Important ‘Destiny 2’ Tidbits To Know Heading Into Launch


The launch of Destiny 2 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has finally arrived. The online shooter goes live this week to finally give Guardians a chance to continue their legend or start an all new one with fresh loot and content to explore. Here is a collection of spoiler-free tidbits that you’ll want to know before diving into a world without light.

Schedule of Events

If you missed the breakdown of when Destiny 2 launches and activities like the raid and Trials of Osiris goes live, here is the high-level overview.

  • Destiny 2 Launch – 12 a.m. on Wednesday, September 6 for the time zone PS4 and Xbox One owners reside in. This will be Midnight ET for the entire United States, which means those in the Pacific time zone can start playing at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday night.
  • Guided Games Beta (Nightfall only) – Tuesday, September 12 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
  • Raid – Wednesday, September 13 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
  • Trials of Osiris – Friday, September 15 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
  • Full Guided Games – Tuesday, September 26 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT

Decrypting Engrams Automatically Takes Your Best Gear into Account

A Destiny 2 image showing a Legendary Engram in a Guardian's inventory.
[Image by Bungie/Activision

A huge quality of life addition to Destiny 2 is the game calculating the player’s best possible gear when decrypting Engrams. Players will no longer have to remember to equip the right armor on their Titan, for example, or bring over the right weapon from their Hunter to have the best gear. The game will automatically calculate all that for you, according to a recent Bungie weekly update.

Additionally, players can hover over the Engrams in their inventory to see the minimum power they will decrypt at.

Energy Weapons Make Shielded Enemies Go Boom

Matching the energy weapon type to the enemy shield type doesn’t just make those shields come down faster like in Destiny 1. Using Arc against Arc, Void against Void, and Solar against Solar will cause an explosion when the shield pops that is strong enough to kill other nearby enemies.

Yes, there is a Third Sub-Class

Videos from various outlets about the European Dead Zone public space revealed that the third Guardian sub-class will be available in Destiny 2. However, the final sub-class (Hunter Nightstalker, Titan Sunbreaker, Warlock Stormcaller) will need to be unlocked. Exactly how is unknown, but this will be taken care of as players progress through the game and discover artifacts as the videos indicate.

Armor and Weapon Mods

Mods for armor and weapons are a new feature for Destiny 2 and are an evolution of Ornaments from the Rise of Iron expansion. Weapon mods, for example, can change the damage type of an energy or power weapon to Arc, Solar, or Void. Shaders can be applied individually to Rare, Legendary, and Exotic quality weapons via mods. Meanwhile, Ornaments will return for additional cosmetic options.

Mods work much the same for armor. Each piece of armor can have individual Shaders applied to them and allow Guardians to mix and match their look. Non-cosmetic mods provide additional perk customization such as the how fast abilities recharge or additional weapon perks.

Multiplayer is Team Oriented

A heroic image of Destiny 2 PVP.
[Image by Bungie/Activision]

Bungie pushing weapons like the Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, and Fusion Rifle to the power weapon slot means one-shot kills will come less often in Destiny 2’s Crucible multiplayer. This makes firefights more about working with other members of your fireteam to put more bullets into an enemy than they put in you.

The Destiny 2 beta showed that playing as a lone wolf means you will likely die quickly against a pair or more of enemies unless you’ve picked up a power weapon or have a super ability ready.

Join a Clan, Get Rewards

Destiny 2 is purposefully making it more rewarding to join a clan and play with others. A Clan Banner gear slot has been added to Guardians that unlocks special Clan Banner Perks when utilized.

In addition to new perks, Guardians will also be rewarded every week by the clan completing specific end-game content like Nightfall Strikes or just experience earned by the group. Completing weekly milestones can unlock new Clan Banner Perks.

Those not in a clan will want to either search Bungie.net for available clans or wait for the Guided Game feature to go live.

End-Game Leveling

A Public Event in Destiny 2's European Dead Zone.
[Image by Bungie/Activision]

Guardians will eventually reach a point in Destiny 2 where many activities will not increase their Power Level. The max Power Level in the game will be 300, according to leaks, and Power Level 260 is when players will need to start looking at end-game activities to progress further.

End-game activities can include Nightfall strikes and the raid (leaks of which won’t be spoiled here), but also include new activities in Destiny 2. The Weekly Milestones are the central hub that will send players on quests to complete a Call to Arms mission in the Crucible or Flashpoints in patrol.

There will be a new list of activities and what you need to do to complete them with each Weekly Reset.

[Featured Image by Bungie/Activision]

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