Destiny 2 guide: tips, Exotics, subclasses and everything else you need today

Destiny 2 can be just as beautifully baffling as its precursor. Don’t worry, cats; we got what you need.

Our Destiny 2 guide is divided into segments so you can get to what you want, fast. Let’s start off with a quick contents list and then jump right in.

First, here are some general tips and explanations for Destiny 2. Next, we’ll offer detailed class and subclass information. Scroll a little further, and you’ll find a nice big section on weapons, armour and Exotics, since Destiny is forever a loot game.

Next up we have guides for the Leviathan Raid, followed by walkthroughs and other detailed drill-down guide pages for particular missions and topics – or to be honest, kind of a random collection of things that don’t go anywhere else. Below that, you’ll find information specific to the PC version of Destiny 2, due for release on October 24.

General guides

• How to level up, get more Power and kick butt in Destiny 2 – fast
  This page explains the levelling system, outlining the the two soft Power caps and how you can mantle them, and explaining just what you need to do to make your Guardian as strong as can be. It breaks the journey down into four stages, and provides tips and explanations for Milestones and Luminous Engrams, Legendary mods and Exotic engram farming. It also offers cautions and warnings to prevent you wasting resources you’ll want when you approach endgame. Things have changed a little since D1, so you might want to check in even if you’re an old hand.

• Destiny 2 Activities: how you unlock and complete Flashpoints, Lost Sectors, Milestones, Challenges and more
  This page lists and describes all the different Activities in Destiny 2, which offers a great deal more than a story campaign and PvP modes. Here you’ll find out what all those words like Flashpoint, Challenge and Milestone mean, and why you should bother trying your hand at them. You’ll also discover how and where to unlock each of these Activities, and how to complete them once you can dive on in. Useful clarifications for returning players, and essential explanations for newbies since Destiny 2 kind of never explains anything.

• Xur location, currency changes in Destiny 2, Legendary shards and more
  Who is Xur? What is Xur? Where is Xur? When is Xur there? What Exotics will Xur sell? How do I buy Exotics from Xur? Why is everyone so excited for Xur? Most of these questions will be answered in this handy guide to everyone’s favourite tentacle-faced weekend vendor, the mysterious Emissary, Xur.

• Destiny 2 Faction Rally: how to earn tokens quickly, seize supplies for the city in the new public event, and make out like a bandit
  The three factions – Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, and New Monarchy – have made their return in Destiny 2, with a Faction Rally being held so that Guardians can pledge their allegiance and claim rewards. Come check out how to earn Faction Rally tokens, scope the loot each faction has made available, and figure out which faction best suits you.

• How to go flawless, enter the spire and score loot in Destiny 2’s Trials of the Nine
  It’s back. Destiny 2’s weekly PvP challenge brings us face to face with the Emissaries of the Nine and grants us insight into this mysterious board of beings – assuming we’re good enough to get that far. Learn the rules and requirements, understand the complicated loot system, see what sort of rewards are on offer and generally get completely on board this weekly Crucible showdown.

• How to complete Public Events in Destiny 2, trigger Heroic objectives, and get the best loot
  Public Events are a much bigger part of Destiny 2 than D1. There are a lot of reasons to participate, and some tasty rewards on offer. If you can get a crew together, you can try going for a Heroic version and score some tasty stuff. We explain how to complete the events in both the normal and Heroic method, and give a few pointers for those apparently baffled by what ominous red circles on the ground mean. For heaven’s sake.

• Bright Engrams: here’s how much Silver costs in Destiny 2, and what you can buy with it
  Eververse, the microtransaction store, is back in Destiny 2. Its primary function is to sell and decrypt Bright Engrams, and this page outlines what those are, what’s in them, how to get them for free and what it’ll cost you to purchase them with your precious real-world funds. There’s also some info on how to get hold of individual bits of cosmetic goodness, if RNGesus has been unkind to you.

• Destiny 2 error codes and issues, and how to deal with them
  Alas, the course of true love never did run smoothly. Sometimes little niggles get in the way of your obsessive 2,000 hours of loot-and-shoot. We’re keeping tracks of Destiny 2 error codes, and will let you know when Bungie fixes them, or what workarounds and solutions are available in the meantime. You may also want to check in with known Destiny 2 issues, as well.

Destiny 2 classes and subclasses

All three original classes return in Destiny 2 – Hunter, Warlock and Titan – and each will have three subclass options you can unlock and switch between at will. The three classes and their skill trees have been overhauled. Each of three classes now has a unique class skill shared across all subclasses, which come with two perk variants.

