Destiny 2 Activities Overview (2024)

Whether you're a New Light or a seasoned veteran, Destiny 2 has an abundance of activities for everyone to participate in. Some hardcore, others are more casual, but everything has a reward for you to earn. If you ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of available content, this article should shine some light on what you might like to participate in. Destiny 2 is all about the grind for more powerful weapons and gear, and playing exactly what you enjoy makes the grind a little less daunting.

Vanguard

Zavala, Ikora and Crow: The Vanguard are a select set of Guardians that coordinate the Last City's defenses and mentor newly risen Guardians. Zavala serves as the Vanguard Commander and is your main vendor when it comes to its operations. Through him, you earn reputation and rewards simply by completing these linear activities.

Vanguard Ops

Made for three Guardians, this playlist is a blend of Strikes and past seasonal activities from Destiny 2. Strikes provide a good middle ground between campaign missions and dungeons or raids, mostly serving as a way to introduce newer Guardians to the game. This content is fairly casual and doesn't need much build optimization to complete. Most of these linear activities are just as Bungie originally created them, but some have been reworked to add more difficulty and longevity to the playlist. Guardians entering this set of activities do not benefit from higher power levels.

Nightfall

Nightfalls are pulled from the same pool of Vanguard Ops. However, there are only a select few in each Episode and the difficulties are turned up a notch. This playlist offers players more of a challenge needing some loadout optimizing, but there is an increased opportunity for rewards. There are three levels of difficulty, each adding more negative modifiers than the last. The Advanced difficulty option offers in game matchmaking, but for Expert and Master, you do need to find a fireteam before launching if you want help. Each week there is a showcased weapon that is the main reward and is doubled during certain weeks if you want to enhance your loot gains. Certain enemies become Champions, needing specific weapons or subclass mechanics to stun.

If normal Nightfalls weren't difficult enough for you, consider giving the Grandmaster playlist a shot. This is the most difficult level of the Vanguard Ops and tests both your loadouts and your fireteam's patience. The rewards from here are great, and the showcase weapon becomes an Adept version of itself which is guaranteed on a Platinum completion. To guarantee the adept reward, Guardians must kill every Champion that is present in the Nightfall. Adept weapons have increased stats and are able to have Adept mods slotted in them. Most of these mods are also a reward for the successful completion of Grandmaster Nightfalls.

Onslaught

With Into the Light came a new three player horde mode activity that the community had been begging for. Along with this activity, Guardians were reintroduced to some classic weapons rebranded as the BRAVE Arsenal. In Onslaught, players need to defend a point on the map with an ADU. Every fifth wave has a break in the action to collect and deposit a Spark and every tenth wave has a boss to overcome. Each boss wave rewards a chest with a BRAVE weapon and some other materials, but the last boss awards two. If players elect to do the Expert difficulty, this is increased to two chests per boss with the last granting a total of three, but there is no matchmaking. Finally, you can choose to do the full 50 wave version or a shorter 10 wave version on normal difficulty, both having automatic matchmaking.

Crucible

When Guardians want to test their mettle against one another, they enter the Crucible. These player versus player game modes pit players against one another with one simple task: Win! Lord Shaxx is the Crucible Quartermaster, offering a reward track and reputation similar to the other playlist vendors. With a myriad of different playlists, Guardians are sure to find at least one that quenches their thirst for blood.

Quickplay

This is the unranked version of Crucible. If you need a time sink, want to blow off some steam, or test out that new weapon you just got, the quickplay playlists are your activity. These playlists have a loose skill based matchmaking system, so you should match up against players similar to your skill level. Starting off with 6v6, this playlist is split between Control and Clash. Control is an objective mode where players need to secure three points on the map as well as get kills to increase the team's score. Clash is the more classic team deathmatch where the team is only focused on getting kills. For the lone wolves, there is a free-for-all game mode called Rumble. 6 players set against each other with the goal to reach the top spot before their others do.

3v3 is split between a few different modes, but the most notable are Survival and Elimination.

• Survival - Exactly as it's titled. Deplete the enemy team's lives before they have the chance to do the same to yours.
• Elimination - Each player only has one life. If you manage to kill the entire enemy team, a round is secured. However, Guardians are able to resurrect each other after a few seconds. This timer increases if you need to be brought back multiple times.

Competitive

The competitive division is the ranked side of things. Here, you need to play at your best and work with your team to topple your opponents efficiently. Players new to the activity go through a placement series of seven games to gauge where they stack up against other players. There are a total of eight ranks ranging from those that are untested, to Guardians that ascend above all others. Once a player has reached the top of the division, they are placed in a promotion series. Winning two out of three games grants you to the next rank.

