybreak super allows the player to make Solar Light blades to strike enemies from mid-air.^[4] Forsaken gives Warlocks three new supers: "Nova Warp" for Voidwalkers, allowing players to warp around the battlefield and unleash a Void explosion; "Chaos Reach" for Stormcallers, which unleashes a beam of Arc energy which can be turned off at any time to conserve Super energy but limits mobility; and "Well of Radiance" for Dawnblades, allowing players to create a healing and empowering aura for players to stand in. However, as of Lightfall, it no longer provides an overshield to the players standing inside it.
• Titans continue to have access to the Arc-based "Striker" sub-class from the original game and the Solar-based "Sunbreaker" from the original's The Taken King expansion, both with significant gameplay changes. The Titan's new sub-class for Destiny 2 is the Void-based "Sentinel", replacing the "Defender" sub-class of the original, although the Sentinel sub-class can create the Defender's Ward of Dawn shielding bubble if this option is selected. Sentinel's super, "Sentinel Shield", allows the player to summon a shield that can block enemy fire and be used offensively (similar to Captain America's shield).^[4] Forsaken added three new supers for Titans: "Thundercrash" for Strikers, allowing players to launch into the air and slam onto the ground; "Burning Maul" for Sunbreakers, which players wield a large hammer than can unleash flaming tornadoes; and "Ward of Dawn" for Sentinels, which unleashes a protective barrier that allows other players to shoot through and empowers their damage. In Destiny, Titans are commonly referred to as “crayon-eaters”.^[5]

Among other changes Beyond Light introduced a fourth sub-class for each of the three main classes, called Stasis, a power from the Darkness in contrast to Solar, Arc and Void which are powers granted by the Light of the Traveler, and generally based on slowing or freezing enemies. The Stasis sub-class does not have separate trees like these Light subclasses but is instead modular: while the fundamental Super ability for each class is fixed, the basic grenade, melee, and protection abilities can be customized, and additional effects, known as Aspects, can be added to these to further tailor the way the ability plays out for the player. Bungie has stated that additional Darkness powers, with the same type of modularity, are planned for future expansions, and that the Light subclasses will be reworked. The Void subclasses were updated in The Witch Queen expansion to support this modularity,^[6][7][8] with Solar and Arc reforms introduced in later The Witch Queen seasons. A new Darkness power, Strand, that draws on a psychic power to lash out at enemies with web-like lashes, or move quickly through a grappling hook-type power, was introduced in Lightfall.^[9]

As the player completes activities like strikes, raids, and dungeons, they earn experience towards the growth of their character, represented as their "Power" level (formerly their "Light" level). At the time of Destiny 2's initial release, this was tracked through an experience leveling system (EXP) that increased their Power level. Since around Shadowkeep, the experience level system has been dropped in favor of a Power level that represents the average Power level of each piece of gear carried by the character, with new and better equipment capable of increasing the overall Power level. A higher character level allows for better equipment with higher Power levels to be equipped. A higher Power level improves damage output and defense. A soft and hard Power level exists for gear which is incremented with each additional expansion or season; players can earn gear up to the soft Power level through most regular activities, but must participate in more challenging events, like Nightfall strikes, dungeons, or raids, to earn pinnacle gear to reach the hard Power level. Gear can be infused with unwanted gear of higher Power level to increase its Power level for the cost of in-game resources.

Gear

Weapons and armor were reorganized in Destiny 2. In the original game, weapons were divided as Primary, Special, and Heavy weapons. At launch, the weapons were categorized as Kinetic, Energy, and Power weapons. Primary weapons and some Special weapons in the original – such as hand cannons and sidearms – are classified as Kinetic and Energy weapons. Those without an elemental damage type go in the Kinetic weapons slot while those with a Light-based elemental damage type (Arc, Solar, or Void) go in the Energy weapons slot. Darkness-based damage types (Stasis and Strand) are placed as Kinetic weapons as to avoid crowding of Energy weapon types and give players more options for gear to complete challenging end game content.^[10] Power weapons include the Heavy weapons and the more powerful Special weapons from the first game, such as shotguns and sniper rifles, as well as new weapon types, such as the grenade launcher. As of Forsaken, the weapons system was overhauled, with many Power weapons, such as most shotguns, single-shot grenade launchers, and most sniper rifles, being reorganized into Kinetic and Energy weapons slots. With armor, the name of the stats has been changed. Instead of Strength, Intellect, and Discipline, there are stats for Resilience, Recovery, and Mobility. For armor, the helmet, gauntlets, chest, legs, and class item slots have remained unchanged, but the artifacts slot has been replaced with one for a player's clan banners. In "Beyond Light" Stasis Weapons were also introduced, being used in the Kinetic and Heavy Slot. Lightfall introduced Strand weapons in kinetic and heavy slots as well.^[11]

