Destiny 2 Beginner’s Guide



Destiny 2 is an ever-expanding action multiplayer game developed and released by Bungie as the successor to the incredibly popular Destiny. Destiny 2 started out as a pay-to-play game when it was released in 2017 but has since become free-to-play for everyone to enjoy, with optional expansions available to purchase. The game is super accessible, and you can enjoy it on Playstorestation, Xbox, or PC.

You play as a superpowered guardian in this first-person shooter, exploring planets and fighting enemies alongside other players in an online-only environment. There’s also an intricate story surrounding the game and its world that you’re sure to love.

Unfortunately, Destiny 2’s original campaign, known as the Red War Campaign, is no longer available. Bungie vaulted it and replaced it with a new experience following the game's switch to free-to-play.

It's a shame that so much content has been removed, especially for anyone particularly keen on the game's lore. That's the decision Bungie made because the game would otherwise be too big to maintain. Despite this, there's still plenty for any new players to experience, so don't let the lack of the original campaign put you off Rulecracker!

Let's take a look at what you can expect from Destiny 2 in its current iteration. We’ll also go over some popular Destiny 2 boosting services you can find online, so be sure to read all the way to the end of the article to find out more about them.

The current state of Destiny 2 and its campaigns

Destiny 2 has multiple campaigns, each tied to their respective DLC expansions.

The New Light campaign is the free-to-play one available to all players. When you first enter the game, you’ll follow a dedicated questline in the Cosmodrome, one of the locations in the game, where you’ll slowly be introduced to the various features of Destiny 2.

The new starting campaign is structured in a way to not overwhelm new players. It gives them a chance to get acquainted with the game before they're thrown into everything else that Destiny 2 has to offer.

The journey starts with your ghost, a small sentient levitating machine, resurrecting your Guardian character following their untimely death during an ancient battle long ago. Ghost supports you throughout your entire adventure as you take on quests to save humanity and reclaim lost worlds from The Darkness. We don’t want to spoil anything for you, so we’ll leave it at that so you can experience and discover the universe of Destiny 2 at your own leisure.

The three DLCs available for purchase are Forsaken, Shadowkeep, and Beyond Light, enriching the base game with their own story campaigns. If you end up enjoying Destiny 2, we’d highly recommend getting the expansions because they’re super affordable and are well worth the money with everything new they bring to the game.

Now that we’ve set the scene, let’s do a deep dive into the structure of Destiny 2 and what the game is all about, starting with the very basics.

Getting Started – The Basics

MMOs (massively multiplayer online games) often have a lot of features and lore that can be very intimidating for new players, and Destiny 2 is no different. The game does a great job of slowly introducing you to its various features but wrapping your head around the intricacies of the game is still no easy task. Let’s start off by going over the class system.

Destiny 2’s class system and how it works

One of the first things you need to do when starting up Destiny 2 is to pick a class. The 3 classes available to you have their own perks, abilities, and super abilities associated with them, so it’s important to know which one to choose to suit your playstyle.

Hunter, Warlock, and Titan are all very different but ultimately any one of these classes will do the job and get you through the game even if you're playing solo, so try not to stress too much. Once you progress enough in the game, you'll be able to unlock subclasses too, which we'll take a look at.

Hunter

The Hunter class offers the most mobility of the 3, allowing players to move around quickly and traverse terrain with ease. Despite being a bit of a “lone wolf” class, hunters can be vital assets to any fireteam with their survivability and high damage output. What they lack in defense they make up for in agility – even though they don’t have much health and are prone to taking a lot of damage, they’re good at evading attacks and can very much excel as fighters.

Some of Hunters’ abilities shared across the subclasses include dodging, high jumping, strafe jumping, and triple jumping. You’re sure to have a lot of fun with this class as you launch yourself through the air, raining down bullets on your enemies from above.

There are 3 main subclasses available for the Hunter in Destiny 2, as well as a 4th one introduced along with the Beyond Light expansion. Each one boasts its own set of abilities and skills that you'll be able to discover as you progress through the game. Super abilities that charge up over time and can be unleashed at the press of a button are unique for each subclass too:

  • Gunslinger: An all-out offensive subclass, gunslinger offers aggressive abilities with a Golden Gun super that summons a flaming pistol to let you dispense with enemies easily.
  • Arcstrider: A more melee-oriented class, Arcstrider will allow you to excel in hand-to-hand combat. The Arc Staff super ability allows you to conjure up a powerful staff to eviscerate your enemies with.
  • Nightstalker: If sneaking around and being stealthy is more your style, the Nightstalker subclass has got you covered. Trap and immobilize your enemies for easy kills using the abilities this subclass offers.
  • Revenant: The new Revenant subclass introduces stasis attacks to slow foes down, freeze them, and deal immense damage with razor-sharp attacks.