You want to make sure that you are putting in the effort to keep up with your rank. Players that neglect this on a week to week basis have their rank decay, with a potential to see you drop to a lower rank. The rewards here are fairly decent, being weekly focusing of competitive only weapons, transmat effects, and even a special emblem for those that reach the highest rank, Ascendant.

Rotating Playlists & Crucible Labs

To keep things interesting, Destiny 2 has certain PvP activities that rotate on a week-to-week basis in their own respective playlists. These game modes add a little flavor to the normal Crucible experience by modifying weapon damage output in Momentum Control, heavily increasing Super ability regeneration in Mayhem, and even taking normal weapons completely out of the mix like Team Scorched. If you need a break from the day to day Crucible experience, these more casual modes should keep your attention.

Iron Banner

To commemorate the Iron Lords, there is a Crucible event called Iron Banner head up by Lord Saladin. This ancient tradition is now a two week long event, one week being the Control game mode and the other week revolving around more thematic modes like Eruption, Fortress, and Tribute. Iron Banner has unique rewards including armor sets, weapons, emblems, and shaders. The week you choose to play does not affect your rewards and all of them can be earned through Saladin or by simply playing the activity.

Trials of Osiris

Trials are the ultimate endgame PvP activity in Destiny 2. Overseen by Saint-14, this game 3v3 mode pits teams against each other in a game of Dominion, adding a point to secure to the standard game of Elimination. Guardians need to optimize their loadouts and work with their team to secure wins. The rewards for this PvP playlist include emblems, shaders, ghost shells, ships, sparrows, upgrade materials, armor, and weapons exclusive to Trials of Osiris. First, you need to purchase a Passage from Saint, each having their own attributes like granting mercy on a loss and extra rewards. To reach the Lighthouse and earn the most rewards, players need to complete the passage without losing a game.

Gambit

Gambit offers an experience unique from other Destiny 2 activities with a player verses player verses environment game mode overseen by The Drifter. Two teams of four face off in a race to fill a bank with Motes of Light dropped from fallen enemy combatants. During each match, players from the opposing team can invade your area in an attempt to slow you down from filling your bank first. Depositing Motes in increments of 5, 10, and 15 sends a Blocker over to the enemy team, preventing them from depositing and even draining their Motes when multiple Blockers are present.

Once a team's bank is full, a Primeval spawns and needs to be killed before the opposing team can do the same. If you happen to be invaded during the boss phase, being killed by the invader heals the Primeval so you need to take care of them as soon as possible.

Exotic Weapon Missions

Destiny 2 wouldn't be the same game without its Exotic weapons. These once secret missions take players to special areas to unlock some of the most coveted of these weapons. Let's take a look at these quests and learn a little more about the available rewards.

The Whisper

This reprised Exotic mission takes Guardians back to Io to investigate a Taken anomaly within Vex machinery in the depths of Jupiter's moon. Players face off against Taken enemies while traversing through these Vex structures to face off against a new boss: Tulgorh, Aspect of Agony. Upon completion, you are rewarded with the Whisper of the Worm Exotic Sniper rifle. You have 40 minutes to finish, 20 minutes on Legend difficulty, and are rewarded with Exotic traits for the sniper rifle and the Karve of the Worm ship for completing special objectives during the activity. The Whisper is launched from the Legends node on the Director and is free for all players.

Zero Hour

Players return to the Last City to meet with Mithrax in an attempt to stop the Fallen from stealing SIVA within the vaults below The Old Tower. Face off against the Fallen Captain Siriks and a Brig to be rewarded with The Exotic pulse rifle Outbreak Perfected. Players also have the opportunity to earn Exotic traits for it and the Exotic ship Vimana Junker for completing special tasks during the mission. You have 40 minutes to finish on normal difficulty and 20 minutes on Legend. Zero Hour is launched from the Legends node on the Director and is free for all players.

Rotators

In an effort to prevent players from experiencing the fear of missing out, Destiny 2 has a rotating playlist of Exotic weapon activities. Each week showcases a previous Exotic weapon along side some old seasonal weapons, all being craftable after earning the respective number of patterns needed. These missions are all located in the Legends node of the Director.