As launched, both weapons and armor were generated with random perks and other attributes from a base set of stats. Special consumable mods could be earned through gameplay or vendors that could be slotted into in weapon or armor piece to improve its attribute. With the Forsaken expansion, the mod system was revamped. While gear still accepted mods, these were now items that needed to be acquired only once to add to a player's collection from the game's world, either from vendors or as an activity reward, with some mods being only available on more challenging activities. Mods now could be added and swapped out on gear from one's collection the cost in glimmer, as a way to help players customize gear better according to Bungie.^[12]

The Shadowkeep expansion brought two major changes affecting gear. First was the introduction of the "Armor 2.0" system; rather that random perks, armor is generated with randomized attributes in six major areas related to each class and to each class skill, along with an assigned element and an energy level. The total attribute score from all pieces of equipment armor influences factors such as class ability cooldown rate, the rate of their super ability, or the cooldown of grenades and melee abilities. Players can infuse resources into an armor piece to increase the armor's energy level. A new array of mods for armor was introduced, most which are limited by element type and require a certain amount of energy. Players can thus add mods into armor that matched the element type, limited by the current energy level for the armor. Each piece of armor is limited to one general mod, two mods specific to that armor type (like helmet or gloves) and a mod related to the seasonal events. Seasonal event mods can be gained through the game world and can also be granted by the re-introduction of season-long artifacts, also with Shadowkeep, which a player gains near the beginning of each season and levels up as they gain experience. As they level up the artifact, they select which mods to unlock which include both special weapon mods and these unique season mods, typically tied to the season's story. The weapon mods included the introduction of special Champions, powerful enemies that required a weapon with the corresponding mod to initially weaken before damage can be done to it. They can also be stunned by particular subclass abilities as of lightfall.^[13]

As part of its preparation for Beyond Light, Bungie introduced additional revisions to the gear system in the final Season of Arrivals within the Shadowkeep expansion. First, each piece of gear, beyond exotics, would now have a maximum infusion Power level, generally representing the power level four seasons beyond the season that the piece of gear was introduced in as a means to "sunset" these gear items. Sunsetting has since been revised. Any gear that has been sunset will continue to be as such, but anything not sunset will continue to be not sunset. Second, players could now change the element of an armor for similar costs of infusion, and the fourth mod slot in armor gear, which had been restricted to mods from the same season the armor was associated with, was made universal, and now open to allow any mod from the armor's season or the two following it to be used in that slot. This was intended to give players more flexibility in customizing their armor's capabilities.^[14]

The Witch Queen brought a new weapon type, glaives, which feature a mix of melee and ranged combat abilities.^[15] This expansion also introduced weapon crafting, allowing the player to learn patterns for new weapons, build them from materials, and level them to allow them to recraft them for more powerful perks.^[16] Addition changes in The Witch Queen include a new additional origin perk for weapons tied to certain activities or event, artifice armor that can be obtained from more difficult encounters which adds in additional seasonal mod slot, and craftable weapons once the player has collected enough versions of a weapon with deepsight resonance.

Player versus environment (PvE)

Like the original game, player versus environment game types makes up the majority of the game. Areas to explore include Earth's European Dead Zone (which was only represented by PvP maps in the original), Saturn's moon Titan, Jupiter's moon Io, and the centaur planet Nessus. The Curse of Osiris expansion adds Mercury as an explorable area, while the Warmind expansion adds Mars. Forsaken adds two new explorable areas in the Reef: the Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City, the latter being the mysterious sanctuary of the Awoken race and an end-game area that is accessible after completing the campaign of Forsaken. Shadowkeep reintroduced the Moon location from the original game, though revamped and reprised from its original iteration. There is also a new social space in the European Dead Zone called "The Farm", as the main portion of the Tower of the original was destroyed at the start of Destiny 2's campaign. However, a lower, undamaged portion of the Tower becomes the main social space post-campaign. Like the original, there are Patrol missions and public events, but the emphasis has been placed more on the exploration of the worlds, including towns that players can visit and friendly NPCs who can be found in-game and will give side-quests. New missions were added called "Adventures", which allow players to explore the area and go on a treasure hunt-like journey to dungeon-like areas. Some Adventures culminate in what is called a Lost Sector, which are somewhat hidden areas in worlds that lead players to a boss that yields rewards upon its defeat. Lost Sectors can be found and accessed without doing an Adventure. Starting with the Curse of Osiris expansion, Heroic Adventures were added, which are harder versions of Adventures and they rotate each week.

