When Destiny 2 first launched, it was a retail game sold both digitally and on physical media. A lot’s changed since then, and the game’s pricing structure is one of those things. As of 2019, Destiny 2 has been free to play. However, a lot of the game’s content remains tied to paid expansions and season passes. Wondering what you can do for free and what you have to pay for? Let us explain.
Destiny 2 Free to Play Content
Destiny 2 includes a brief introductory campaign that is free for all new players. This begins immediately after you choose a character, and there are no restrictions on class choice — you can be a Warlock, Hunter, or Titan regardless of whether you pay for content or not. After the introductory campaign, you have access to the following types of content in the game:
- Playlist Activities — These include Vanguard Operations, Gambit, and Crucible
- Dares of Eternity — A six-person matchmade activity that launched with the Bungie 30th Anniversary Event
- Prophecy Dungeon — An older three-person activity that’s still one of the coolest in the game
- Vault of Glass Raid — The original Destiny Raid, added to Destiny 2
- King’s Fall Raid — One of the best Destiny Raids, added to Destiny 2 in 2022
- Patrols — Free-roaming exploration of the game’s large open areas
- Seasonal Events — Guardian Games, Solstice, and so on
Unfortunately, the introductory campaign for new players is quite brief and doesn’t get into many of Destiny 2‘s systems. If you’re just starting, you should complete it, then play Strikes and other content to get Powerful engrams in order to get your Power up. Eventually, you’ll be strong enough to take on the Prophecy Dungeon, though you’ll need to team up with two other players to do this.
Previously, some older Destiny 2 expansions were available for free-to-player players, but Bungie has since vaulted these expansions, so they’re no longer accessible to anyone.
What Can’t Free Players Do in Destiny 2?
Most of Destiny 2 is paid content. The following major activities are gated behind expansion or season purchases:
- Most Raids and Dungeons
- Seasonal story missions
- Most seasonal activities
- Many Exotic weapons and armor pieces
- Expansion campaigns
- Trials of Osiris
What Destiny 2 Content Should You Prioritize Buying?
If you’re getting into Destiny 2 and find you enjoy the game but are hitting the limits of what you can experience as a free player, your best bet is probably to purchase the newest expansion and/or season. As of this writing, the newest expansion is Witch Queen, which many feel is one of the strongest campaigns Bungie has ever released. Lightfall releases on February 28, 2023, so it may be worth waiting for that instead.
Seasons are released about once every twelve weeks, and are only available during the content year in which they are released. That means that the story content and activities associated with the current batch of seasons will be vaulted on the release of Lightfall. Seasons are $10 each and include a good amount of content in the form of a serialized story, various missions to take on, and an Exotic quest that awards you with a powerful, unique weapon.
Destiny 2 can be a confusing game to get into, especially for new players trying to navigate the game’s free versus paid content. If you have any questions we haven’t answered here, let us know in the comments.
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