All Destiny 2 DLC expansions: Vaulted content, Lightfall & upcoming The Final Shape
BungieDestiny 2 has a variety of DLC expansions that have been released since 2017. As it happens, it is a little confusing especially for new players since there are so many of them. Fear not as we have got you covered with a guide on every DLC so far in the game.
Destiny 2 DLCs are quite deep when it comes to content. Each DLC features a brand new story, new raids, and lots of activities to partake in. Additionally, the main story is connected across every DLC in conjunction with small stories around the world of this game.
Therefore, if you want to get an idea of what is going on, you need to play everything. Unfortunately, that would mean that Destiny would become a massive game that would be hard to manage physically. Hence, the developers introduced a system called sunsetting where some of the older DLCs were removed.
It is a difficult situation, but this following article will guide you to what you have missed so far and everything you can play and will be able to in the future.
Contents
Vaulted Destiny 2 DLC
Red War (September 2017)
BungieRed War was the campaign during Vanilla Destiny 2. This is not a DLC but since it is part of the main storyline, it is important we mention this as well. This story takes place on Earth where you fight against the Cabal General Dominus Ghaul.
He tries to take over the Traveler and thereby put an end to Guardians and humanity. The Speaker also ends up falling during the Red War campaign. In fact, the Guardians end up losing their Light abilities and Ghaul sends a powerful message to everyone.
Fortunately, we gain back our powers and eventually fight and defeat Ghaul. However, this campaign was not the end of Vanilla Destiny 2. After the campaign, the “Leviathan raid” was released where fought against a robotic version of Calus.
This was the first time we got in touch with the exiled Cabal emperor and thereby started a long-standing power struggle that would come to an end in Lightfall. Unfortunately, this was not the best of times for Destiny 2, since the game had a complete reboot, and a lot of things that made the previous iteration good were missing.
The campaign was good and the raid was decent. However, the meta was very stale and there was very little to do in the game. Double primary, slow super recharge, and no random rolls made the game a poor experience.
Curse of Osiris (December 2017)
Curse of Osiris was the first Destiny 2 DLC to be released but sadly isn’t remembered fondly. It’s also since been vaulted and can’t be accessed anymore.
Along with the typical additions such as new crucible maps and strikes, this expansion finally introduced players to the legendary Warlock, Osiris. The main storyline followed the Guardian’s mission of rescuing Osiris from the Vex on a newly introduced location, Mercury. Through a series of events and battles against the Vex, the final story mission takes place in an epic battle on Mercury against Panoptes, Infinite Mind.
In addition to the main storyline, Curse of Osiris introduced two new strikes, three new Crucible maps, and a new ‘Raid Lair’ activity on The Leviathan. It’s considered to be one of the weakest Destiny 2 expansions, though, as Mercury was a minuscule zone, and the campaign could be completed in only an hour or two.
Warmind (May 2018)
BungieWarmind was the second piece of Destiny 2 DLC and was a short but fairly sweet affair. Mars was the latest playable destination (a different part of it from the area we saw in the first game), and the story saw Guardians battle with a new Hive army while attempting to understand the AI Warmind — Rasputin.
One of the biggest additions that came was the introduction of a wave-based public event, Escalation Protocol. Warmind also introduced the second and final Raid Lair to Destiny 2, “Spire of Stars”, as well as a new crucible ranking system with Valor and Glory ranks.
There were also a fair number of puzzles to solve, with exotics including the returning Suros Regime auto rifle. Those weapons, and the changes to exotics that came alongside the expansion, have meant its legacy is still felt today.
Forsaken (September 2018)
Forsaken is the first “major” expansion for Destiny 2, and while it is another piece of vaulted content, its influence is still felt in the community today.
It introduced two new playable areas – The Dreaming City & The Tangled Shore, the former of which acted as a post-campaign surprise. This expansion also boasted a substantial campaign that followed the journey of your Guardian as you were tasked with defeating a new corrupted Fallen enemy, The Scorn, after Cayde-6 was killed in the opening mission.
Bungie’s third expansion also introduced brand new subclasses, a new bow weapon type, the raid entitled “Last Wish“, the first dungeon, and even the Gambit game mode. It was a fairly sizable expansion, to say the least.
With the release of Forsaken, Destiny 2 also adopted the seasonal content model. As a result, it was accompanied by an annual pass that added three additional content drops to see players through to the Shadowkeep DLC.
Forsaken can’t be played now, but remains one of Destiny 2’s high points, with many of its weapons added to the game as it exists today.
Current Destiny 2 DLC
Shadowkeep (October 2019)
BungieDestiny 2’s fourth expansion, Shadowkeep, was the developer’s first major venture after splitting with Activision.
