You’ve stepped onto a battlefield that is both similar and yet very different to the original. Destiny 2 is a sequel in the truest sense, essentially being what the first game should have been. For many of you, Guardians, this could very well be your first time playing a Destiny game, especially if you just joined in with the PC version that comes after the initial console release.
Having played dozens of hours of both titles, we can safely say that while knowing the first game will certainly get you going, Destiny 2 is an entirely different ball game. That goes double for those that are here for the very first time. You don’t have to worry, though, as we’ve got you covered with the five best tips to get you on your way to saving the solar system from Ghaul and his Red Legion.
Destiny 2 – Wait on the Crucible
This first tip will be a hard one to swallow for some players, but it’s necessary. You gain access to the Crucible and all of its Guardian-on-Guardian glory as soon as you unlock your first ship. This occurs as early as level two, meaning you can jump in right at level two after completing the tutorial missions.
For those that were the very best at Crucible and want to join fast, this is wonderful news, but we still recommend holding off. This is because you go in the Crucible and fight with whatever you brought with you. It isn’t like Halo where you can just pick up any ‘ole weapon you find on the ground and happy-trigger-finger away.
Also: Destiny 2 – All Exotic Weapons
Though there is balancing that makes everyone even in terms of stats and health, you are severely at a disadvantage right at the start. For one, you will most definitely be missing your melee skill, which can make a difference considering some of those skills increase your speed or regain your health upon using.
Beyond that, you haven’t really had a chance to explore your skill tree and find which skills work best for you. But even worse is that the starter weapons may not be your cup of tea, so to speak. You could be stuck using an Auto Rifle when you’d rather be using a Scout Rifle from afar and so on. Because of this, we recommend waiting until at least level five before jumping into the Crucible.
Destiny 2 – Keep Your Exotics
Exotic items are at the crux of Destiny 2. These are the unique, highly sought after weapons and armor that have an orange-yellow tinge in the menu. You will gain these occasionally at random on the battlefield or directly from the main campaign mission rewards, but it is imperative that you keep all of them, if possible.
Our first exotic was gained at level four, granting just over 100 power. As you’ll soon come to find out, that will only last up until level 10 at the highest. However, besides just how awesome exotic loot looks, their other secret is that they can basically be powered up so you can keep using them forever.
This is done by going to your character menu, pressing triangle or Y to go to details, selecting infuse under armor mods, and then sacrifice whatever more powerful armor or weapon you have to make it stronger. You can only sacrifice items of the same category, and it costs glimmer and/or legendary shards to complete.
Destiny 2 – Focus on the Campaign
This is a pretty straightforward tip. The campaign in Destiny 2 is surprisingly great, feeling like a true Bungie game in the style of the Halo series. It expands upon the lore introduced in the original, with no Grimoire Cards in sight.
That said, it can take anywhere from 20 to 25 hours to complete, but we recommend focusing on it alone rather than completing all of the side quests, too.
This is mainly due to the fact that the Adventures and other optional singleplayer content is extremely monotonous, in direct contrast to the interesting and surprising story. Focusing too much on the additional content alongside the campaign can burn you out fast.
Destiny 2 – Faction Engrams
Loot is everything in Destiny 2, making engrams a vital part of your adventure. These shiny gems are basically loot chests, for lack of a better word, that you can collect from downed enemies and quest rewards.
They are taken to Tyra in The Farm to unlock and gain access to the weapons, armor, shaders, and the like inside. Something new to this game, however, are faction engrams.
In most major planet areas and also in The Farm, you will encounter various NPC’s that have a reputation attached to them. Collecting specific tokens from their favored task like doing missions in the European Dead Zone or fighting in the Crucible will allow you to increase your reputation with them.
After reaching a certain milestone with them, you will unlock their specific faction engram that is endgame gear and requires level 20 to use. You can preview that person’s faction set by pressing triangle, so you can see which ones you like most and focus on those first.
Destiny 2 – Find the Right Sub-Class
Depending on your chosen class of Titan, Hunter, or Warlock, you will be given a predetermined sub-class from the start of the game. Your sub-class affects everything from your skill tree to your super ability.
If you don’t like your current sub-class, we recommend saving your upgrade points until you find a new one. Thankfully, you can switch to another one not even halfway through the game. This requires collecting the new sub-class item that will drop randomly.
The item will then require you to fight a certain amount of enemies to make it reach 100% completion. You can view the progress in the milestones tab on the Director. At 100%, you will unlock a special side quest in the European Dead Zone similar to when you unlock your first sub-class in the tutorial.
Upon completion of that, you can attune to the Shard of the Traveler again and unlock the new sub-class. Switching between the two is as easy as equipping new armor or weapons. Simply go to the character menu, select the preferred class, and press X or A to equip.
