How to Play Destiny 2: The Ultimate Guide

Even though Destiny 2 has been available for more than five years, the ongoing multiplayer looter shooter is more vital than ever because of regular upgrades. Annual game expansions have changed how the game plays, while seasonal releases have filled the void with fresh content, tonnes of loot, and interconnected stories. 

The meta is constantly changing, and players now have additional options for crafting and personalising their Destiny 2 builds thanks to recent "3.0" reworks to the game's subclasses.

Don't worry if you want to play Destiny 2 but aren't sure where to begin because we are here to assist you. We'll review everything you should know (and do) to get things off to a good start in this post. We'll also advise on making your initial journey into the Destiny universe a bit less complicated. You may learn how to play Destiny 2 with our assistance.

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How to Play Destiny 2

Due to the game's long and rich history, Destiny 2 can be a challenging game. You might wonder, "How do I level up?" for example. or "What do you do in reality?" or "Dear God, what the heck is going on?" There may be New Lights out there who are having trouble getting started, but this is by no means an exhaustive guide to this silly, perplexing game.

The first-person shooter video game Destiny 2 is a free-to-play online-only multiplayer title created by Bungie. It was first made available in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and MS Windows as a pay-to-play title. On October 1, 2019, it adopted the games as a service model and went free-to-play under New Light. 

The game was released on Stadia, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S platforms in December 2020. Activision had been the publisher of the game up until December 31, 2018, when Bungie bought the franchise's publishing rights. It is the follow-up to Destiny from 2014 and its later expansions.

​​The first thing to understand about Destiny's plot is that you've already fallen behind. The lore is so complex that it is almost impossible for beginners to understand. Additionally, the controversial decision to "vault" game material or delete complete stories and places from the game was recently taken by Bungie, Destiny's developer. 

This indicates that the primary campaign for Destiny 2 is no longer playable in the game. The dialogue and cutscenes will include references to things you haven't seen, people you haven't met, and choices you haven't taken.

Remember that Bungie will continue vaulting content in the future, so theoretically, even the most recent expansion will become obsolete over time. No big deal if that's a deal-breaker. There's no need to be overly excited about the plot, though, if Destiny's gameplay appeals to you and you enjoy playing with your pals. Being lost is a part of the overall mood. 

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Destiny 2: First Mission

The main idea of the tale thus far is this: The solar system has advanced thousands of years. You are a space wizard with a gun embroiled in a battle between good and evil. It is a conflict between the gods, Light, and Darkness. Characters in the game refer to the enormous metal sphere that serves as the Light as the Traveler. Many large pyramids with clearly evil intentions are home to The Darkness, slowly creeping into the universe.

You take on the character of a guardian who possesses wacky space wizardry and is purportedly an agent of the Light. You constantly have a Ghost, a little metal ball, hovering around you. Every time you die, a piece of the Traveler brings you back to life. The game has a few distinct wikis: the Rosetta Stones of Destiny minutia if you have a few hundred hours to spare. 

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Destiny 2 Settings and Control

The particular button or key you'll hit for each action varies depending on your console or PC, but Destiny 2 is the same game across all platforms. Next, review and modify control parameters in the Start Menu's Settings tab. Players can now personalise and assign particular actions to controllers or keyboard and mouse buttons. 

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Gameplay

Choose a character as your very first action. Except for a few dancing emotes here and there, race and gender options are mainly aesthetic. Character class selection is the more crucial choice. You have three choices:

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• Titan: The tank whose primary skill is slamming anything at close range.

• Hunter: The rogue who is skilled in cunning deception and stabbings.

• Warlock: A wizard that casts spells from the sky and heals both himself and their allies.

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You'll be able to choose from three distinct subclasses after some practice: Solar (fire damage), Arc (electric/lightning damage), and Void (purple space explosions). Stasis, a fourth icy-themed subclass, is only accessible once you finish the primary campaign's paid-for introductory chapter. Go into the menu at the upper left of your character menu to view your subclass options. Then, you may further personalise each subclass by choosing several skill trees.