Raids

One of the end game activities of Destiny 2, raids serve as a way to test fireteams, their loadouts, and communication. Designed for 6 players, these activities are split up into various encounters of mechanically involved puzzles and boss fights with traversals in between. All raids have unique weapons, origin perks, and armor sets to earn upon completion. Most have a Master difficulty that awards adept versions of the weapons, high stat armor, and rarer upgrade materials. Each week, one of the previous raids is highlighted in a rotation and this activity's loot can be farmed as much as players want. The most recently released raid however can only be completed once per week, per character for loot on Normal and Master difficulty with a max of three chances at its Exotic weapon.

Last Wish

The last living Ahamkara has been Taken and Guardians are tasked by Mara Sov and Petra Venj to reach the heart of the Dreaming City and kill the corrupted wish dragon. Last Wish has a total of 6 encounters, 4 of which are boss fights and does not have a Master difficulty. Weapons from this raid are craftable. Ownership of the Forsaken DLC Pack is required to launch Last Wish.

Last Wish Rewards

• One Thousand Voices
• The Supremacy
• Techeun Force
• Apex Predator
• Nation of Beasts
• Chattering Bone
• Transfiguration
• Age-Old Bond
• Tyranny of Heaven
• The Great Hunt armor sets

Garden of Salvation is located in The Black Garden, pitting Guardians against Vex from the Sol Divisive to collect a Darkness artifact. This raid has a total of 4 encounters with 2 boss fights and does not have a Master difficulty. Weapons from this raid are not craftable. Ownership of the Shadowkeep DLC is required to launch Garden of Salvation.

Garden of Salvation Rewards

• Divinity (Quest reward)
• Zealot's Reward
• Prophet of Doom
• Ancient Gospel
• Omniscient Eye
• Accrued Redemption
• Reckless Oracle
• Sacred Provenance
• Kentarch 3 armor set

Deep Stone Crypt has us facing a VERY familiar face, Taniks, in his hopefully final form. Guardians work to save Europa from the Fallen aboard the Morning Star, an orbital platform conceived by Clovis Bray. This raid has a total of 4 encounters with 2 boss fights. There is no Master difficulty and the weapons are not craftable. Ownership of the Beyond Light DLC is required to launch Deep Stone Crypt.

Deep Stone Crypt Rewards

• Eyes of Tomorrow
• Trustee
• Succession
• Heritage
• Posterity
• Bequest
• Commemoration
• Legacy's Oath armor sets

See Also

FFXIV Endwalker Manderville relic weapon guide, quest, and steps

Vault of Glass is the first of the reprised raid activities in Destiny 2. Guardians must stop the Vex from spreading through all of time by destroying the source of their operation, Atheon, Time's Conflux. This raid has a total of 5 encounters with 2 boss fights and does have a Master difficulty. Upon a Master challenge completion, players are awarded Timelost versions of the available weapons. None of the weapons from Vault of Glass are craftable, but the raid is free to all players.

Vault of Glass Rewards

• Vex Mythoclast
• Vision of Confluence
• Found Verdict
• Corrective Measure
• Praedyth's Revenge
• Fatebringer
• Hezen Vengeance
• Kabr/Prime Zealot/Hezen Lords armor sets

Vow of the Disciple tasks Guardians to venture into the Pyramid ship of the Witness's first Disciple, to confront and destroy Rhulk. This raid has 4 total encounters, 2 of which are boss fights. This raid does have a Master difficulty that awards adept weapons and all of their normal counterparts are craftable. Ownership of the Witch Queen DLC is required to launch Vow of the Disciple.

Vow of the Disciple Rewards

• Collective Obligation
• Submission
• Cataclysmic
• Insidious
• Forbearance
• Deliverance
• Lubrae's Ruin
• Resonant Fury armor sets

Guardians forced Oryx to retreat into the Ascendant Realm, but now must defeat the God-King of the Hive aboard the Dreadnaught in Saturn's orbit. King's Fall features 5 total raid encounters with 4 boss fights. This raid does have a Master difficulty that awards players with Harrowed versions of the available weapons. All of the normal versions of the weapons are craftable and King's Fall is free to play for all players.

King's Fall Rewards

• Touch of Malice
• Doom of Chelchis
• Defiance of Yasmin
• Midha's Reckoning
• Qullim's Terminus
• Smite of Merain
• Zaouli's Bane
• Darkhollow/War Numen's/Wormlore armor sets

After the Traveler's attack on the Witness, Guardians must board its terraformed Pyramid ship and stop the ancient enemy within: Nezarec, Final God of Pain. There are a total of 4 encounters with 2 boss fights. Root of Nightmares has a Master difficulty that awards players with Adept versions of the available weapons, the normal versions all being craftable. Ownership of the Lightfall DLC is required to launch the Root of Nightmares raid.