• Warlocks can conjure a Rift that continually heal or buff teammates.
• Titans can place Barriers to provide total shelter or tactical cover with ammo.
• Hunters can perform a Dodges that reload their weapon or increase melee energy.

In addition to these class abilities, each of the three Destiny 2 classes has its own style of mobility (jump) ability. Each of the nine subclasses has a unique super ability, grenade choices and two different passive upgrade paths. You can switch between your various abilities at will once you have unlocked them.

• What class should you roll in Destiny 2? A quick overview
  Oh, you just can’t decide! Titans are so strong and tough. Hunters are so dashing. Warlocks are unstoppable rabid kill machines who definitely need a nerf. How could you possibly choose between them? The answer lies in comparing their skills – especially their class abilities and jumps! – but yes, also their outfits. We’ve got advice about which playstyle may suit you, based on your past preferences in other games, as well as a rundown of the differences and what sort of powers are waiting for you. We live to serve, soon-to-be Guardians.

There are nine subclasses in Destiny 2 – three for each class. This total includes three brand new subclasses added with Destiny 2, while the remaining six subclasses return from vanilla Destiny and expansion The Taken King.

We’ve put together detailed guides on every subclass in Destiny 2. These guides list every skill and passive ability, giving you full details so you can plan your build and co-ordinate with your buddies for co-op.

Where possible, these pages includes gameplay footage of the subclass in action, so you can see how your chosen Guardian will play in Destiny 2.

• All Hunter Gunslinger subclass skills and abilities
• All Hunter Arcstrider subclass skills and abilities
• All Hunter Nightstalker subclass guide
• All Titan Striker subclass skills and abilities
• All Titan Sentinel subclass skills and abilities
• All Titan Sunbreaker subclass skills and abilities
• All Warlock Dawnblade subclass skills and abilities
• All Warlock Voidwalker subclass skills and abilities
• All Warlock Stormcaller subclass skills and abilities

There are three more pages we think will be helpful to you in working out how to play your chosen class most effectively.

• How to unlock your second and third subclass in Destiny 2
  You start Destiny 2 proper with access to just one subclass, and must unlock the other two within your class as you play through the game. How? Well, that would be telling now, wouldn’t it. Why don’t you click that link. Ooh, the shiny link. Come on, games journos need to eat and make rent, just like everyone else.

• Tips for using Supers effectively in Destiny 2
  So the bar is finally full and you’ve pressed the button. Now what? if everything around you is dying, you’ve probably got the hang of it, but if not, or if you feel like those other players in the wild are doing better than you, you might want to check in with these details of Destiny 2’s Super abilities. Sometimes it’s not as simple as unleashing a Nova Bomba and laughing your way to the bank, now is it?

• Destiny 2 – how to combine class abilities and skills to do the most damage as a team
  Supers, class skills, and general abilities are not just made for you to feel powerful on your own. With some timing, you can combine some of them together to increase your damage output as a team by a fair bit. Sometimes these can be as high as 95%. That’s a 95% bonus damage for very little effort. Find out how to trigger this and more.

Destiny 2 Exotics, weapons and armour

The guides in this section are all about equipment, providing both a basic explanation of Destiny 2’s somewhat esoteric weapon system as well as pointing you towards Exotic gear. For many D1 players, collecting a full set of Exotics was their primary goal, and while it’s not the only one worth pursuing, there are definite advantages to having a shiny arsenal to draw on. The details on these pages are the seeds of unstoppable builds; Destiny 2 is an RPG as well as a shooter and a loot roulette, remember.

• Destiny 2 weapons tips: Infusion, rarity, kinetic, energy and power fully explained
  Listen, it’s really not clear in-game what exactly the different between kinetic, energy and power weapons is, but it turns out they have very different uses, and knowing what does best where will really up your game. We sort all that out on this guide page, hopefully in a clear and concise manner, and also talk about the different rarity tiers, upgrading and more. Much of this information also applies to armour, but we know you’re in it for the boomsticks, so.

• The best mods in Destiny 2
  Mods are an important part of growing your Power and Infusion, but they’re also a really good way to power up your build once you hit endgame. In this article we run down precisely what effect each mod type has, clear up some common misconceptions about the mod system, and provide guidelines for crafting an ideal build with mods, bearing in mind different playstyles and approaches. Also, this will help you work out which mods to dismantle and trade in as you level up, and which you should hang on to for endgame!

