Destiny 2 has brought in a lot more traffic lately after Bungie debuted its newest Lightfall expansion. Because of that, there are plenty of newcomers to the free-to-play video game who are creating their very first character. If there's one aspect about Destiny 2 that stands out above the rest, it is that Destiny 2 has a lot of things to do.
For beginners, it can be a bit overwhelming, and that's without considering the various mechanics and features that are in Destiny 2, from character builds to modding armor. Luckily, Destiny 2 all blends together fantastically well, so understanding how the game works is a short matter.
10 Completing New Light Quests
When players select their class and customize their character, they will be greeted by a cutscene, and then they will be loaded into the game where they are met by Ghost. Upon waking up in-game, the player will receive a set of quests as part of the New Light series of quests.
These quests are meant for beginners, or "New Lights" as they're called in the community, and they do a pretty fair job of showcasing most of the main things that Destiny 2 has to offer. Completing these New Light quests gives players weapons, armor, XP, and will show them the ins and outs of combat.
9 Customizing Your Class & Subclass
Building a character is not the most important thing when just starting out in Destiny 2, but it will be a pretty important factor once you've got a better grasp on the basics of combat. This is especially true when getting into the more difficult parts of Destiny 2. After choosing a class, players will want to focus on a subclass, and then start building their character from there.
This means looking into abilities, aspects, fragments, supers, and even modifying armor to make sure that their stats work best with the subclass that they are using in Destiny 2.
8 Crucible & Gambit: Destiny 2's PVP Arenas
PVP is one of the most popular parts of Destiny 2. The two main PVP game modes in Destiny 2 are Crucible and Gambit. Crucible is the classic PVP mode which pits players against one another in various types of game modes, like Clash (team deathmatch) or Control. Whether you play as Titan, Hunter, or Warlock, each class offers unique advantages and disadvantages against your fellow Guardians.
Gambit is more of a PVEVP, which places each team out of range from one another. Teams fight against NPC enemies and must gather Motes to summon the boss. First to defeat the boss, wins — but throughout the match, each team can send one player to invade the opposing side to throw a wrench in their game. In order to do well in PVP, players need to understand the meta, use cover, consistently move, use the high ground, and play the objective.
7 Triumphs & Titles
Triumphs and Titles in Destiny 2 may seem a little confusing at first to new players, but they're actually quite simple when described. Both of these can be found in the menu, under the Journey section. Titles will show the player different Titles that they can earn in the game, and clicking on one will showcase the challenges that need to be completed to earn that title.
Doing these challenges awards players with many things, including XP. Titles can be set under the player's name. Triumphs are also challenges that players can complete on different destinations that reward weapons, exotics, XP, and more. These make sure that players never run out of things to do.
6 Raids & Dungeons
There are plenty of various activities in Destiny 2 for players to do, and two of the most popular ones are raids and dungeons. Raids are six-player missions that can take anywhere from 1 and a half to 3 hours to complete. These types of missions have puzzles, difficult enemies, and challenging bosses within the, and they usually require highly coordinated play with high-level and experienced players.
Dungeons are somewhat of the same in terms of the foundation, but they consist of three-player teams and usually take 1 to 2 hours to complete. Three different players get together in a Fireteam and work through a dungeon. Like raids, they include puzzles, platforming, and tough enemies, though not usually at the same complexity or difficulty level as Raids.
5 Vanguard & Strikes
As informed by the New Light quests, Vanguard is a playlist that players can go to under the Destinations menu. Vanguard is a playlist that is essentially a quickplay button for a random strike mission. This way, players can quickly jump into a match and be awarded loot on a rapid basis.
Strikes are shorter three-player activities open to Guardians of all skill levels; they usually take 10-20 minutes to complete, depending on how much of a challenge your strike team is facing. Each destination has at least one Strike mission that players can access directly (as opposed to running a random strike from the Vanguard playlist).
4 Vendors & Bounties
As players will find, especially after completing the New Light quests and being given a tour around The Tower, there are plenty of NPC characters that they can encounter in Destiny 2. Many of these characters are vendors and have equipment that players can purchase, ranging anywhere from armor and weapons to Glimmer, upgrade materials, shaders, ships — the list goes on.
Not only that, but vendors also have bounties that players can purchase for a small amount of Glimmer. These bounties offer simple, directed challenges that players can complete to level up their rank with specific vendors. Leveling up ranks with vendors will reap specific rewards from said vendors, along with generally being a great source of XP.
3 Modding Weapons & Armor
One easy-to-miss feature in Destiny 2 is that players can modify their armor and weapons. While hovering over a weapon or piece of armor, players can go into that item's details, and it will then showcase that item's stats and mods, and it will also allow players to customize that item with a shader (fashion is always important).
Usually for weapons, mods aren't too customizable other than switching between two different mods, but armor is heavily customizable. With armor, players can level up their armor's energy level, and then they can place mods on their armor. This can heavily level up the player's stats.
2 Story: Campaigns & Seasons
For players who wish to enjoy Destiny 2's amazing storyline and PVE experience, it is advised that they complete the game's campaigns in order. Due to Destiny 2's longevity and size, the base game's campaign, along with several years worth of expansions, have been vaulted (removed from the game) to make room for newer content. This means the events of The Red War, Curse of Osiris, Warmind, and Forsaken campaigns are no longer accessible in-game. To learn about the story tied to these campaigns, your best bet is to dig into the game's wiki or follow a Youtube lore enthusiast.
Beyond those vaulted campaigns, Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, Witch Queen, and Lightfall are all still available. While Lightfall is the newest campaign, offering the best gear and activities and the most lively play space, the previous 3 campaigns are very much worth competing — for their great narratives, unique locations, and to unlock a new subclass (Stasis in Beyond Light). Each campaign is also accompanied by a series of seasons. Each season takes place over the course of about 3 months, offering new narrative developments and brand-new activities to enjoy. Once these seasons are over, their story content is inaccessible.
1 Destination Patrols & Events
With so many planets and destinations in Destiny 2 for player to pursue, there are more than enough activities for players to keep busy with. But, raids, dungeons, campaigns, and even strikes aren't the only things players can do that take place on certain destinations, as there are also Patrols and Events.
Patrols are easy missions that the player can start by activating a Patrol on an open-world destination. Events are a bit larger and take a little more time, but they drop a chest at the end that usually rewards the player with some good weaponry or armor. Events are also public, so anyone on that destination can jump in and help out. Heroic Events are a higher level of Event that grant better rewards and XP.
While exploring a destination, you can also discover unique Lost Sectors, which act as small 5-minute delves into a dangerous sub-location.