Depending on your interests, Destiny 2's main gameplay can be different. There are NPC battles and cooperative player vs everything actions where you and your allies take on other players.

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Crucible: This PVP mode in Destiny is as simple as it gets. The objective of the team deathmatch is to remove rival players and seize territory. If you want to shoot other players in the face, go here.

Guardian power levels are balanced in the standard Crucible settings to provide a level playing field for all players. Only the strongest survive in Iron Banner, a monthly-released variant of Crucible that does away with power balance. You'll probably feel relatively powerless if you've never played the game.

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A mixture of PVP and PVE modes. While a rival fire team fights alien NPCs, you and your squad will do the same. At specific times, guardians from opposing sides can enter the other team's game and ruin the competition.

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Vanguard Strikes are one-time, recurring tasks you complete with a fire team of three guardians. The storyline and dialogue may seem disconnected if you aren't already in the know because the missions are lifted from tale campaigns. Even though these nightfall strikes are more challenging and often call for a particular weapon to combat foes, they have better rewards if completed.

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Story Missions: You must purchase expansions to play through the main storylines. Before Witch Queen, the following campaign expansions are accessible: Forsaken, Shadowkeep, and Beyond Light. If you are interested in the plot, you should play them in that order. 

You should play through the Beyond Light campaign at some time, even if you don't care about the plot. The Stasis subclass can only be unlocked by finishing the campaign in Witch Queen, but it sets up much of what's to come.

During the tutorial assignment, you'll learn about several of the game's numerous enemy kinds, weapon types, and Guardian powers. Your primary tool is kinetic weaponry. They have a great direct damage output against undefended targets but are less potent against defenders.

Kinetic weapons are far less successful at melting through opponent shields than energy weapons because energy weapons deal elemental damage. If you destroy an enemy's colour-coded elemental shield with the associated element—Solar for orange guards, Arc for blue shields, and Void for purple shields—you deal additional damage. Energy weapons are marginally less effective than Kinetic weapons against unshielded opponents.

Compared to Kinetic or Energy weapons, Power weapons hit like trucks and provide far more damage with every shot. They are robust against any target but are especially useful against difficult opponents (indicated by yellow health bars). Power weapons are frequently somewhat cumbersome, and you can't carry a lot of reserve ammunition for them.

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Combat Basics

Before you start the game, let's go through the fundamentals of battle. Destiny's three different adversary rank categories are Minors, Majors, and Bosses. Bosses/Ultras (an orange health bar) are the strongest but typically only appear once or twice per session, while Minors (a red health bar) are the weakest but frequently seen. Majors (a yellow health bar) are the toughest but less common.

You have three sorts of weapons in your arsenal: Primary (white ammo), Special (green ammo), and Power (purple ammo). Primary weapons are the best "workhorse weapons" for dispatching Minors because they have unlimited ammo but deal the least overall damage.

Special weapons are best used on Majors because they deal more damage with rarer ammunition. The most potent weapons are powerful, although ammo dumps are the least frequent. Power weaponry should therefore be reserved against Bosses, Ultras, or incredibly sizable groupings of Minors or Majors.

Pay attention to the color of the shield if you see it surrounding an enemy's body. Blue indicates that the security is vulnerable to Arc damage, while purple indicates it is susceptible to Solar damage. Using an elemental gun or your subclass powers, you can take advantage of these weaknesses.

When you do, the enemy shield will abruptly detonate, damaging the target and all nearby opponents. The element introduced in Beyond Light, stasis, is more of a crowd management tool than a means for doing damage. Enemies can be slowed down, frozen, or destroyed using stasis powers.

It's crucial to incorporate talents into the action of fighting. While they are on cooldown, basic punches can also be delivered with melee attacks. Grenades, on the other hand, are excellent for clearing crowds and doing significant damage to challenging targets like Majors, Ultras, and Bosses. You can utilize your class ability to increase your damage output or to keep you and your teammates safe.

