Destiny 2 Gameplay Explained - How It Works

Updated:

01 Feb 2021

Destiny 2 is ever-growing, with new events and storylines well on the way.

But for newer players all this mumbo jumbo with aliens and space magic it can get confusing pretty fast. To help you navigate the core elements of Destiny 2 I’ve written a basic overview of how the game works to get you started. Some sections will have a video that will go into further details on a mechanic or element that is more complex.

Destiny 2 Overview

Destiny 2 is a mix between MMO and looter shooter. Combining the treasure-hunting action with the mechanics of a first-person shooter. If you’ve ever played any Borderlands games you’ll have a good idea of how this works already. Shoot bad guys, collect new guns and gear. Of course, Destiny does things a bit differently.

Like I mentioned it is a mix of MMO and looter shooter. MMO’s if you’re not familiar, are Massively Multiplayer Online games. They have large, open worlds for players to explore and lots of game modes and things for the players to do, as well as a story to tell. It all builds upon the key element of players interacting with each other. This is the core of Destiny 2 and the franchise as a whole.

Story Mode

When Destiny 2 became free to play back in September 2019, now with the new expansion Beyond Light, there’s no better time for new players to jump right in. You’ll create your character and play through a few intro missions to get caught up to speed on the story and how to play. The game will explain the general ideas of the story, but If you want to understand the story or Destiny and Destiny 2 on a deeper level there’s A LOT of digging you’ll need to do.

There is so much to cover that it could likely become a novel. But we don’t have time for that, so below you’ll find a great video by ArcadeCloud that covers a good chunk of the lore the events that players went through in Destiny and the original Destiny 2 campaign and expansions before your character was brought to life.

Destiny 1 and 2 Explained in 3 Minutes! By ArcadeCloud

Classes and Combat

Destiny 2 is a first-person shooter, so there isn’t much you’ve probably haven’t experienced already. You get guns, one primary weapon, a secondary weapon, and a heavy weapon for when you really need something dead. You have 3 abilities (aka space magic) to choose from. You have a grenade, movement ability, and class ability. Below you’ll find a quick and “descriptive” explanation of each class.

Classes

Titan - Strong, “space knight”/ soldier, think Spartans from the Halo games. Their movement ability is Lift, which is just a fancy word for space magic jetpack. Their class ability is a protective wall to use as cover.
Hunter - Agile, space cowboy/ninja, they are made for speed and sneakiness, and precision. Their movement ability is a Double Jump or Blink, which is short-range teleportation that Hunters learned from the Warlock class, according to the lore. Their class ability is a dodge roll.
Warlock - Middle Ground, space wizard/monk, they can sometimes be glass cannons but are very versatile. Their movement ability is Glide, which, well, lets you glide at the height of your jump. Or you can choose Blink, which is the same as the Hunter. Their class ability is a Rift which is a field of energy that buffs you and your friends once you step inside.

Each class has a subclass that aligns with a certain element Arc, Void, Solar, and Stasis energy. These subclasses have a variation of each of the 3 basic abilities. Here is a guide by Youtuber Oncechance for the classes and subclasses.

Destiny 2 Class Guide by Onechance

Loot and Leveling

As you kill bad guys you’ll collect loot. The main game currency is Glimmer. There will be vendors in different locations that give bounties and sell items for glimmer but will also sell things for materials you can collect in open-world gameplay. As you do bounties for different characters you’ll earn reputation points with them, when you level up your reputation you will be rewarded with gear and other materials.

Other currencies can be earned for playing PvE or PvP activities. These are called marks, you will get these from Lord Shaxx (for playing PvP), and Commander Zavala (for playing PvE).

Another important currency is legendary shards, you can get these by dismantling purple rarity or Legendary weapons. You can use these to upgrade your weapons and buy certain items such as exotic weapons and armor, which we’ll cover in the next section.

Weapons and Armor

Loot in Destiny 2 comes in the form of materials, currency, and most importantly: weapons and armor. Like most games, weapons have stats and perks for you to tune and tweak. For example, mid-late game weapons have options for the sights/scopes, recoil control, magazine size, etc, etc.

Frankly speaking, there is a lot to unpack, so if you need a quick reference check out the Destiny 2 wiki page on weapons:

https://d2.destinygamewiki.com/wiki/Weapons

Weapon Types

Below is a list of weapon types that are available to you, if you’re unsure about a weapon, try it out to see if you like how it works.

Primary Weapons | Grey Ammo

The most basic weapon type, A.K.A your main gun. Primary weapons are your workhorses and do the most damage to unshielded enemies.

Auto Rifles
Pulse Rifle
Scout Rifles
Hand Cannons
Submachine Gun
Sidearms
Bows

Special | Green Ammo

Specials are made to excel for certain situations and excel only at their effective range. They do high damage to enemy shields.

Shotguns
Sniper Rifles
Single Shot Grenade Launchers
Fusion Rifles
Trace Rifles

Heavy Weapons | Purple Ammo

Heavy weapons are what you bust out when you REALLY want something dead. Highly destructive, but very limited ammo.

Swords
Rocket launchers
Drum Grenade Launchers
Linear Fusion Rifles

Armor

Armor makes up your character stats and also has perks for you to choose from. You can take customization to a higher level by using Mods to add and enhance your armor and weapons’ abilities and performance. Check out the videos below by AbbyHour and Ginger Prime for their great in-depth explanation!

Destiny 2 Armor Guide by AbbyHour

Destiny 2 Weapons, Armor, and Mods Guide by Ginger Prime

Exotics

Exotic Weapons and Armor are very rare and can sometimes be bought from the character Xûr, who shows up in random places on the weekends to sell them for Legendary Shards. Exotic gear often bends the rules of Destiny’s gameplay mechanics due to the unique perks the are exclusive to them.