A map has also been added to the game, which shows the locations of the NPCs, Adventures, Heroic Adventures, Region Chests, and Lost Sectors. The maps of these new areas are much larger than those in the original Destiny, with one being described as twice as large as any area of the original. Players no longer have to leave a planet and go to orbit to travel to another location; they can now do so immediately from their current in-game location.^[2][11] Another new activity has been added called Flashpoints, which is a weekly milestone that takes place on one of the eight locations and rotates each week. Players complete public events, loot Lost Sectors and complete Heroic Adventures to earn high-level rewards.^[17] Similar to the original game, players can pledge their allegiance to one of three factions — Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, or New Monarchy. In Destiny 2, however, the factions now compete against each other in the Faction Rally, which is a periodic event that lasts for one week. Faction points are earned by doing various activities. The faction with the most points at the end of the week earns a high-level reward for 1,000 Glimmer (in-game currency). The losing factions can also gain the reward, but must pay 50,000 Glimmer for their faction's item.^[18]

Once a player has completed the main story and has reached the level cap (currently any level one wants as of the seasons), they unlock access to different types of end-game content. These activities include Nightfall strikes (a weekly featured strike with modifiers and high-level rewards; as of the Forsaken expansion, players can choose one of three featured strikes), a strike playlist with modifiers, a Daily Heroic Story playlist, the "Leviathan" and "Last Wish" raids, the "Eater of Worlds" and "Spire of Stars" raid lairs, and the "Escalation Protocol" and "Blind Well" horde activities on Mars and the Dreaming City, respectively, among other PvP activities. A harder difficulty mode called "Prestige" is available for the Leviathan raid and its raid lairs, with modifiers; there are no plans for a Prestige mode for Last Wish. These end-game activities reward players with powerful gear upon successful completion to increase their Power level.^[19]

Player versus Player (PvP)

Like the original, player versus player combat exists in what is called the Crucible with Lord Shaxx returning as its NPC “Handler.” The original Destiny's Crucible featured six-versus-six and three-versus-three game modes, as well as a limited time two-versus-two mode. At launch, all game modes were four-versus-four as Bungie shifted their focus to smaller teams for competitive multiplayer and better map design, but Quickplay modes eventually became six-versus-six. Like the original, player statistics such as weapon power and defense are balanced between players in Crucible game modes. The in-game HUD was updated so that players can see if an enemy has their supercharged or has power ammo. Currently, players have the option to choose between four rotating playlists, rumble (a six-player Free-for-All game mode) survival and freelance survival (A version of survival where players cannot choose the teammates on their team), classic mix, and private matches.

Trials of Osiris from the original game was replaced by Trials of the Nine. Like Trials of Osiris, Trials of the Nine begins on Fridays and ends with the weekly reset on Tuesdays. The game mode for this new Trials, however, has changed; instead of using the Elimination mode of the original, Trials of the Nine rotates each week between Destiny 2's two new game modes, Countdown and Survival. Only one map is featured for Trials' four-day duration, but the map also rotates weekly. Unlike Trials of Osiris, players can gain access to the Trials of the Nine's social space called The Spire, located in unknown space, for completing a match of Trials and earning Trials tokens. There, players will meet an NPC called the Emissary of the Nine, who will exchange tokens for gear. Gaining three, five, and seven wins on the scorecard, respectively, gain access to the upper tiers of the social space with greater rewards at each tier. Going flawless with seven wins allows admittance into an exclusive area with even greater rewards. Three losses reset the scorecard. To access Trials of the Nine, players must have completed the campaign, completed Lord Shaxx's "Call to Arms" milestone, and have a Power level of at least 260.^[20][21]

The periodic competitive Iron Banner PvP mode of the original game, which disabled balancing of player's gear, also returned for the sequel. Destiny 2's Iron Banner, however, does not disable balancing, with Bungie stating that "Your fighting abilities, not your power levels, will decide the outcome". This was changed following the release of Forsaken, with balancing becoming disabled like the original game. Like the original, Iron Banner lasts for one week and features milestones to complete daily. Players must have completed the campaign and be level 20 to access Iron Banner, which features the returning Lord Saladin from the original game as its NPC.^[22]

