Destiny 2 had a massive sale on its DLCs, and many players grabbed the game from Epic Games for free along with a few DLCs. A sale is the best time to get into the game, as you don’t end up spending upwards of a hundred dollars to get access to all of the content. If you are a New Light in 2024 who wants to figure out the ins and outs of Destiny, our new player guide has everything you need to know about the game, especially as we hurtle towards The Final Shape this year.
Weapon and Armor System
Legendary weapons (Purples) come with multiple perk slots and you can get a variety of rolls on them. Weapon rolls (perk combinations) determine your weapon stats, ease-of-use, and damage perks/utility. You can only have one Exotic armor and one Exotic weapon, which means that you will actively use legendary items and they are an integral part of your kit.
Certain activities drop high-stat armor and you should be able to get a solid build going even as a new player in a few days. As you keep progressing through the game you will get Mods from the seasonal artifact as well as random activities. Mods can increase your stats, enhance your reload speed, and targeting or even give you access to new effects for your abilities. While they are not necessary, they definitely contribute to quality of life and enhance your gameplay.
Item Upgrades
You can upgrade your gear to a higher power level by simply infusing your existing gear with a higher power item. The power level keeps going up so you need to keep grinding power levels during major content updates.
There is a soft power level cap that you can hit just by playing the game. Once you hit the cap, you can earn Powerful items which will bump up your power even higher and eventually you will hit the Pinnacle stage where you need to do specific activities to get your power level higher. Your power level determines your damage output in various activities and it is important to raise your power level as much as possible for harder content difficulties like Master and Grandmaster.
Getting Into Raiding
The game has an in-game group finder but it's far from being the best. PC players should use the Destiny 2 LFG Server.
Invite link: https://discord.com/invite/destiny2lfg
The server has hundreds of thousands of players, and you can find groups for all experience levels. The Root of Nightmares raid is one of the easiest raids in Destiny history, and you can start from there. Make sure you look for “sherpas” (players who teach New Lights) who are willing to be patient and help you out.
Make sure that you are willing to commit at least a couple of hours for your first raid, as it is likely that there will be a few wipes along the way. If you are not sure if something works, make it clear to other players so they can help you out or teach you.
Other Endgame Activities
In addition to raids, you also have plenty of other endgame activities to choose from, including Nightfalls, Dungeons, and Trials of Osiris (PvP), which are all three-player activities. Do note that matchmaking is not available for a lot of activities in Destiny 2, and you have to rely on the in-game LFG tool or Discord servers to find players you want to farm content with. Joining a Clan is strongly recommended if you want to find other players easily. You could also make your own Clan if you have enough active players.
Talk to The Shady Tentacle Man
There is a secret vendor called Xur who arrives every week with some loot including exotics. You can purchase exotics from him every week, which will help you speed up your progression as a new player.
You can dismantle purple gear to get legendary shards, which you can cash in to get shiny new exotics. You can also get exotics by playing the game. A large portion of exotics are farmable from lost sectors or through quests while others are random drops that you can get from any activity.
Essential Tools
Destiny 2 Companion App
The D2 Companion app is the official app for Destiny 2 by Bungie, and it allows you to track the progress of your seasonal pursuits, vendor items, bounties, and more. You can grab new bounties directly from the app instead of going to the tower or other locations.
- Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bungieinc.bungiemobile&hl=en&gl=US
- iOS: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/destiny-2-companion/id441444902
Destiny Item Manager
The Destiny Item Manager (DIM) is a browser-based tool that lets you manage your inventory and vault directly from the browser. It is free to use and it’s something that most players cannot live without.
Other Tools
Light.gg: A database of every single weapon, armor, and mod in the game.
Raid.Report
Track your progress in raids. No sign-up is needed.
Dungeon.Report
Track your progress in dungeons. No sign-up is needed.
Trials.Report
Track your progression and flawless clears in Trials. No sign-up is needed.
Is Destiny 2 Worth Getting Into in 2024
While I would not recommend Destiny 2 at full price in 2024, if you got the game for free via Epic Games or picked it up along with a few other DLCs on sale, you should get good value for money. The current season has been extended by a few months so you have all the time in the world to play the game before the next expansion drops which will mark the end of the Light and Dark era of the game.