• All 19 Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 (so far)
  Ahh, now we’re talking! Collecting Exotics is one of the most fun aspects of Destiny 2’s loot cycle, and there are some really interesting weapons on offer. You can only equip one Exotic weapon at a time, but each one can have a profound impact on how you approach the game and build out your character. This page lists and fully details all the basic Exotics you’ll find as story quest rewards and in random drops – if you’ve been very good, and RNGesus loves you – and will update as quests unlock and other mysteries are resolved.

• Destiny 2 World Quests and Weapon Quests: get your hands on some very sweet loot
  An analogue to D1’s Exotic Quests, Destiny 2 puts two different quest systems between you and some of the absolute tastiest loot in the whole game. Don’t be daunted; none of it’s as hard as it seems. Bring some friends with you and you’ll be done in no time, and also rocking matching boomsticks, which will look so cool on the pre-Crucible pose screen. What? No, you’re obsessed with playing dress-ups in the stupid space game.

• How to get Destiny 2’s no-reload Exotic and Legendary weapon pair, Sturm and Drang
  One of the Destiny 2’s three known Exotic quests (so far) nets you a pair of weapons that go together like cuddles and kisses, except with way more screaming and bodies hitting the floor (or maybe not; we don’t know how you spend your Friday nights). This Weapon Quests, which follows on from the Nessus World Quest, involves Relics of the Golden Age – but it’s well worth the effort of completing each of the steps. Get in there, Guardians.

• How to get MIDA Multi-tool, Destiny 2’s most popular Exotic scout rifle
  If you’ve ventured into the Crucible at all you’ve no doubt been on the receiving end of MIDA Multi-tool, everyone’s favourite Exotic scout rifle. Perhaps it’s so ubiquitous because it’s a relatively easy get, and everyone’s most Powerful weapon right now? In any case, you should get one on your own and try it out – it makes you run faster, among other helpful bonuses. Finish the European Dead Zone World Quest to kick off this series of tasks.

• Rat King: how to solve the riddles and get this beautiful Exotic sidearm in Destiny 2
  It’s a tasty tool on its own, but if your pals have them too, the Rat King quickly elevates itself above the Rat Pack as one of the best weapons in Destiny 2. It’s definitely one of the most beautiful, too – assuming you like rats. Who doesn’t like rats? They’re very clean and intelligent. This is the third known Weapon Quest in Destiny 2 and a pretty challenging one at that. You’ll need brave and faithful friends, but you can count us among them with this step by step guide.

• How to get Legend of Acrius, the Exotic Shotgun from Destiny 2’s Raid quest
  This most challenging weapon quest we’ve found in Destiny 2 so far is the one leading to Legend of Acrius. it’s worth the effort (this is a beautiful weapon), but you’ve got a ways to go. First, RNGesus must bless you with a quest drop so you can poddle off after On the Comms. Next, you have to “await the World-Eater”, and complete the Leviathan Raid. And that’s only the start of your troubles: a Prestige level Nightfall is in your future. You’ll want a good fireteam to handle it. But don’t worry, we’ll help – and we believe in you.

• The best Exotic weapons in Destiny 2
  With so many great guns to choose from, where do you even start? Well, here’s something to kick you off – five of our favourite Exotic weapons, very much worth chasing. Some are available via World Quests and Weapon Quests, while you’ll have to rely on random drops for others. But whichever of these you manage to pick up, you’ve got the core of a very strong and interesting build in your hands. Go forth and conquer, cats; we’re proud of you.

• The best Legendary weapons in Destiny 2
  You can’t use an Exotic for everything, now can you? This collection of Legendary weapons make up a tasty little kill kit. If you get any of these in random drops while you’re on your levelling journey, pop them in your vault for Infusion later – just trust us, you’ll be glad you did. This list is PvE focused for now, but many of these boomsticks are good news in the Crucible, too. (If you’re after a PvP go-to, keep your eyes open for Origin Story. Mmmm! Delicious.)

• Destiny 2 Exotic armour mega list
  Although you’ll find more detailed Exotic armour guide pages just below, this top level overview shows off all the Exotic armour available across all three classes in Destiny 2 – well, the ones available freely at release, at any rate. You can use it as a collection checklist, if you like, or just to have a browse. Looking for a specific class’s Exotics? Just scroll ever so slightly downwards, there’s a clever little Guardian.