In Destiny 2's second year a new PvP activity with PVE elements was released called Gambit. This activity puts two teams of four against each other to defeat AI opponents from one of the games different faction's/races (Cabal, Fallen, Hive, Vex, or new with forsaken Scorn), collect their motes and then bank them. A maximum of 15 motes can be held time and for every five motes banked will spawn a different sized blocker on each side. 5 motes will spawn Taken Vex Goblin as a small blocker, 10 will spawn a Taken Fallen Captain, and 15 motes will spawn a Taken Hive Ogre. At different points in the game an invasion portal will spawn where a member of the team can invade the other team to defeat other players who are carrying motes. When a team banks a total of 75 motes the boss will appear, and whoever beats the boss first wins that round. There are three rounds, best of three wins. During Season of the Drifter, a new version of Gambit was added called 'Gambit Prime'. The concept is still the same but, motes required to spawn the boss is now 100. When multiple blockers are present, the team bank will start draining and adding to the other team's total mote count, and the level advantage is enabled. It would later be merged into a single activity, using a variant of the Gambit Prime version, with the release of the Season of the Hunt update.

The Red War (2017)

One year after the SIVA Crisis, Cabal forces of the Red Legion launch an aerial assault on the Last City, destroying the main portion of the Tower, the headquarters of the Guardians. The player's Guardian and their Ghost respond by assisting the Vanguard in assaulting the Red Legion command ship. As they confront the Red Legion's commander, Dominus Ghaul, his forces attach a device to the Traveler and begin draining it of the Light, the power used by the Guardians. The Guardian loses their powers and is nearly killed by Ghaul. Waking two days after the attack, the Guardian locates their Ghost, who can still heal the Guardian but can no longer resurrect them. They find a haven known as "the Farm" in the European Dead Zone (EDZ) with the assistance of Suraya Hawthorne, a non-Guardian human from the outskirts of the Last City.

The Guardian follows a vision to encounter a shard of the Traveler hidden in a forest within the EDZ. Ghost interfaces with the shard and both its and the Guardian's Light are restored. After restoring long-range communications, Hawthorne intercepts a distress call from Commander Zavala, urging surviving Guardians to travel to Saturn's moon Titan and assist in mounting a counter-offensive. Against Hawthorne's objections, the Guardian travels to Titan, which has been overrun by the Hive. With assistance from Deputy Commander Sloane, they learn that the Red Legion was dispatched to the Milky Way in response to a distress call sent during the Taken War two years prior, and that Ghaul possesses a superweapon known as the Almighty, a space station capable of destroying stars. Resistance to Cabal rule has resulted in entire star systems being destroyed. The intelligence also reveals that the Almighty is positioned near the Sun, breaking up the planet Mercury as fuel. Zavala tasks the Guardian to find Ikora Rey and Cayde-6 to assist in a counterattack to retake the Last City. During this time, it is shown that Ghaul, aided by his mentor, the Consul, overthrew and exiled Emperor Calus and took control of the Cabal, and has been studying the Traveler in order to learn how to use the Light and legitimize himself as Emperor.

The Guardian locates Cayde-6 on the centaur Nessus, which has almost been completely transformed by the Vex. With the aid of Failsafe, an AI from the crashed starship Exodus Black, the Guardian frees Cayde from a Vex portal loop and claims a teleporter for use in taking back the city. Cayde directs the Guardian to find Ikora on the Jovian moon of Io (which the Traveler had partially terraformed until the Darkness arrived), where she had gone to find answers about the Traveler. Ikora and Io researcher Asher Mir direct the Guardian to locate a Warmind, an ancient defensive AI, for intelligence on the Almighty. This intelligence reveals that simply destroying the Almighty will take the sun down with it. Afterwards, the Vanguard reunites at the Farm and conclude that the only way to retake the Last City and save the Traveler is to shut down the Almighty first, eliminating the possibility of it destroying the Sun. The Guardian boards the Almighty using a stolen Cabal ship and disables the weapon, signaling Zavala to begin the counterattack. As the Vanguard begins the assault, the Consul admonishes Ghaul for his obsession with the Traveler, and urges him to simply take the Light by force, rather than trying to earn it; Ghaul is reluctant until the Consul kills the Speaker, whom Ghaul had captured and tortured to try and learn more about the Traveler. Ghaul then proclaims that he will take the Light, and strangles the Consul in a fit of rage.