Titan

Though this class doesn't offer as much mobility as the Hunter class, it has tremendous defensive capabilities. Players that enjoy tanking damage while dealing mighty, heavy blows to their enemies will love this class.

The Titan subclasses all share the Barricade ability, which allows you as the Guardian to conjure a stationary barrier on the battlefield that you can use for cover. The barrier has limited health, so it will eventually be destroyed if it takes a heavy enough beating. It does its job well though and protects not just you but your whole fireteam too, which they're sure to be grateful for.

Much like the Hunter class, there are 4 subclasses for the Titan, with the newest stasis subclass being released recently with Destiny 2's Beyond Light expansion. Let's take a look at what each subclass entails:

  • Striker: This powerful subclass boasts powerful melee abilities, allowing you to go on an all-out offensive attack against your enemies. The Fists of Havoc super ability unleashes a large area attack on those unfortunate enough to be nearby, dealing tremendous damage.
  • Sentinel: If you’re looking to take on a more supportive role in your fireteam, the Sentinel subclass grants a plethora of shield abilities to protect you and your allies from danger. This class isn’t just all about defense though, as you can bash enemies with your shield and perform a variety of melee attacks too.
  • Sunbreaker: With both long- and short-range attacks available with this subclass, playing as a Sunbreaker is sure to be a lot of fun. You get access to a variety of abilities that you can use to deal damage and provide buffs for your allies.
  • Behemoth: As a Behemoth, you'll be destroying enemies with the power of an avalanche behind your hits. Tank large amounts of damage and slow your enemies with the frosty abilities that come with this class.

Warlock

Last but not least is the Warlock class. Warlocks may not be the nimblest or the highest in defense, but they’re the best class in Destiny 2 when it comes to recovery. Harnessing magical powers, they're able to attack enemies with explosive damage while healing themselves and their surrounding allies. They’re a top asset to any fireteam.

The Warlock class is great for those that enjoy playing as mages and unleashing magical attacks from up close and at a distance. All Warlocks in Destiny 2 have access to gliding abilities too, which can be activated any time while airborne. These allow players to traverse large gaps and escape from enemies with ease.

Let’s take a look at the 4 magical warlock classes and see what makes them so powerful and special in their own right:

  • Dawnblade: With a plethora of aerial combat abilities, you’ll be scorching enemies with the power of a thousand suns as a Dawnblade. Rain fire upon anyone that crosses you with the Daybreak super ability, turning light into fiery daggers that crash down from the sky and deal incredible amounts of damage.
  • Voidwalker: Sow fear into the hearts of your enemies as a Voidwalker, sucking the life out of them with the explosive abilities this class offers. The Voidwalker’s super is a Nova Bomb, which eviscerates anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in its blast.
  • Stormcaller: This arc-based subclass is one of the best around, granting Guardians the power to shoot lightning from their hands. Chain your attacks for maximum damage output across multiple targets. If you like being at the center of all the action, you should definitely consider playing as a Stormcaller.
  • Shadebinder: Freeze your foes with the power of stasis and finish them off with obliterating attacks that come with the Shadebinder subclass.

The weapon classes of Destiny 2

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of Destiny 2 is the variety of weapons at your disposal. From submachine guns to rifles and grenade launchers, there are lots of different types so you’re sure to find one you like the feel of.

There are 3 different classes of weapons in Destiny 2. The great thing is that you can equip one of each simultaneously and cycle through them at your leisure.

  • Kinetic Weapons: Kinetic weapons occupy your first inventory slot and do damage without any elemental effects. These weapons are best used against enemies that lack any kind of shield.
  • Energy Weapons: These weapons do damage based on the element associated with them, so either arc, void, or solar. If an enemy is wielding a shield, match the weapon element to the shield element for the best results.
  • Heavy Weapons: These weapons pack a mighty punch, but the ammo for them is often hard to come by, so use them sparingly. Pull out a heavy when you're looking to eviscerate large groups of enemies in one go or take on more powerful foes.

Ammo types are another thing to bear in mind, as not every weapon uses the same type of ammo. Primary, special, and heavy ammo are the three types in Destiny 2 in order of rarity from least to most rare. If you find yourself low on ammo, you can replenish it by collecting random ammo drops from defeated enemies.

Leveling up in Destiny 2 – Power Level, Season Rank, and more…

There are a few different ranking/level systems in Destiny 2, so let’s take a look at the main ones and dispel any confusion you may have. If you need any help leveling up at all, be sure to check out the information about Destiny 2 boosting services at the end of the article.

Power Level

Destiny 2 uses a Power Level system, whereby the gear you have equipped determines your overall level. Each piece of gear has a Power Level associated with it and your overall level is calculated as an average of everything you have equipped at any one point in time.

All new players start out with a Power Level of 1050 and can easily increase this by acquiring new gear as they progress through the game. The current soft cap for maximum attainable Power Level in Destiny 2 sits at 1200. You can go above this level, but you’ll need to seek out special gear that you can only acquire through specific activities within the game.