This Destiny 2 DLC reintroduced the Moon as a playable location as well as a story that follows your Guardian as you fight to defeat previous foes. The foes are called Nightmares, resurrected by the Darkness. As you embark on this journey, you are also reunited with a familiar ally, Eris Morn. After completing the main story, players could also participate in Nightmare Hunts — a new PvE experience.
Shadowkeep introduced two new strikes, a new dungeon and a raid entitled “Garden of Salvation“. However, one of the most notable changes to the Destiny 2 sandbox came in the form of an overhauled Armor 2.0 system that added additional RPG elements.
Shadowkeep also saw the game pivot from three seasons to four per year and began the process of bridging annual releases with additional content drops and extra story.
Shadowkeep was the first step in bringing the “Pyramid Ships” closer to the game, heralding the eventual arrival of The Witness, but its short campaign and array of “busywork” quests afterward mean it’s often forgotten.
Beyond Light (November 2020)
BungieBeyond Light is the fifth piece of Destiny 2 DLC, and provided quite a shakeup to the established formula.
This Destiny 2 DLC saw the introduction of the new playable location Europa, as well as the new element – Stasis. The story involved Guardians traveling to Europa, in an attempt to defeat the Fallen Kell Eramis, who planned to harness the power of the Darkness to seek revenge on the Traveler. This introduced the new raid, “Deep Stone Crypt” as well as two strikes (one of which is a reprised Destiny 1 mission).
A new free-to-play version of Destiny 2 called “New Light” was also released alongside the new expansion. This allowed new players to easily jump into Destiny 2, without paying for some of the originally released DLC content. The expansion also saw the start of the Destiny Content Vault, where older content would be removed, temporarily in some cases, so as to not overburden the game with excess bloat.
Beyond Light is a solid expansion, and mandatory for anyone that wants to unlock the Stasis ability.
The Witch Queen (February 2022)
BungieBungie’s best expansion yet (we said so in our review), Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, features an excellent campaign set predominantly on Savathun’s Throne World — where nothing is as it seems.
The expansion adds a new raid, too, “Vow of the Disciple“, and a new weapon type: The Glaive. It also overhauled the Void subclass with more customization and added weapon crafting. Solar and Arc subclasses were overhauled in the seasons after, too.
Between the new campaign, a wealth of post-game content, and plenty of fine-tuning of in-game systems, The Witch Queen is the easiest place to jump into Destiny 2 to catch up.
Destiny 2: Lightfall (February 2023)
BungieAnnounced prior to Beyond Light, Destiny 2: Lightfall launched on February 28, 2023. The expansion takes Guardians to a new location on Neptune called Neomuna where they fight alongside Cloudstriders to tackle Calus’ new Shadow Legion.
We also get access to a new subclass called Strand, which lets players manipulate the connections between living things in Destiny 2: Lightfall. You also get access to the raid “Root of Nightmares” where you defeat the boss Nezarec, Final God of Pain.
In this DLC you get to unravel the secrets of the Veil, learn the Witness’s origins, and fight against the army of Xivu Arath. You also get access to the reprised “Crota’s End” raid and two brand-new dungeons.
Upcoming Destiny 2 DLC
Destiny 2: The Final Shape (February 2024)
BungieThe Final Shape is the expansion that’s intended to close out the epic Light and Dark saga that’s been running since the first game was released back in 2014.
After some delays, the DLC is set to launch on June 4, 2023, and during the storyline, Guardians will have to enter the Traveler in order to protect it from The Witness. Throughout the DLC, you’ll be joined by a handful of familiar faces including Zavala and Ikora, and Cayde-6 will also make a long-awaited return after his death back in Forsaken.
It promises to be an epic finale to one of the most expansive sagas in gaming. Apart from that, Bungie is also changing the long-running seasonal model of the game and introducing Episodes. Each episode will be divided into small Acts.
These Acts will focus on individual stories, exotic missions, activities, and much more.
So, there you have it – that’s all of the Destiny 2 DLCs and expansions that have been released and that we know about so far. For more content on the game, check out our guides below:
Deepsight Harmonizers: How to farm, use, and what weapons to convert | Exotic Mission Rotator: What it is, how to access, schedule, loot table | Best Exotic weapons | Best PvP Weapons | Best PvE Weapons | Destiny 2 Season of the Witch: Release date, raid, power cap, & more | Best Titan Builds | Best Warlock Builds | Best Arc 3.0 Builds | Best Solar 3.0 Builds | Best Void 3.0 Builds | Best Stasis Builds