The Guardian returns to Earth to assist in the counterattack and infiltrates Ghaul's command ship, using Cayde's Vex teleporter, alone to save the Traveler. Ghaul forcibly takes the Light, corrupting it, and uses its power against the Guardian, but the Guardian is successful in defeating Ghaul. Ghaul reemerges as a massive ethereal figure who then speaks to the Traveler directly. In doing so, the Traveler wakes from its long sleep, destroying the device that was harvesting its power and killing Ghaul. It sends a massive shockwave throughout Sol, restoring the Light to all Guardians and decimating the Red Legion's forces. The game ends with a posthumous voiceover from the Speaker, reminding all that the Light can never be stopped. The Guardian and Ghost convene with Zavala, Ikora, Cayde, and Hawthorne at an undamaged portion of the Tower, with the Vanguard returning to their old duties and Hawthorne assuming a new post there. In a post-credits scene, the shockwave sent by the Traveler is shown reaching the entire system. The wave of Light extends beyond the Solar System and spreads beyond the Milky Way, before panning across a fleet of dark, mysterious Pyramid-shaped ships sitting some distance away in extragalactic space. The ships activate and begin moving toward Earth.

Following Ghaul's defeat, a massive Cabal ship called the Leviathan appears in orbit of Nessus (which it slowly begins to consume), under the control of the exiled Emperor Calus. Calus invites Guardians to complete a series of challenges before reaching his throne ("Leviathan" raid). A fireteam of Guardians complete his challenges before facing Calus himself; however, after overcoming his strange powers and defeating him, they discover that they were fighting a mechanical doppelganger. The real Calus speaks through the machine, claiming that what they know is a lie and that there is a truth beyond what the Speaker had told them.

New Light

Ongoing content

While Destiny 2's expansions have continued to expand the story, Bungie had begun a larger narrative epic with its seasonal content starting in Shadowkeep. During Shadowkeep, Eris Morn discovers one of the Pyramid-shaped ships buried beneath the surface of the Moon, and the Guardian encounters a voice from the Darkness, warning them of the fleet's imminient arrival within the system. The Vanguard deal with new threats from Hive and Vex forces loyal to the Darkness as the Pyramid fleet soon arrive in the System and take positions above Io, Titan, Mercury, and Mars. The Darkness attempt to communicate to Eris but are blocked by Savathûn. The Guardians are able to defeat Savathûn's forces, giving the Darkness the opportunity to alert them to a new power awaiting them on Europa. Meanwhile, the Vanguard evacuate their forces from those planets occupied by the Darkness before they are engulfed by a strange force that vanishes them, although Commander Sloan and Asher Mir elect to stay behind, while Brother Vance enters the Infinite Forest on Mercury. The Traveler reacts to this and fully reforms itself just as all the Guardians had returned to the Last City to shelter under its Light.

In Beyond Light, the Vanguard continue to find signs of the Darkness pyramids across the system. On Europa, the Guardians accept the power of Stasis from the Darkness to defeat one of the Fallen Houses that had also learned to use Stasis. Zavala and other members of the Vanguard are concerned about the use of the powers of Darkness but recognize that it is an effective weapon against the oppositional forces of humanity. The Vanguard make alliances with the Cabal and one of the Fallen Houses as they recognize they face a common threat from the Hive, Taken, and Vex. It is revealed that Savathûn is impersonating Osiris, the former warlock Vanguard, possibly to manipulate the current Vanguard. She is trapped in a crystal encasement by Mara Sov, and makes a deal to return the real Osiris if Mara agrees to exorcise her worm using the Techeuns. After the Guardians rescue the Techeuns lost in the Ascendant Realm, Savathûn's worm is exorcised, freeing her from her crystal prison & returning the real Osiris to the Vanguard.

The Witch Queen focuses on the Hive god and Oryx's sister Savathûn, who has obtained the power of the Light and gifted it to her soldiers (known as the Lucent Brood). Taking place in Savathûn's Throne World (within the Ascendant Realm), Guardians fight off the Hive & take back the Light while evading her schemes. As the story progresses, it's revealed that the Traveller itself resurrected Savathûn, who actually died, and granted her brood the light. This caused confusion among the Vanguard on why the Traveller would help humanity's enemy.^[24] As the Guardians continue to fight off the Lucent Brood, they find and meet Fynch, a lucent ghost that becomes an ally in defeating Savathun and the vendor for Savathun's Throne World. They also learn from Savathûn's lost memories that her homeworld Fundament was visited by the Traveller. But before the Traveller could gift them with a Golden Age, an entity called the Witness tricked Sathona, Savathûn's pre-Hive identity, into believing that the Traveller was unleashing a cataclysm on Fundament. Her and her siblings were tricked into making a deal with the Worm Gods as to create the Hive & turn the Traveller away. Savathûn is stunned and angered by this deception, unleashing her anger at the Guardians as she tries to steal the Traveller "for protection". The Guardians kill Savathûn, though her ghost Immaru escapes. Elsewhere, the Witness prepares for a final assault of the Pyramid fleet against the Solar system.^[25]

Lightfall, released in February 2023, features the return of Emperor Calus, who has become a Disciple of the Witness, and has established a base on Neptune, a new destination for players.^[26] Before being defeated by the Guardians, Calus helps the Witness to acquire an object called the Veil, which allows the Witness to pierce the shell of the Traveller and enter it, much to the shock of the Vanguard and their allies.