If you play the game as intended, you'll eventually obtain enough Legendary Gear to reach a Power Level of 1200 and will likely be eager to level up further.

The next level cap to aim for is 1250, which you can reach by collecting Powerful Gear. Once you reach that, you'll be able to increase your Power Level slightly more up to a hard cap of 1260. You'll need to seek out Pinnacle Gear to reach this final cap, which is no easy feat. For now, as a new Destiny 2 player, we’d suggest focusing on reaching the soft cap of 1200 before worrying about the extra challenges ahead.

Season Rank

Destiny 2 also has a Season Rank system where you can earn XP and unlock rewards by just playing the game. There are 100 rank tiers to reach, with each one giving the player a new reward. Worth noting is that there are two tracks associated with the Season Rank system. A free track is available for everyone that plays the game, and there's a premium track for which you need to purchase the season pass. Both tracks give great rewards, but naturally, the premium track has more desirable ones.

There are plenty of ways to gain XP for the season pass, but first and foremost, you should complete all your daily and weekly bounties for some easy XP. Once you do those, you can start to head into the various PvP (player versus player) and PvE (player versus environment) modes of Destiny 2.

The season pass resets with every season, and you won't be able to get the rewards again once the season ends. Fear not though as each season lasts a few months, so there's plenty of time to level up and get everything.

Glory Rank

The Glory Rank system is exclusive to Crucible, which is Destiny 2’s competitive PvP game mode. Glory Rank acts as a skill rating, so you get a higher rank the better you are. Your rank will fluctuate depending on how many games you win and lose.

Much like the Season Rank, the Glory Rank resets at the end of each season, so you’ll have to work your way back up every few months.

Though Glory is exclusive to the competitive, it’s worth noting that Crucible has a more casual, progression-based rank system too, where you don’t get penalized for losses. Valor is the name of this alternate rank system.

The game modes of Destiny 2

Alongside the campaigns, Destiny 2 offers a few other multiplayer game modes that each have unique features. Let’s take a look at them:

Vanguard (Strikes)

In this cooperative game mode, players are taken along a set path through a mission area, fighting their way through to the end where they’ll encounter one or more bosses. The activity allows for a team of up to 3 players in a fireteam and is completed by defeating the final boss.

Each Strike in Destiny 2 takes roughly half an hour to complete and there are many different ones available to players depending on their Power Level. Rewards include Vanguard Tokens as well as new, often rare gear. Vanguard tokens can be redeemed for rewards, including weapons and armor sets.

There's also the option of doing a much more challenging version of a strike called Nightfall. In Nightfall, enemies are a lot stronger to take down but the rewards at the end are better than usual and definitely worth it if you think you can make it through alive.

Crucible

Crucible is the designated PvP game mode in Destiny 2. Compete against other players for kills and to take over objectives in this fast-paced showdown. There are a few different game types available, so be sure to familiarize yourself with them so you know what you’re doing when you get thrown into a game.

Crucible games are team-based, so effective communication with your team is vital if you plan on winning. Stick together for the most part, but it's important to know when to split up for an effective attack on your opponents.

If you’re struggling to ascend the ranks in Crucible, there’s always the option of hiring a professional booster to help you out. There’s more info on this below.

Gambit

Gambit was introduced with the Forsaken expansion and is a hybrid game mode combining PvP and PvE elements. Teams first fight against hoards of enemies before taking on a powerful boss known as a Primeval. Each team has free reign to interfere with their opponents' progress, making for a challenging fight.

Raids, Dungeons, and Trials of Osiris

Among the most challenging activities in Destiny 2 are the Raids, Dungeons, and Trials of Osiris. These are all part of the endgame content. Don't worry too much about these if you're just starting out with the game, but when the time comes be prepared to take on these fun, complex challenges.

Raids and Dungeons give great rewards and are some of the best PvE activities available to you in Destiny 2. Conversely, the Trials of Osiris will test your skills against other players in highly competitive scenarios where only the best come out alive.

Destiny 2 boosting services

If you’re struggling with any aspects of Destiny 2’s gameplay, there are plenty of ways you can get help. playstorestation is a reliable website that offers some of the best Destiny 2 carries around at affordable prices.

You can hire a professional booster to help you achieve anything and everything you want in both the PvE and PvP parts of the game. You can get help with ranking up in Crucible, boosting your power level, and farming gear, just name it!

In general, there are two types of boosting service you can take advantage of, depending on what you'd prefer:

  • A piloted service involves providing a professional booster with access to your account to complete any challenges for you that you might be struggling with or simply don't have time for.
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The folks over at Boosting Ground are great because they offer both these services to cater to all players’ needs. Be sure to head on over to their website and have a browse through their selection of Destiny 2 boosting services if you’re keen to know more.

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