• Destiny 2 Exotic armour: Hunters
  Each class has access to a different set of Exotic armour pieces, and this collection of helmets, gauntlets, chest armour, leg armour and cloaks are all for our nimble, deadly Hunter friends. Embrace the dodge, master the snipe, become one with hipfire, dial up your DPS, maximise your speed, track your enemies, go sneaky, go loud, go high, go low … whatever you have in your insomniac little heart, there’s a Hunter Exotic waiting, just for you.

• Destiny 2 Exotic armour: Titans
  Be big. Be bold. Be brave. Be an Exotic clad Titan. The helmets, gauntlets, chest armour, leg armour and marks in this little catalogue of Exotic death work with the Titan’s strengths in interesting ways. Whether you’re aiming to increase your tankiness to unstoppable force levels, or boost your damage output to make your buddies green with envy. Whether you want to minimise your agility issues, or buff up your natural compatibility with heavy weapons. Oh yes. It’s all here. Enjoy.

• Destiny 2 Exotic armour: Warlocks
  The official VG247 stance on Warlocks is that they should be nerfed into sand, because they keep beating Brenna up in the Crucible – but bias aside the Warlock class has always been about channeling tricky build synergies in ways that come to life in the hands of skilled players. Exotics? They just make this easier. Choose from helmets, gauntlets, chest armour, leg armour and bonds as you put together something horribly OP that will make everyone else cry “Bungie plz” when ever patch fails to eradicate it.

Leviathan Raid

Leviathan is Destiny 2’s first raid, and for PvE or co-op players, it’s the ultimate challenge. Set aboard the world-eating flagship of the Cabal Emperor Calus, it challenges teams of six to overcome a series of trials to earn the right to face down Calus himself. As well as an explanation of just how to beat each section in both text and video form, we’ve got a list of all the secret chest locations so you can farm Exotic engrams.

• How to beat the Leviathan Raid
  Here we break down all the encounters in the Leviathan Raid step by step, explaining how you’ll want to arrange your team and what each Guardian should be doing – in both text and video form. Don’t worry, this won’t take the sting out of it. Knowing the plan is one thing, but executing it…? Ah! that’s another matter. Good communication and co-ordination are a must. Set aside a few hours.

• 5 tips to help you spank Destiny 2’s Leviathan Raid in less than an hour
  These advanced strategies are for skilled and well-equipped players with good communication and understanding of the Leviathan Raid mechanics. Does that sound like you? Fine! Here’s how you and your crew can wreck Calus, steamrolling him and his silly dogs and bathers in under an hour. One phase every encounter and be home by teatime. Nice.

• All Leviathan Raid secret Exotic chest locations
  Once you’ve beaten up Calus you might want to think about cashing in some of the keys you may have been lucky enough to find along the way. This page takes you through all nine secret exotic chests on the Leviathan, and we have both text descriptions and a video, so you can get your info the way you like it. Hope you score some sweet loot!

• How to get keys for the secret chests in Destiny 2’s Leviathan Raid – and open them solo
  Okay, okay, we hear you – listing the chest locations wasn’t enough. You’re confused and befuddled by this whole key business. You can’t get your poor Raid-weary buddies to stick around long enough to open the chests with you. Listen: this page will help. Where to get keys, when to use keys, whether it’s possible to get in there and beat up all the Watchers all on your lonesome… yeah that should help. That’s the stuff. Right?

Walkthroughs, secrets and specific topics

This section is where we’ll gather walkthroughs and guides that don’t fit elsewhere – things players have asked for, things we found tricky and wanted some help with, or just had lying around after the beta and didn’t want to let go of. We hope to update and expand this section with all sorts of detailed information, just as soon as we find anything in Destiny 2 we can’t solve using our good looks and charm alone. It won’t take long, unfortunately.

• All Scannable locations in Destiny 2’s European Dead Zone
  With text descriptions and screenshots and a video guide, so no matter how you prefer to get your directions, we’ve got you covered. We don’t yet know if there’s any tangible reward for spotting all of these – the game doesn’t even acknowledge when you’ve already scanned a particular location – but some of the lore you find is really interesting and may point to DLC and future stories. There are some halfway decent jokes, too! Hooray. Broken down by sector, as labelled on your in-game map, for easy reference.

• Red War Mission 01: Homecoming
  We don’t think you’ll need your hand held through every mission in destiny 2’s story campaign, but if this is your first time playing Destiny 2 then a little guidance may be appreciated. We produced this walkthrough for the beta, in which it appeared, and will scurry around to adapt it for the full game – we certainly don’t expect to have an Exotic weapon handed over in the first mission! Nor to be wandering around at max level immediately afterwards, come to think of it. We were spoiled, and now we must repent.