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It's advised to reserve your Super ultimate ability for one of three uses:

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• Taking out a boss.

• Dispatching sizable squads of Minors or Majors.

• Preserving your life when your health is low.

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You don't want to utilize supers carelessly because they take a while to recharge.

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How To Counteract in Destiny 2?

Of course, you'll be using firearms to shoot things, but you'll also have access to various rechargeable skills. These are your Super, Melee, Grenade, Defensive Class Ability, and (a flashy, high-damage attack that annihilates everything nearby). Your class and subclass determine how these work in different ways. Enter your subclass menu and let the possibilities overwhelm you as you adjust the parameters.

A particular word about jumping: Face-planting into a wall because you time your jump improperly is one of the game's most aggravating outcomes. In Destiny, there are a tonne of platforming parts. It would help you experiment with these parameters to find the one that works best for you because each class jumps differently.

Many of the activities in Destiny 2 can be completed alone, although a fire team is the best option. Go to the directory menu, then the Roster tab, to collaborate with your friends. If you wish to play with folks on different platforms, you'll need a Bungie account. 

The most excellent way to play is with friends. However, many missions will automatically pair you up with a whole squad. Go to the Director menu and switch to the Destinations tab to move between destinations. You'll find a map there with various planets and locations on it. The Tower is a non-combat zone that serves as your central hub. You can find vendors there and pick up missions there.

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How to Gain XP in Destiny 2

There are various ways to earn XP in Destiny 2, whether a Season Pass owner or a free-to-play player, so that you can benefit from temporary Power Level enhancements, featured seasonal armor upgrades, and seasonal rewards. The simplest method is to kill foes and finish tasks, but if you only focus on doing this, your season rank will only slowly rise.

Finishing bounties and the weekly Seasonal Challenges for each season are two more practical and profitable ways to gain XP. Bounties are incredibly common, usually end quickly, and give a small amount of XP in return. Seasonal Challenges are frequently more time-consuming and challenging than bounties but can offer substantial sums of XP and other benefits like extra gear.

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Power Level Guide for Destiny 2

In Destiny 2, Power Level is best characterized as the primary metric you work toward improving while you play. If your Power Level is too low, opponents in such activities will kill you very quickly and deal minor damage if you are participating in activities that are only appropriate for people who have attained a specific Power Level.

As of publication, as a new player, your Power Level is 1,350. The Witch Queen campaign, the Vault of Glass Raid, the Grasp of Avarice Dungeon, the Dares of Eternity matchmade activity, regular Strikes, Crucible matches, and Gambit matches can all be played as a result.

As you progress through the game, you will discover and acquire new weapons and armor stronger than your current average, shown in the upper right of your character overview. Your Power Level will increase as you equip them, enabling you to engage in activities requiring greater Power Levels.

When you eventually reach the 1,520 Power Level soft cap, you won't be able to get any more of these drops (you can also get a full set of 1,520 armor for completing The Witch Queen campaign on Legendary difficulty). You must begin participating in particular tasks and activities that grant Powerful Gear to raise your Power Level.

There are several different sources of powerful gear, and each one has a chance once per week to drop an item with a Power Level several points higher than your own. All of them are listed in the table below, along with information on the tasks you must complete.

The Seasonal Artifact you are instructed to acquire for each in-game season will raise your Power Level as you progress through the complete Power Level grind. All experience points earned will count toward achieving Power Bonus milestones, which provide an additional Power Level point on top of what your gear's Power Level offers, as long as you have the Artifact.

These temporary enhancements disappear at the end of each season. Still, they can support your Power Level gains if you're having trouble obtaining the precise kind of Powerful or Pinnacle drop you require. Grandmaster Nightfalls and the most recent Master Raids require these perks to be entered.

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The Story of Destiny 2

Many novice players leave the game during the story because they get confused by the characters, plots, and terminology. We've assembled the main beats and fundamentals to help you stay afloat until you acquire a handle on the expansive Destiny 2 tale.

