Destiny 2 Guide: 4 Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting

Destiny 2 introduces substantial gameplay evolution that significantly alters how Guardians approach progression and combat. With completely redesigned gear systems, revamped subclass acquisition, and refined public event mechanics, understanding these core changes is crucial for both veteran players and newcomers alike.

Returning Destiny veterans will notice immediate quality-of-life improvements that streamline the grinding process, while new players benefit from more intuitive systems that reduce early-game confusion. The most impactful changes affect how you obtain powerful gear, unlock advanced abilities, and navigate the game world efficiently.

For comprehensive Destiny 2 coverage across all platforms, explore our detailed resource hub featuring vendor locations, complete review analysis, and platform-specific optimization guides.

Once you launch Destiny 2, the initial progression rush focuses on rapidly increasing your Power level to confront the Red Legion threat. Bungie has implemented numerous refinements that make character advancement significantly smoother and less tedious than the original Destiny experience. However, some subtle mechanical adjustments remain poorly explained, creating potential optimization pitfalls for uninformed players.

The most revolutionary change eliminates random perk rolls and the cumbersome weapon/armor leveling process that previously required extensive “break-in” periods before taking gear into endgame activities. The cornerstone improvement involves Destiny 2’s internal Power calculation algorithm, which now scans your entire inventory—including vault storage—to determine appropriate drop levels, rather than relying solely on currently equipped items as in Destiny 1.

This intelligent loot distribution system means you can freely use your preferred gear combinations without sacrificing progression efficiency. The game automatically recognizes your maximum achievable Power level regardless of what you have equipped, ensuring that decrypted engrams, loot chest rewards, and boss drops consistently reflect your true advancement potential.

Following the initial Light deprivation narrative, Guardians must progressively demonstrate their worth to reclaim their supernatural abilities. While you begin with recognizable Voidwalker, Striker, and Gunslinger subclasses from Destiny 1, the campaign quickly transitions you to the new Arc Strider, Dawnblade, and Sentinel archetypes. The game provides minimal guidance about subsequent subclass progression, which can create uncertainty for players familiar with the original game’s more straightforward unlock systems.

The process for acquiring your additional subclasses in Destiny 2 involves substantially different mechanics requiring dedicated effort beyond simple level progression. Class artifacts randomly drop from various sources including loot chests, high-value target eliminations, and Lost Sector cache completions.

These mystical items enable mastery of alternative subclass specializations. To activate their potential, you must accumulate charge by defeating enemies and successfully completing public events throughout the game world. Once fully energized, the artifact directs you to return to the Shard of the Traveler for the formal subclass initiation ritual.

Currently, two additional subclasses exist beyond your starting specialization, with the final unlocks representing the returning Stormcaller, Sunbreaker, and Nightstalker archetypes originally introduced in The Taken King expansion. While these artifacts appear randomly, their drop rates remain reasonably generous, ensuring most players will obtain them through normal gameplay within a predictable timeframe.

Heroic Public Events represent Destiny 2’s enhanced version of standard public activities, offering substantially improved rewards including powerful gear, exotic chances, and substantial experience gains. Many players unknowingly complete these events in their standard form, missing the superior heroic variants that trigger through specific activation conditions.

Each public event type features unique heroic trigger mechanics that typically involve destroying specific objects, interrupting enemy rituals, or completing secondary objectives within time constraints. Successfully triggering heroic versions requires coordinated team play or advanced solo strategies that maximize efficiency while managing escalating enemy threats.

Mastering these activation methods dramatically accelerates your Power progression and resource acquisition. The most efficient approach involves researching each event’s heroic requirements beforehand and communicating with random players to ensure proper execution.

Unlike Destiny 1’s early Sparrow availability, Destiny 2 delays vehicle access until specific campaign progression milestones. This design change significantly impacts early-game mobility and efficiency, particularly when navigating large exploration zones or responding to timed public events.

Primary Sparrow acquisition occurs upon completing the main campaign narrative, though alternative methods exist through Eververse purchases or random drops from specific activities.

Optimizing Sparrow usage involves understanding boost mechanics, dismount strategies for combat situations, and customization options that enhance speed, durability, and special abilities.

No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Destiny 2 Guide: 4 Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting Essential Destiny 2 beginner strategies for gear optimization, subclass unlocks, and efficient progression systems