• The Inverted Spire (Strike)
  There are a handful of Strikes in Destiny 2 – lengthy missions designed for three-player co-op, with bosses and byzantine encounters along the way. Join the Strike playlist queue and muddle along if you dare, but this guide to The Inverted Spire, the Strike featured in the beta, is a good place to start if you want to know what might be expected of you by those rando blueberries you matchmake with. Knowing the mechanics ahead of time can be a big help, and learning to play through one Strike equips you to work out the others.

• How to get the Rat King Exotic in The Inverted Spire Nightfall
  This week we have a fantastic opportunity to finish a difficult Exotic quest and snag one of Destiny 2’s most longed-for weapons. Get in there and grab it once you’ve practiced the standard version of this Strike.

• This Destiny 2 Easter egg gives you super high jumps around the Farm
  The first cute little secret to be unearthed by Destiny 2 players involves completing a strange ritual on the Farm in order ot make yourself look super rad in front of all the newbs running around who don’t check the Internet often enough to know how to do it. This is living, isn’t it? You may choose to pass the knowledge on or just hoard it to your miserly self as you like; we took the high road.

• How to get your Kill-Tracker Ghost, Coldheart Exotic trace rifle, and other pre-order and bonus goodies in Destiny 2
  You should in no way fash yourself, dear heart; you are far from the only Guardian running around Destiny 2 asking where the hell the stuff you paid for is. Bungie hasn’t made it obvious how to get at the things you can have right away, and has barricaded the rest of it behind content gates. Don’t worry though, we know how to smash through and claim what’s rightfully yours … eventually.

• How to get a Sparrow in Destiny 2
  Sick of walking around? Yeah, Bungie’s boasts of making bigger environments sounded really good before you realise you weren’t going to get a Sparrow in the opening few missions. Sparrows are Destiny 2’s mount analogue – a personal vehicle for getting around the landscape before you die of starvation, and you’ll want one much sooner than Bungie intends to hand one over. Sadly, you’ll have to wait, like a muggins. Boo!

Destiny 2 on PC: system requirements and more

Destiny 2 doesn’t arrive on PC until October 24, but in the meantime, our patient Guardian friends have questions that need answering. We’ve included the PC controls for Destiny 2 in the image above, which is a good starting point, but everything else you need to know can be found below.

• Destiny 2 recommended system specs
  Bungie has not yet provided full and final system requirements for Destiny 2 on PC, but we have three good indicators to draw on. First, it gave minimum and recommended specifications for the beta – which looked and ran beautifully even at bottom spec, by the way. Second, we know what kind of equipment Bungie used to run Destiny 2 when it showed off spectacular 4K gameplay footage at the gameplay reveal event. Finally, Bungie gave some “guidance” on what sort of spec you might want to pursue if you plan to upgrade your rig. All of that info is here.

• Destiny 2 PC: overlays, comms and capture
  The Destiny 2 PC client won’t play nicely with various common tools of the trade, so if you’re planning on using third-party apps to chat with your pals, capture footage or measure performance, you should read this page in full. It’s all about preventing cheating, naturally, and not too onerous once you understand what Destiny 2 will and won’t support. The good news is Destiny 2 has some built-in features like an FPS counter to compensate.

• Destiny 2 PC settings menu
  Although Bungie has brought in Vicarious Visions to develop the PC version, you’d be forgiven for suspicions that we might get dodgy PC support. That’s been the industry standard for many years now, hasn’t it? Anyway, it looks like Bungie is making a real effort at the very least – just check out the settings menu, as seen in the beta. If the full game lives up to this level of customisation, we’re in for a treat.

• Sign up for Blizzard’s Battle.net to play Destiny 2 on PC
  Destiny 2 won’t be on Steam; you’ll need a Battle.net account to enjoy it on PC. This page explains all about that, and guides you to setting up a Battle.net account, downloading its desktop client, and resigning yourself to accepting Blizzard’s technology in your life. Really, it’s a good thing; Blizzard has established infrastructure Bungie can draw on, and hopefully that Diablo 3 disaster taught everyone a lesson.

That’s all for now, but we’ll be updating our Destiny 2 guide on the regs as new intel comes in or we receive your questions. Is there anything we’re missing? Anything you’d like to see sooner rather than later? Just let us know.

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