Root of Nightmares Rewards

• Conditional Finality
• Rufus's Fury
• Mykel's Reverence
• Nessa's Oblation
• Acasia's Dejection
• Koraxis's Distress
• Briar's Contempt
• Trepidation/Detestation/Agony armor sets

Crota's End tasks Guardians to avenge the losses of the Great Disaster and take the fight to the Son of Oryx, deep within the Hellmouth. There are a total of 4 encounters, 2 of which are boss fights. Crota's End has a Master difficulty that awards players with Adept versions of the available weapons. All normal versions of the weapons are craftable and Crota's End is free to all players.

Crota's End

• Necrochasm (Quest)
• Fang of Ir Yût
• Swordbreaker
• Word of Crota
• Abyss Defiant
• Oversoul Edict
• Song of Ir Yût
• God-Knight/Willbreaker's/Deathsinger armor sets

Salvation's Edge has us finally face off against the Witness. Guardians must enter the Pale Heart, ascend the Witness's monolith and confront them. This raid has a total of 5 encounters, 2 of them being boss fights. All of the weapons are craftable and the Master difficulty drops Adept versions of them. Ownership of The Final Shape DLC is required to launch Salvation's Edge.

Salvation's Edge Rewards

• Euphony
• Nullify
• Non-Denouement
• Imminence
• Summum Bonum
• Critical Anomaly
• Forthcoming Deviance
• Promised armor sets

Dungeons

Dungeons are another of the endgame activities in Destiny 2 and serve as a middle ground between Vanguard Ops and raids. Just like raids, they are broken up into encounters featuring puzzles and boss fights with unique rewards, but are instead designed for 3 players. Each week, one of the previous dungeons is highlighted in a rotation and this activity's loot can be farmed as much as players want. The most recently released dungeon however can only be completed once per week, per character for loot on Normal and Master difficulty with a max of three chances at its Exotic weapon. Unlike raids though, most of their weapons are not able to be crafted.

Ghosts of the Deep

Shattered Throne was the first dungeon introduced to Guardians and it has been a welcomed addition ever since. Players find themselves in the Ascendant Realm to uncover the source of the Dreaming City's Taken corruption. There are 2 bosses spread between 3 encounters and there is no Master difficulty. Ownership of the Forsaken DLC Pack is required to launch Shattered Throne.

Shattered Throne Rewards

• Wish-Ender (Quest)
• Tigerspite
• Vouchsafe
• Sleepless
• Twilight Oath
• Waking Vigil
• Retold Tale
• Abide the Return
• Reverie Dawn armor sets

Pit of Heresy pits Guardians against the Hive and their champion: Zulmak, Instrument of Torment. There are a total of 5 sections in this dungeon, but only one boss to challenge. There is no Master difficulty available. Ownership of the Shadowkeep DLC is required to launch Pit of Heresy.

Pit of Heresy Rewards

• Xenophage (Quest)
• Apostate (Hymn of Desecration reward)
• Blasphemer (Hymn of Desecration reward)
• Heretic (Hymn of Desecration reward)
• A Fine Memorial
• Arc Logic
• Dream Breaker
• Every Waking Moment
• Loud Lullaby
• Love and Death
• Night Terror
• One Small Step
• Premonition
• Tranquility
• Dreambane armor sets

Enter the Unknown Space, domain of the Nine, and fight through waves of simulated Taken enemies to reach their commander: Kell Echo. There are a total of 6 sections in the dungeon with 2 bosses throughout. There is no Master difficulty and Prophecy is free to all players.

Prophecy Rewards

• Judgment
• Darkest Before
• A Sudden Death
• Prosecutor
• Adjudicator
• Relentless
• CODA and Moonfang-X7 armor sets

Grasp of Avarice has Guardians discover the secrets of the infamous "loot cave" of the Cosmodrome and uncover the story of a group of greedy Guardians. The dungeon has 2 bosses spread across 5 sections and a Master difficulty that awards players with valuable artifice armor. Ownership of the 30th Anniversary DLC Pack is required to launch Grasp of Avarice.