Some of these perks can heal you, do more damage, or add something that can flip your playstyle completely. Many players have made builds that center around these abilities, however, you can only equip one piece of exotic armor and use one exotic weapon at a time, so you’ll need to be strategic.

There’s a lot to say about exotics, so I recommend you watch this guide by KackisHD:

Exotics Guide by KackisHD

Multiplayer

There is a population of solo players in Destiny 2, but being an MMO, Destiny is often enjoyed with other people. You can invite 2 friends to join your party, called a Fireteam, to join in the action. There are many multiplayer activities to go through, so we’ll try to keep it short.

PvE Activities:

Fight A.I. bad guys. Protect Humanity from the forces that seek to destroy us. Below we’ll list some PvE activities:

Open World

While traversing open-world areas you’ll often come across other players. Many campaign missions take place in these areas as well, so occasionally you’ll get a little unexpected backup. Open areas also have mini-missions called Adventures that take a few minutes to complete for small rewards.

Public Events

Sometimes a Public Event will randomly take place in an area. The event goals range from: “kill this guy” or “protect this thing until time runs out.” You can find upcoming Public Events on your map. But you’ll also know when you see a bunch of players waiting around an area for it to start.

The loot from Public Events depends on your performance but there is always a chest after completing. You can join an event by finding the flag and interacting with it, if it’s already started simply just start shooting what the other players are and you’ll automatically join the chaos.

Strikes and Nightfall Strikes

Strikes are PvE missions made for a Fireteam of 3 players, if you don’t have a party, you’ll be set up with 2 random players of the same level. They are short story missions that end with a tough boss fight. Nightfalls strikes are more difficult and have modifiers that may help or make gameplay more difficult. If everyone dies in a Nightfall, the mission ends. Strikes and Nightfalls are great for grinding loot and quick but rewarding sessions.

PvP Activities

Fight your fellow Guardians and test your mettle. Lore-wise, Guardians can be brought back to life and are immortal, so don’t feel bad for crushing your friends.

Crucible

The Crucible is made up of training exercises overseen by the beloved Lord Shaxx. They comprise of different game modes that rotate once in a while. They range from 6v6, 3v3 modes. If you’re not the teamwork type there’s the free-for-all Rumble mode. A couple of examples include Control where you capture and hold different points, or Elimination: a 6v6 team deathmatch.

Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris

Iron Banner is a special Crucible playlist that comes on every once in a while. Run by Lord Saladin, the Iron Banner is similar to the regular Control game mode but the level of your gear matters, unlike the Crucible where players are balanced. You can get Iron Banner exclusive gear as loot.

Trials of Osiris is a 3v3 elimination gamemode where your gear also matters. To enter you must reach a certain level and have a premade Fireteam. So grab some buddies and be ready to get destroyed by another team who are so good you think they’re cheating. Like the Iron Banner, the difficulty of these events means you can be rewarded nicely if you do well.

Raids and Dungeons

Raids and Dungeons are the Destiny franchise’s most famous activities. These are PvE activities that only a well-coordinated Fireteam can take on. And they usually can take over an hour to complete unless you’re a very experienced player. They feature many different parts like puzzles, mini-bosses, unique mechanics, and of course a boss fight. They require strategy and teamwork. Here are some things you’ll need to know.

Raids

Raids have been around since the first Destiny game. There is no matchmaking, so you’ll need to find 5 other players to form a Fireteam of six. Raids don’t show any objectives or waypoints, you need to communicate with your team to figure out what to do and where to go. This is why when Raids are released it make take hours to complete.

Thankfully you don’t have to complete Raids in one sitting, your Fireteam leader can set a checkpoint and your team can finish it later, but you must finish it before your checkpoint expires every Tuesday according to your timezone. If you don’t then you have to start from the beginning.

Raid Encounters

Raids are split up into Encounters, which are miniboss fights that have their unique mechanics. Raid enemies tend to have abilities that normally don’t exist in the regular game, you’ll need to be wary of this fact and communicate accordingly.

Difficulty and Raid Lairs

Raids come in two modes: Normal and Hard.

Normal Mode: is the base difficulty for Raids, if you die you’ll have to wait 30 sec before being revived. The bosses and enemies will give you a challenge but not a headache out of frustration.
Prestige Mode: It’s hard. You can’t be revived until your team finds a checkpoint, enemies are tougher, and/or more objectives to complete. On the bright side, loot drops at a higher level than Normal mode.

Raid Lairs

Raid Lairs are mini raids. They have puzzles, bosses, and loot but take less time to complete.

Raid Loot

Now here’s what makes all that time worth it. Raid chests have all valuable items like upgrade materials and gear. Raid bosses drop chests that hold exclusive gear that only comes from the Raid. By playing Raids you are practically guaranteed to find Legendary, and possibly Exotic gear. If you’re looking for more, Prestige Raids carry the best rewards, with some being exclusive to Prestige mode. That is if you’re up to the challenge

Dungeons

Dungeons are like Raids in how they have different mechanics and bosses. They are the middle ground between full Raids and Raid Lairs. Taking longer than Raid Lairs (around a couple of hours) but less than an actual Raid. Dungeons also have exclusive gear rewards.

Finding a Fireteam

To do Raids or Dungeons you’ll need to find a fireteam. A good place to start is Bungie.net, the website of Destiny’s developers. Here you can find Clans to join, many of which are beginner-friendly and some also guide or “Sherpa” you.

Sherpa, by the way, references Tibetan people who use their familiarity with the environment to guide newcomers and foreigners. When searching look for Clans that offer Raid Sherpas and you’ll be brought into a Fireteam of veterans that will teach you the ropes.

Side note: once you know a Raid, remember to Sherpa new players as well!