The Final Shape was initially expected to release in February 2024, but due to layoffs in Bungie in October 2023, the release was pushed to June 2024.^[27] The Final Shape sees events taking place in the Pale Heart, a space within the Traveler opened by the Witness, and includes the return of Cayde-6 (with Nathan Fillion reprising this role). This expansion has been stated by Bungie to be the final culimination of the first ten years of Destiny's first major arc, the "Light and Darkness Saga".^[28]

Post-release content

Prior to the console release, Bungie said that they had already begun working on post-release content. Bungie stated that their plan was to provide post-release content at a quicker rate than that of the original Destiny, which was criticized for not having enough content post-launch and between each of its expansions releases. One of the team's remedies for this were the Adventures and Lost Sectors activities that were added to the free roam Patrol mode.^[78] Bungie also announced the Destiny 2 Expansion Pass prior to launch, which granted access to the first two expansions of the game.^[11] The in-game clan features became available a few days after the game's launch.^[79] The Guided Games feature became available on September 12 for the Nightfall activity, the game's first raid, "Leviathan", unlocked on September 13 (with the Guided Games in beta), and Trials of the Nine became available on September 15, along with the character Xûr from the original game, the exotic items vendor who only appears on the weekends.^[80] The three factions and their respective NPCs from the original game returned on September 26 for a new periodic event, Faction Rally.^[18] The competitive Iron Banner PvP mode from the original returned on October 10.^[22] The prestige mode for the Leviathan raid was originally scheduled to unlock on October 10, but was delayed to October 17.^[81]

The game's first expansion released on December 5, 2017. Named Curse of Osiris, it focuses on the character Osiris from the lore of the original Destiny. The expansion takes players to the planet Mercury with its own patrol mode. Additionally, the EXP level cap was raised to 25 and the Power level cap was raised to 330. There was also a timed-exclusive Crucible map for PS4 players called Wormhaven. Instead of an entirely new raid, a feature called raid lair was added, featuring new areas to the existing Leviathan raid and a different final boss.^[82] The second expansion, Warmind, was released on May 8, 2018, and focuses on the Warmind Rasputin from the original game. This expansion takes players to the planet Mars in a new area called Hellas Basin. The expansion also features a new mode called "Escalation Protocol", a horde mode which can be started by any player in the patrol mode on Mars. As well, the EXP level cap was raised to 30 and the Power level cap was raised to 380. In addition to Rasputin, a new character named Ana Bray (also from the lore of the original Destiny) was added, who serves as the primary NPC on Mars. Like the previous expansion, Warmind also includes a second raid lair on the Leviathan. The expansion also added progressive ranking systems for PvP, titled Valor and Glory. Players earn Valor in quickplay matches while Glory is earned in competitive matches, with each new rank earning greater rewards. Valor points are earned regardless of win or loss, while Glory points are earned by wins but reduced by losses.^[11] Both expansions featured timed-exclusive content for the PlayStation 4 platform, which became available for other platforms in late 2019.

The third expansion, Forsaken, was released on September 4, 2018, beginning Year 2 of Destiny 2. Similar to the original Destiny's The Taken King expansion, Forsaken had a large overhaul on gameplay, though not to the extent that The Taken King had with the original Destiny. A large expansion, Bungie described the story as having a "western revenge" theme. A large portion of the expansion takes place in the Reef's Tangled Shore, including a new raid called "Last Wish", which takes place in the end-game area, the Dreaming City, also located in the Reef. The developers claimed that it had more bosses than any previous raid (including from the original game) with a massive roam area, puzzles, and the raid changed over time based on players' actions in the raid itself. A new mode called Gambit was also added that combines PvE and PvP, and features its own ranking system called Infamy, which works similar to the Crucible's Valor ranking system. Two teams of four players compete against each other while facing PvE enemies. A new weapon type, a bow and arrow, was also added. The EXP level cap was raised to 50 and the Power level cap was raised to 600.^[83] A trailer displayed during Sony's E3 2018 press conference showed the death of Cayde-6 by the hands of the returning Prince Uldren Sov. Uldren is driven to find his lost sister, Queen Mara Sov, believing her to still be alive after the events of The Taken King and he leads the Scorn, former Fallen that were revived from the dead and have become their own race.^[84] The launch trailer for Forsaken revealed that the player's Guardian would once again speak; the player's Guardian had not spoken since the end of the original Destiny's base campaign. Forsaken also began a seasonal cycle of content for Destiny 2, introducing new story content, activities, and gear, some which required purchase of the season pass. Forsaken's seasons included Season of the Forge, introducing the character of Ada-1 and the Black Armories which were under threat from Cabal, Fallen, and Vex forces, Season of the Drifter which explored the Drifter's connection to the mysterious Nine, and Season of Opulence, during which Calus invited the Guardians to challenges aboard the Leviathan for his entertainment.

