'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Destiny 2 has no shortage when it comes to numerous activities. Ranging from various kinds of PvE playlists to PvP activities, there is no doubt that Destiny 2 knows how to keep a Guardian busy at all times.
With the player base constantly rising, the new Guardians can feel a bit overwhelmed, but before anything else, players need to get familiar with the base content of Destiny 2.
Expansions and DLC contents of Destiny 2
Destiny 2 was first released in 2017, and within the first year of its release, it received the first two DLCs, Curse of Osiris and Warmind. Everything up to this point in the game is referred to as Year 1.
Year 2 of Destiny 2 started having seasons with one big expansion called "The Forsaken." The seasons added in the second year were Season of the Forge, Season of the Drifter, and Season of Opulence.
Year 3 of Destiny 2 is around the time when Activision made its exit from the project and Bungie started publishing on its own. With the year 3, also came New Light, which was a free-to-play version of Destiny 2 along with all its Year 1 content.
Shadowkeep was a big expansion that came in the third year alongside Season of the Undying, Season of Dawn, Season of the Worthy, and Season of the Arrivals.
Thus came the ongoing Year 4 along with another big expansion called "Beyond Light." The Beyond Light expansion has seen three seasons so far, with Season of the Splicer as the ongoing season, along with Season of the Hunt and Season of the Chosen before it.
With the content being caught up with, here are some tips every new Destiny 2 player should know about.
1) The Leveling up system / How to level up
Destiny 2 is a game swarming with all kinds of activity and like every game, finishing those activities means earning EXPs.
Before Guardians dive into each activity, it is essential to know about power levels. Power levels are equal to a Guardian's gear score, or gear level, which makes one powerful to do certain activities. Each activity or mission would recommend that the Guardian enter at a specific power level. Failing to do so results in taking more and giving less damage.
Power levels in Destiny 2 come with three things. Soft Cap, Hard Cap, and the Pinnacle Cap.
Soft Cap is a power level which until reached, the game will provide higher gear weapons and armor from all kinds of activities. The current soft cap for Season 14 Season of the Splicer is 1300.
After hitting the soft cap, the Power Cap is the power level that can be achieved after acquiring powerful weapons. These weapons can be acquired as a reward after completing weekly challenges. Each powerful gear provides the Guardian with three more bonus powers than its current power level. The current power cap for Season 14 Season of the Splicer is 1310.
Pinnacle Cap is an end-game engagement once Guardians are done grinding for powerful gears. The only way to power up from 1310 is by grinding the Pinnacle gear by completing weekly playlist activities, raids, and certain dungeons.
Each pinnacle gear provides the Guardian with 2 bonus power after the power cap of 1310 and five bonus power after the soft cap of 1300. The current pinnacle cap for Season 14 Season of the Splicer is 1320.
Each Guardian is equipped with eight gears in total, three weapons which consist of Kinetic, Energy, and Power along with five pieces of Armor consisting of Headpiece, Chest armor, Handpiece, Leg Armor and a Class Item. Certain caps can be achieved once all these eight pieces of gear reach the same level cap.
Each season in Destiny 2 comes with a season pass, seasonal artifacts, and seasonal challenges. Finishing objectives from seasonal challenges will earn every guardian a huge amount of EXPs and other rewards. These EXPs get added to seasonal artifacts, which in turn grant extra power levels by adding to the Guardian's gear cap as a Power Bonus.
2) Armors and each stat required for a specific Class
Each armor in Destiny 2 grants a different stat to the Guardian. There are six stats in total which are: Mobility, Resilience, Recovery, Discipline, Intelligence, and Strength.
Mobility is the most useful stat for a Hunter. It increases the movement speed and the maximum jump height of a Hunter along with reducing the cooldown of the main class ability. Being the most agile class out of the three main classes in the game, Mobility is the go-to stat for a Hunter.
Recovery is the most useful stat when it comes to a Warlock. It increases the amount of health a Warlock can recover along with reducing the cooldown of the main class ability. Being the only healer out of the three main classes in the game, the Warlock class needs to have the maximum uptime for its healing rift.
Last but not the least, Resilience is the most useful stat for a Titan. Being the tank class out of the three, resilience in a Titan allows an increased amount of damage taken from enemies along with a shorter cooldown on its class ability. Titans can deploy shields on the field which can protect a fireteam from incoming enemy attacks, having maximum uptime on this skill is very essential for a Titan.
3) Exotic Armors and Weapons
Exotic Armors and Weapons are the single most important pieces of gear in Destiny 2. All exotic armor except the ones from the Beyond Light expansion can be acquired randomly from world drops. Each class can be equipped with only one piece of exotic armor at a time and that single piece will provide a unique perk.
However, drop locations of exotic weapons are scattered across multiple activities, locations, quests, and monuments to the Lost Lights exotic archive. Much like exotic armor, only one exotic weapon can be equipped by a class at a time. These exotic weapons have a unique perk of their own.
Learn more about the exotic archive in Destiny 2 and the exotics to acquire from it.
Certain modifications can be made with each armor to improve stat, the chance of dropping ammunition for a certain type of weapon, certain modifications which amplify a weapon's damage, and many other buffs.
4) Weapons and Creating a loadout
The Guardian has access to three weapon slots in total. The top-most slot is for any kinetic weapon. This slot can hold either an exotic or legendary weapon, along with a weapon carrying primary or special ammo.
The second slot is for energy weapons which can hold either exotic or legendary weapons, along with a weapon carrying primary or special ammo.
The third and last slot consists of only heavy weapons or the in-game term, the power weapons, holding only heavy ammo.
The ideal loadout for The Guardian is to go with one weapon consisting of primary ammo to clear small adds quickly, one weapon consisting of special ammo to clear powerful enemies, and lastly the powerful weapon to deal damage to a boss.
Every player should avoid loadouts consisting of two primaries or two special weapons because this creates room for error in different activities.
5) Perks and "God Rolls"
Destiny 2 has no shortage of weapons, and with each weapon comes perks that make it extra powerful.
A "God Roll" in a weapon can be achieved once it has two perks that synergize with each other, making a very average weapon in the game very powerful.
Each weapon has four kinds of perks: one random barrel type of the weapon, one random magazine type of the weapon, and two random perks that amplify the weapon's functionalities.
Destiny 2 is a huge game with a lot of stuff to go through. It can easily overwhelm any newcomers that are looking to get in with its numerous daily content, weapons, and armors.
The best approach for a brand new player would be to get through the story and reach the soft cap. The powerful cap comes next, with each activity rewarding powerful gear. Then comes the endgame, where playlist activities, raids, and dungeons are provided with pinnacle gear drops to reach that sweet pinnacle cap.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the opinion of the writer.
