Destiny 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. It’s a game I’ve always shied away from dragging my friends into because of how complicated and nuanced the new player experience has been. While Destiny 2 is still a beast of a game that takes time to figure out, the Destiny 2 onboarding experience for new players is better than ever and there are myriad activities that are all insanely fun and free.
Why is Destiny 2 Into the Light the best time to get into the game?
Destiny 2 has an update coming before The Final Shape that is called Into the Light. Destiny 2: Into the Light exists to get all Guardians — both new and old — ship-shape before taking on The Witness in The Final Shape expansion which is the end of the Light and Dark Saga, the story that’s been underway since the beginning, in Destiny 2.
Whether you’ve never played Destiny 2 before, have fallen off, or dip in and out periodically, Destiny 2 Into the Light has at least 10 reasons why it’s the best time to get into the game. Let me explain.
Destiny 2 Into the Light is free
The first reason why Destiny 2 Into the Light is great for new players is it’s all 100% free. While expansions like The Witch Queen, Lightfall, and The Final Shape cost money and seasonal content, including Raids and Dungeons, cost money, everything in the Into the Light update is free.
This means you can create a class, or all three, select your Light subclass, unlock every subclass and its abilities, play PvP, PvPvE, and PvE activities, and create an exceptional build. The only things that aren’t free in Destiny 2 Into the Light are the previous campaigns, Dungeons and Raids, and seasonal content and activities.
The New Light tutorial is skippable
Something new in Destiny 2 Into the Light is how the New Light tutorial is completely skippable. While useful to learn the game, I recommend skipping the New Light tutorial if you’re familiar with FPS games. You won’t miss out on anything and will be able to jump into the fun stuff much sooner.
I remember trying to get my friends to play Destiny 2 during a weekend when The Witch Queen was free to try. We spent the entire weekend getting my two friends through the New Light tutorial instead of diving into one of the best expansions in Destiny 2 history. I’m so glad the New Light tutorial is skippable; it’s a great change that’ll make getting into Destiny 2 much easier.
New Light Kits give you everything you need
Whether you skip the New Light tutorial or not, all new players will be given a New Light Kit. One of the fun experiences you get to do when getting into Destiny 2 is unlocking every subclass, its abilities, and its Aspects and Fragments. After selecting a Void, Arc, or Solar New Light Kit, you’ll be given a great set of starting gear that’s close to or at the soft cap and be on your way to unlocking the other two Light subclasses.
Alongside the subclass, the New Light Kit gives you campaign-ready armor and solid weapons. Legendary is the purple rarity and it’s the best right behind the yellow Exotic rarity, which you also get, which you can only equip one of for weapons and armor. Here is everything you get in the New Light Kits:
- Access to all of one subclass’s abilities, Aspects, and Fragments
- Two Legendary weapons
- One Exotic weapon
- Four Rare armor pieces and a Legendary class item
Swapping classes is easier than ever
Thanks to the skippable New Light tutorial and the New Light Kits, experimenting with each class is easier than ever. If you don’t like the class you picked, it will take mere minutes instead of hours to create a new character and start over. For example, if you selected Hunter at the beginning but aren’t enjoying it, you can easily restart with Warlock or Titan without much time lost because of the new New Light overhauls.
12 Brave weapons which are some of the GOATs
New Light updates aside, the 12 Brave Arsenal weapons available in Destiny 2 Into the Light are worth farming. Again, these weapons are free to get, you get to keep them forever, and they are returning weapons that are some of the best weapons that have ever been in Destiny 2.
A concern many players have when getting into Destiny 2 is that they weren’t around when the good weapons were available and therefore can’t compete as well in PvP and PvE activities. The 12 Brave Arsenal weapons change all of that. The good news is they are available for two months until The Final Shape releases on June 4, 2024, and they’ll be available after The Final Shape launches.
Free Onslaught wave-based defense activity
Did I mention Destiny 2 Into the Light is free? Well, it is. The main activity that everyone will be focusing on during Destiny 2 Into the Light is Onslaught because this is how you get the 12 Brave Arsenal weapons.
Onslaught is a wave-based defense activity where you and two other Guardians need to defend an ADU from waves of enemies. You’ll be able to buy defenses in this mode and get a chance to defeat bosses quickly. There are 50 waves and there’s a Legend difficulty that’ll really test your mettle.
Two Returning Exotic Missions
If all of this isn’t getting you excited to get into Destiny 2 during Into the Light, then the two returning Exotic Missions will. The Whisper and Zero Hour are two Exotic Missions that are returning to the game. These are beloved missions that have secrets, puzzles, and challenging bosses to take on. Completing them will get you an Exotic weapon, so it’s something you don’t want to miss.
Guardian Ranks help you learn the game
Guardian Ranks aren’t new with Destiny 2 Into the Light — it’s a newer feature that has been in the game for a few months — but it’s an extremely helpful feature for new players. They become a little antiquated at higher levels in my opinion, but Guardian Ranks one through seven do a great job of teaching you the game. You also need to ascend through them to unlock in-game Loadouts which I highly recommend doing (they’re a game changer).
Destiny 2 has an in-game Fireteam Finder
It’s been a long time coming and I wish it was in the game much, much earlier, but Destiny 2 finally has an in-game Fireteam Finder. You can enjoy many activities solo because there is matchmaking, but most of the harder and more fun content in Destiny 2 doesn’t have matchmaking.
This is where Fireteam Finder comes in. Either host your own search or look for Guardians doing what you’re doing. Either way, it’s easier than ever to find people to play with.
Reduced Strand Fragment cost
Last, and probably least but worth shouting out, is the requirement to acquire Strand Aspects and Fragments has been reduced from 200 Strand Meditations to 100 each. Strand is one of the Dark subclasses that you can only get by buying and completing the Lightfall campaign and it’s one of my favorite subclasses in the game.
If, after playing Destiny 2 Into the Light, you find that you love Destiny 2 and want to get more invested, then get Lightfall to get Strand. The currency you need to acquire all the Aspects and Fragments that make Strand fun is now slightly cheaper, so yay.
These are the 10 reasons why I think Into the Light is the best time to get into Destiny 2. You know the “why” but what about the “if”? If you ask me, I say you absolutely should get into Destiny 2. It has the best feeling gunplay in video games, has some of the most action-packed content, and, even when poorly managed, is one of the best live-service games to ever exist. See you in Onslaught, Guardian.
