Since initially releasing in the fall of 2017, the folks at Bungie have provided a lot of Destiny 2 content. The game is now in its 20th season and has released several major expansions so far, along with a couple of DLCs.
That’s a lot of content to keep track of, especially with the team changing which content is currently available. And with each year bringing new expansions, along with multiple seasons of content, there’s a lot to follow.
For those looking to trace back the short but deep history of Destiny 2′s paid expansion, we’ve put them in chronological order for you.
All Destiny 2 expansions in release order
The Red War (September 2017)
Destiny 2 launched to much fanfare in September 2017. While it wasn’t an official expansion title, many came to calling the opening campaign The Red War, and the name stuck years later.
The Cabal, fleeing their destroyed homeworld, have hunted the Traveler to Sol and Earth. Now, they look to recapture the Traveler and force it to imbue newly-crowned Emperor Ghaul with the Light. After the caging of the Traveler and the loss of your Light, you work with the remnants of the Last City resistance to defeat Ghaul. In doing so, the Traveler awakens, sending out a shockwave to the far reaches of the galaxy…
Curse of Osiris (December 2017)
The first paid, major expansion for Destiny 2 was Curse of Osiris. This expansion was released in December 2017 and introduced the destination of planet Mercury, where the Guardian would have to rescue Osiris from the Vex “in order to avert a dark future.” The story missions pit the Guardian against a series of challenging Vex enemies and eventually the final boss in Panoptes, Infinite Mind.
Curse of Osiris also introduced two new strikes that took place in Mercury: A Garden World and A Tree of Probabilities, both in the procedurally generated Infinite Forest. The expansions also introduced the first of a new raid activity on The Leviathan called Raid Lairs, with Eater of Worlds.
Warmind (May 2018)
Warmind is Destiny 2′s second major expansion after Curse of Osiris and the last one of Year One. Warmind added Mars to Destiny 2, via a region called Hellas Basin. On this destination, Guardians had to contend with an awakened Hive army and their worm god Xol, as well as the Warmind Rasputin.
Warmind saw the introduction of a new mode that took place on Mars, Escalation Protocol, a wave-based public event that is reminiscent of horde modes from other games. Warmind also introduced the second and final Raid Lair, Spire of Stars. Additionally, the Valor and Glory ranking systems for PvP players were introduced.
Forsaken (September 2018)
Forsaken, the third major expansion and what would be the first of larger yearly expansions for the game going forward, kicked off Year Two. Forsaken introduced two new destinations in The Reef: The Dreaming City and Tangled Shore. Forsaken’s lengthy campaign takes place across new locations and introduces a new enemy in the Scorn; a corrupted, undead version of the Fallen. Guardians are tasked with hunting down the eight Scorn Barons, and these missions can be done in any order.
Forsaken was seen as the biggest change to Destiny 2 since the game came out. They added a new weapon type in the bow, a different super to each Guardian subclass (nine total), four strikes, a new raid in Last Wish, the PvPvE mode Gambit, a new Crucible mode called Breakthrough, and the first dungeon (shorter but still challenging raid for three players) in The Shattered Throne. Forsaken also saw the introduction of official seasonal content, which would forever change how Bungie released new Destiny 2 content.
Shadowkeep (October 2019)
Shadowkeep is Destiny 2′s fourth expansion, their second massive yearly expansion, and Bungie’s first after publicly splitting with Activision Blizzard. Shadowkeep reintroduces the Moon as a new destination, bringing back the iconic location from the first game. The story of Shadowkeep sees the Darkness resurrect numerous foes from the past, known as Nightmares, and forces the Guardians to work with Eris Morn to venture deep under the Moon’s surface to face this new evil.
Shadowkeep introduced two new strikes in The Festering Core and The Scarlet Keep, as well as a new raid in Garden of Salvation, and a new dungeon in Pit of Heresy. Players could also complete a new PvE activity in Nightmare Hunts after completing the Shadowkeep main story. Shadowkeep saw the introduction of the Armor 2.0 system, which drastically changed how armor rolled out and could be modified.
Beyond Light (November 2020)
Beyond Light was Destiny 2′s fifth expansion. This DLC introduced the new destination of Europa, the icy moon of the planet Jupiter. Guardians first rescue a former foe in Variks, the Loyal from Eramis, the Kell of Darkness. Eramis uses the power of the Darkness manifested in a new power subclass called Stasis, and the Guardian must take on the Darkness themselves to stop her.