The fourth major expansion for the game, Shadowkeep, was released on October 1, 2019 (delayed from its original release of September 17) and is similar in scope to Forsaken and the original Destiny's Rise of Iron expansion. The expansion, which began Year 3 of Destiny 2, sees players return to the Moon, an area that was featured in the first game. The location was reprised and expanded upon with Bungie claiming it to be twice the size of the original location from Destiny.^[85] The story of Shadowkeep sees the return of Eris Morn, a character from the first game who had been absent since the events of the Red War. Eris seeks the help of the Guardian in defeating "Nightmares" that she released into the Solar System, which are manifestations of the Guardian's past traumas. Players face off against their previous adversaries, which are being resurrected by the Darkness. Throughout the story, Eris and the Guardians work together to figure out the cause of this unleashed madness and do what they can to put a stop to it.^[86] The expansion includes a return to the Black Garden on Mars for a new six-player raid, Garden of Salvation.^[85] Shadowkeep's seasonal content included the Season of the Undying, with the Vanguard preventing a Vex invasion of the Moon by the Undying Mind, Season of Dawn, where the Guardian aids Orisis with the Sundial to prevent the Red Legion from altering the past and to bring back Saint-14 to the present, Season of the Worthy, in which Zavala and Ana Bray enlist the Vanguards to help Rasputin to stop the Almighty from crashing into the Last City, and Season of Arrivals, where the Guardians help protect Eris Morn from Taken and Hive as she tries to commune with the approaching Darkness and Pyramids of the Black Fleet.

Year 4 of Destiny 2 began with the large expansion titled Beyond Light on November 10, 2020 (delayed from its original release date of September 22); Bungie described this release as the start of a new era for the franchise. The expansion introduces a new location, Jupiter's icy moon Europa, reintroduces Earth's Cosmodrome area from the original Destiny, and moved some older locations into the DCV, including Io, Mars, Mercury, Titan, and the Leviathan, which Bungie described as helping to better manage current content in the game in anticipation of future updates.^[70] Beyond Light also represented a major shift in the storytelling approach to Destiny 2 which had been experimented with in the Season of Arrivals, the last season of Shadowkeep. Senior narrative lead Julia Nardin stated that around Arrivals the writing team started to explore a more serialized approach with their narrative content, and within Beyond Light, mapped out the major story elements of each season similar to a television show to be played out in six to eight segments over the course of that season, and having each season's story arc fit into a larger overall arcing storyline.^[87] Gameplay-wise, players learn a new elemental ability—the first new elemental ability introduced to the series since the original Destiny launched in September 2014. The new ability Stasis uses power of Darkness itself rather than Light. The Exo Stranger, who had not been seen since the end of the original Destiny's campaign, also returned, along with Variks, the Loyal, from the original game's House of Wolves expansion—though he was an unseen character in Forsaken whose actions inadvertently caused the death of Cayde-6.^[72] The Exo Stranger and Variks guide the Guardian on Europa to stop a Fallen Kell named Eramis from using the Darkness to destroy the Traveler and its followers. Among its seasonal content included the Season of the Hunt, focusing on the return of an amnesic Uldren Sov, now going by "Crow", as he helps the Vanguard hunt down Hive Wrathborne, Season of the Chosen, where Calus' daughter and now Emperor Caiatl has come to the System to challenge the Vanguard to ritual combat as a prelude to a potential truce, and Season of the Splicer, where Mithrax, the Kell of the Fallen House of Light, helps the Vanguard put an end to a Vex attack on the Last City. Crossplay functionality was added on August 24, 2021, with Season of the Lost, allows players from all supported platforms to play together.^[88] Season of the Lost follows the return of Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken, as she works alongside the guardian & Savathûn herself to help exorcise Savathûns worm and exact revenge on The Witch Queen for her involvement in corrupting both her brother, Uldren Sov, and The Dreaming City during the events of Forsaken and the Last Wish Raid.^[89] As well as ensuring the return of Osiris, who Savathun herself admits to kidnapping and pretending to take his place in order to prepare the armies of the Sol system for the coming battle with the Darkness ^[90]