Grasp of Avarice Rewards

• Gjallarhorn (Quest)
• 1000 Yard Stare
• Eyasluna
• Hero of Ages
• Matador 64
• Echo armor sets

Duality is located on the Derelict Leviathan orbiting the Moon and sends Guardians into Calus' corrupted mind to uncover his secrets. This is the only dungeon that offers a pair of craftable weapons, being Fixed Odds and The Epicurean. Duality spans over 6 sections with 2 total boss fights. There is a Master difficulty that awards players with artifice armor for a small bump in stats. Ownership of the Witch Queen Dungeon Key is required to launch Duality.

Duality Rewards

• Heartshadow
• Fixed Odds
• The Epicurean
• Lingering Dread
• New Purpose
• Stormchaser
• Unforgiven
• Deep Explorer armor sets

The Sol Divisive Vex have invaded the Ares Spire in an attempt to sabotage the Vanguard's rebuilding of the Warmind and Guardians must put a stop to it with the aid of Osiris. There are a total of 6 sections with 2 bosses and a Master difficulty for players to unlock artifice armor. Ownership of the Witch Queen Dungeon Key is required to launch Spire of the Watcher.

Spire of the Watcher Rewards

• Hierarchy of Needs
• Long Arm
• Liminal Vigil
• Terminus Horizon
• Wilderflight
• Seventh Seraph Carbine
• Seventh Seraph Officer Revolver
• TM Custom armor sets

Beneath the Arcology in the ocean of Titan, the Lucent Hive are attempting to resurrect the fallen Taken King and Guardians must stop this at all costs. Ghosts of the Deep spans 2 bosses over 4 sections and has a Master difficulty for players to earn artifice armor. Ownership of the Lightfall Dungeon Key is required to launch Ghosts of the Deep.

Ghosts of the Deep Rewards

• The Navigator
• New Pacific Epitaph
• Greasy Luck
• No Survivors
• Cold Comfort
• Taken King Suit armor sets

Warlord's Ruin is a Dungeons and Dragons lover's dream activity. The Scorn have laid claim to a Dark Age castle in the mountains of the EDZ and Guardians are tasked with taking it back and banishing the Chimaera within. There are a total of 3 bosses over 6 sections in the dungeon and there is a Master difficulty for artifice armor. Ownership of the Lightfall Dungeon Key is required to launch Warlord's Ruin.

Warlord's Ruin Rewards

• Buried Bloodline
• Dragoncult Sickle
• Naeem's Lance
• Indebted Kindness
• Vengeful Whisper
• Dark Age armor sets

Dares of Eternity

Dares of Eternity is a 6 player, round based PVE activity organized by Xûr. Think of it like a game show, but with a lot more killing! Each round consists of mechanics that need to be completed to reach the next round. The final round finishes with a boss fight and a possible lightning round for extra rewards. In between rounds, Guardians must traverse small platforming sections. Doing so successfully grants the Starhorse's Favor buff, giving you increased defense and regenerating ammo for your power weapons. The Legend difficulty has a set rotation of encounters each week and increases your odds of a lightning round. There are 2 pools of rewards as far as weapons and armor go. One is a static, Dares exclusive pool and the other is a pool of old seasonal weapons and world drops.

Seasonal Activities

Seasonal activities are what keep Guardians busy after the campaigns are finished and give you a way to earn a variety of craftable weapons. Each seasonal vendor also gives the opportunity for focusing high stat rolled armor for those that are still in need. In Episode 1: Echoes, players have sought out the help of Failsafe to battle the Vex that has risen on Nessus. There are currently 2 seasonal activities: Breach Executable and Enigma Protocol, tasking Guardians to investigate Vex disturbances and disrupt their search for Golden Age data. There are unique armor sets and weapons with more to be released in the following Acts.

Patrol

Planetary patrol is the simplest of activities in Destiny 2. Players can do a myriad of things while touched down on planets. Complete public events, discover and clear lost sectors, find hidden chests, and help the locals with short patrol missions. This is as casual as it gets, but the rewards are still worth it if you just want to relax while getting your gains.

Summary

There are activities for everyone to enjoy in Destiny 2. Find what your favorites are and the grind becomes significantly more enjoyable in the long run.

• Work with Zavala and the Vanguard to complete strike operations and Nightfalls.
• Battle against other Guardians in the Crucible.
• Reap powerful rewards through completing Exotic weapons missions.
• Face off against legendary bosses for exclusive loot from raids and dungeons.
• Enjoy the game show activity, Dares of Eternity, with Xûr and his friend the Starhorse.
• Complete seasonal activities to grab a variety of craftable weapons and high stat armor.
• Relax while on patrol for an easy way to earn those always needed rewards.

Credits

Written by: SquirrelyDan

Reviewed by: Dredscythe