Described by Bungie themselves as the beginning of a “new era” of Destiny 2, Beyond Light saw the introduction of the free-to-play version of the game New Light. Additionally, Beyond Light also saw Bungie vault a huge portion of Destiny 2′s content in an effort to reduce the game’s size. Titan, Io, Mars, Mercury, and the Leviathan areas were all vaulted, as well as the content and missions directly associated with these destinations.
As for Beyond Light itself, the expansion introduced two new strikes in The Disgraced and The Glassway, as well as a new raid in Deep Stone Crypt. Guardians could now modify their Ghost shells in the same manner as they could with their armor, as part of the Armor 2.0 update. The original Gambit was removed, with Gambit Prime being renamed to just Gambit. Lastly, the Cosmodrome from the original Destiny was reintroduced as a destination.
Bungie 30th Anniversary event (December 2021)
Released in December 2021, Bungie’s 30th Anniversary event was a paid DLC that also added some content for free players, such as the Dares of Eternity six-player activity. It also added several new weapons inspired by previous Bungie titles, the Grasp of Avarice Dungeon, and plenty of new cosmetics.
The Witch Queen (February 2022)
The Witch Queen arrived in early 2022 and was an immediate hit among the player base. Savathûn, the Hive god of Cunning, has stolen the Light to create Hive Guardians and it’s up to Guardians to investigate how. With a new destination, Savathûn’s Throne World, a new raid, two new Strikes, and Destiny 2’s best campaign yet with a new Legendary difficulty, The Witch Queen is a true game-changer.
The 2022 expansion also added a rework of all Void subclasses to function the same way as Stasis, offering Fragments and Aspects to help customize the player experience. Throughout the year, Bungie added a rework for all existing subclasses, deepening the player experience like never before.
Lightfall (February 2023)
Lightfall was released at the end of February 2023, upping the stakes in every way possible by having the Destiny story’s big bad finally arrive. The Witness, who appeared as the main driving force behind all adversaries in the previous expansion, continues to threaten humanity in a chase for an important artifact called The Veil.
Lightfall featured a new campaign set on a neon-soaked Neptune metropolis called Neomuna and also introduced the second Darkness power, Strand, which ended up being the focal point and highlight of the whole expansion.
The expansion also featured a new raid, Root of Nightmares, along with a slew of new quality-of-life changes, like an update to build crafting, an all-new loadout system, a commendations system, and Guardian Ranks.
Into The Light (April 2024)
Into The Light was a free mini-expansion released in the lead-up to the delayed The Final Shape and came jam-packed with fun content to prepare players for their confrontation with The Witness.
From the reprisal of the long-lost fan-favorite weapons via the BRAVE Arsenal to the Onslaught horde mode activity and the endgame Pantheon raid boss gauntlet, there was plenty for players to do ahead of The Final Shape.
The Final Shape (June 2024)
The Final Shape expansion, after numerous delays, finally arrived in June 2024. Guardians followed The Witness into the Traveler itself, discovering the Pale Heart—an amazing new destination featuring architecture ranging from the Lost City to the Tree of Silver Wings and other important locations from memory, all leading to the Monolith and The Witness at the center.
Guardians truly ascended with a new subclass, Prismatic, which allowed players to combine elements of Light and Dark into something new. Each class also received a new Light super and an Exotic class item with perks that combined two other Exotic armor perks from other classes together.
Multiple new Exotic weapons and armor also came alongside the Salvation’s Edge raid and a final confrontation with The Witness in the Excision mission. All in all, this was arguably the largest expansion released in Destiny 2 and was critically acclaimed as a perfect finale to the Light and Darkness saga.
Episodes (June 2024)
Following The Final Shape, Bungie switched to a new episodical format with three main releases a year. The first, Echoes, came a week after The Final Shape‘s launch. The story follows on from the outcome of the battle against The Witness, with the guardian deployed to Nessus to assist the A.I. Failsafe.
A new timed dungeon as well as a matchmade activity followed, as well as a new set of weapons and armor. More is to be uncovered as the episode goes on. Echoes is the first episode following The Final Shape, with Revenant (Fallen) and Heresy (Hive) to come later in 2024/early in 2025.
Codename: Frontiers (TBA 2025)
The next expansion planned for Destiny 2, titled Codename: Frontiers, is set to arrive following the conclusion of Episode: Heresy in 2025. Little is known as this stage about Codename: Frontiers, with a very limited reveal trailer shown by Bungie in June 2024.
Some have speculated the guardian will leave the Sol system and visit worlds elsewhere in the galaxy, like the Cabal homeworld Torobatl, the Eliksni planet Riis, or the remains of Fundament where the Hive first rose to prominence.
Published: Jun 14, 2024 11:28 pm