The Witch Queen expansion was released on February 22, 2022, beginning the fifth year of Destiny 2. The main focus is on the titular character, Savathûn, one of the three leaders of the Hive, who has been discreetly bringing in some citizens of the Last City under her control during events of Beyond Light. The expansion introduces Savathûn's Throne World within the Ascendant realm as a new area for gameplay, as well as Lucent Hive, Hive warriors that have been imbued with the power of the Light. A new weapon type, the glaive, was introduced, which has a balanced range of melee and projectile attacks. The expansion also introduces weapon crafting, initially with gear found in the Witch Queen expansion but eventually working in legacy equipment.^[91] Alongside The Witch Queen, Bungie plans to introduce a new raid or dungeon every three months, and will begin rotating raids and dungeons as they increase their availability.^[92]

The Final Shape is considered to be the conclusion of the first arc for Destiny 2. It is expected to launch on June 4, 2024. Following this release, Bungie plans to switch to an episodic model, with three episodes a year compared to four seasons. The episodes each will have a three-act structure and more narrative aspects compared to previous seasons.

In addition to these expansions, Destiny 2 features limited time seasonal events that recur annually tied to real-world holidays, many introduced during its first year of service. These events are free to all players, offering unique gear and cosmetic items for completing special gameplay modes and quests offered during the event period, and new Triumph and Milestones for players to achieve. "The Dawning" event originated from Destiny themed around the holiday season, with players worked to craft special cookies to deliver to NPCs across the System.^[93] "Guardian Games" is a mid-year themed event typically associated with both the summer season as well as the Summer Olympic Games. Each class of Guardian are challenged in a friendly contest to earn the most points for their class.^[94] "Solstice of Heroes" was original introduced in 2018 to celebrate the end of the Red War campaign but has since played out as a mid-year event, where players work to improve special armor by completing various challenges.^[95] The "Festival of the Lost" is a Halloween-themed event, where players hunt down special enemies in spooky-themed versions of world areas to collect candy and gain rewards.^[96] "The Revelry" had been offered in 2019 and 2020, an event to celebrate the start of spring.^[97] "Crimson Days", the Valentine's Day-themed event from Year 2 (2016) of the original Destiny, featured a 2-versus-2 Crucible mode that encouraged teammates to stay close to improve their winning chances, but this was also retired in 2020.^[98]

Sales

Destiny 2 sold 50,263 copies on PlayStation 4 within its first week on sale in Japan, which placed it at number one on the weekly sales charts.^[113] The weekend consisting of September 23, Destiny 2 took the number 1 spot on the UK sales chart.^[114] Destiny 2 was also the second highest-grossing console game of 2017 in North America (behind Call of Duty: WWII), and was also Activision's biggest PC release based on units sold.^[115] Digital downloads for Destiny 2 account for more than half of the total sales of the game.^[116][117]

Awards

For the 2017 Game Critics Awards, it was awarded Best PC Game for E3 2017.^[118] At The Game Awards 2017, Destiny 2 was one of four games to receive six nominations, the most for the year's event, which were for Best Art Direction, Best Score/Music, Best Audio Design, Best Ongoing Game, Best Action Game, and Best Multiplayer.^[119] Entertainment Weekly ranked Destiny 2 sixth on their list of the "Best Games of 2017",^[120] GamesRadar+ ranked it seventh on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017,^[121] and Eurogamer also ranked it seventh on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017",^[122] while Polygon ranked it 12th on their list of the 50 best games of 2017,^[123] and The Verge named it as one of their 15 Best Games of 2017.^[124] In Game Informer's Reader's Choice Best of 2017 Awards, the game came in second place for "Best Co-op Multiplayer" and for "Best Shooter".^[125][126] The website also gave it the "Best Weaponry" and "Best Gunplay" in their 2017 Shooter of the Year Awards.^[127]

Destiny 2 was nominated for "Best PC Game" in both Destructoid's Game of the Year Awards 2017 and IGN's Best of 2017 Awards,^[128][129] the latter of which also nominated it for "Game of the Year", "Best Xbox One Game", "Best Shooter", "Best Graphics", "Best Original Music", and "Best Multiplayer".^{[130][131][132][133][134][135]} The game won the award for "Best Co-op Game" in PC Gamer's 2017 Game of the Year Awards,^[136] and received a nomination for "Game of the Year".^[137] It was also a runner-up each for "Best-Looking Game", "Best Multiplayer", and "Game of the Year" in Giant Bomb's 2017 Game of the Year Awards.^{[138][139][140]}