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Story of Destiny: Background

In the opening cutscene of Destiny 2, individuals are shown landing on Mars in the present day and discovering a massive ball of rain. This is the Traveler, an enigmatic being that has traveled the universe for millennia, inspiring races to battle against the invading Darkness.

When we discovered it, we began a golden age in which we colonized the solar system with sophisticated technology and terraformed the moons and worlds we found. But eventually, the Collapse put an end to everything.

The Traveler once more stepped in to face down the Darkness and drive it from the system when it found us and plunged humanity back into the dark ages.

The Traveler suffered greatly as a result, and its final act was to send forth Ghosts—miniature versions of itself, each with a distinct personality—whose mission was to locate the bodies of the long dead to bring them back to life.

The Traveler paid for this deed by becoming dormant, dead, and fractured, dangling over the Earth's surface as a symbol of its sacrifice. You are one of the recently raised, also known as a Guardian, who serves as one of the protectors of humanity and has been given new abilities and the capacity to survive death. The cost is that you have a brand-new start in life with no memory of who you once were.

Choose between being a human (you should know what humans are), an Awakened (humans who have changed as a result of interactions with forces we do not fully understand), or an Exos (robots who house human consciousnesses). ​​Regardless of your choice, Exos, Awoken, and Humans collectively comprise humanity's last lines of defense in the fight against the Darkness.

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Story of Destiny 1

The Last City, the last stronghold of humanity on Earth that had been established beneath the floating Traveler, was reached by the player in the first Destiny game. The Speaker, the mayor of this city who represented the Traveler, was here when the player encountered him.

From this point on, the player started completing missions to protect the Last City and save humanity in the face of several terrifying enemies. The Hive, an alien race that worships the Darkness and thrives on devastation, were the first foes we came across. The Vex was the next group to appear. These microscopic robots fly mechanical frames and aim to rule the universe through an AI-powered simulation of reality.

In the first year of Destiny 1, the Young Wolf, a player Guardian, traveled to the Black Garden of the Vex to battle Darkness. Additionally, a Hive God by the name of Crota sought to conquer Earth, but thanks to the player's efforts and those of researcher Eris Morn, who has sacrificed a lot to understand the Darkness, it was quickly put to an end.

The Fallen, a four-armed alien species previously blessed by the Traveler before it left for our solar system, was finally introduced this year. In the first of many clashes, they sought to invade the Last City in a desperate bid to regain the Traveler, or the "Great Machine," as they call it.

The Taken King expansion, which saw Crota's father, Oryx, arrive with his army of Taken, was published in Year 2 of Destiny. The Taken are recognizable foes that have already been encountered but have been torn from reality, granting them frightening abilities and hazy, dark, vague shapes. The involvement of the Young Wolf, a group of Guardians, Eris Morn, and fan favorite and master Exo Hunter Cayde-6 ultimately led to the defeat of Oryx, The Taken King.

The discovery of SIVA marked the end of Destiny 1 for good. Fortunately, Lord Saladin, a great Guardian, and the player were able to smash SIVA, defeat the Fallen, and usher in a new period of peace for the Last City. The Fallen had harnessed this nanite-powered technology to become cyborgs.

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Customization

If you can't look good while doing it, there's no use in wandering across the solar system to fight endless alien hordes. Go into the Character panel to personalize your attire. There is a button with a down arrow at the bottom of the display. When you click it, the customization screen will appear. You can modify your ship's paint job, the color of your armor, and the finishing moves and emotes you employ here.

There is a technique to get more colors on the cheap if you feel constrained by the selection. Go to Archive in the Store menu. In a few tabs, scroll down and look for the Year 1 Shader Bundle. More than 30 color schemes are available for a tiny sum of Glimmer, which you can use to spruce up your equipment. 

Additional shaders are available as loot, or you can occasionally purchase them for Bright Dust. If you're really into it, you can take one piece of armor and turn it into a cosmetic that you can put on top of another using the (contentious) transmog system.

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Tips for your Quests

Deploying your Ghost to observe the map and options is a crucial function. When playing on a PC, pressing TAB will launch your Ghost and allow you to launch your Sparrow if it is available, go back into orbit, or open the Director.

By opening the Director, you may access the map, waypoints, in-game store, social features, and seasonal prizes. Your current waypoint is also displayed when your Ghost is deployed. It would then change into a white diamond form, which may point you in the right direction.  

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Bonus Rewards

Collecting and completing bounties is crucial for leveling up and earning rewards. The Director lets you track your progress as you complete missions and bonuses. You'll get extra XP and potential rewards from weekly bounties. Shaw Han, the first NPC vendor New Light players will encounter, is in Cosmodrome. Before players meet further vendors in the Solar System and the Tower, Shaw gives them a tutorial on bounties within the game.

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Lost Sectors

Completing a Lost Sector, a PvE activity where you'll run against opponents of different races, a boss adversary, and an unlocking treasure chest, will be one of the primary missions on your new trip. They can be completed by one Guardian alone or two others.

Each planet has several Lost Sectors, meaning there are many rewards to gather for the sought-after adversaries you'll encounter. When you find the Lost Sector emblem on the world map, it will be highlighted, and you can keep collecting rewards for each task you complete there.

Use the World Map to locate the Lost Sector in the Forgotten Shore area of The Cosmodrome as part of your New Light experience. When you're close, look for the Lost Sector logo to indicate where you should enter.

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Cosmic Resources

The resources that Guardians can acquire on many planets throughout the cosmos are in addition to the currency utilized for purchases and gear upgrades. Purchases of valuable items like Upgrade Modules and Enhancement Cores, which can increase your power, are made with these resources. 

In Destiny 2, there are numerous currencies that you can use to purchase goods, complete quests, or improve your armor and weapons. Most new players begin gathering Glimmer, the Last City's currency. A programmable material that can be used as fuel and for the craft.

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Acknowledging Leveling

In contrast to most games you'll play, Destiny 2 has a different level for your character. Your story is decided by the equipment you wear rather than your character leveling up. Simply put, a higher level equals more significant numbers on your gear, which defines how much damage you can deal with and how much damage you can take.

Other attributes will impact things like how quickly your skills recharge, how swiftly you travel, and how fast your health refuels. You may find these on your character screen, and by moving your mouse over them, you can learn more about their implications and how your existing numbers will affect them. You should pay attention to these numbers to make your character as strong as possible because every piece of gear will impact them.

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Learn the Weaknesses

If you've played any recent first-person shooter games, you're undoubtedly used to aiming at your enemies' heads. That still matters in Destiny 2... Though there are few outliers.

Since you're not shooting at people (most of the time), the target's "head" could not be its weak point. Robotic AIs called Vex have brilliantly lighted weak spots in the middle of their mass. The Cabal's juggernaut-like armor will include weak spots on its vents as well as on its heads. You can become more effective in battle situations by learning where your opponents' weak areas are. You'll also have more fun!

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Demonstrate New Weapons

While you might find Warlocks to be a little more flimsy in battle, there's no reason you can't arm them with close-range weapons and send them into the fray. After all, every class is capable of using every sort of weapon.

You can find many articles and viewpoints online that will tell you which weapons are better for PvP, PvE, etc. We won't divulge that to you. All we can advise is to give them a shot. Figure out what works for you. Put the meta aside and concentrate on a loadout you enjoy. After all, it's your game. Nobody, least of all us, should be able to instruct you on how to play.

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Conclusion

This concludes our complete detail on how to play Destiny 2. That was undoubtedly a lot to process, but keep in mind to gradually become acquainted with the game's mechanics to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Even though Destiny 2 is tremendously complicated, once you get used to it, you'll see why it's frequently cited as one of the finest Xbox games and one of the best PC games.