Tips and tricks for playing Destiny in 2019 and beyond

Choose your class wisely

You’ve got three choices in Destiny when it comes to classes: Almighty rugby players in armour known as Titans, glass cannon space wizards that go by the title of Warlock and the nimble edgy kids with tattered cloaks that answer to the name of Hunter. While the basics of each class are pretty much the same in how they move around the solar system, each archetype does have a few unique tricks up their sleeves that can have a massive impact on how the game plays out.

Warlocks can drop a quick healing rift when they’re in a pinch, Titans can set up a barrier when the action gets too thick and because they’re bastards Hunters can dodge roll away and YOLO off to another corner of the map. Factor in the Super attacks that allow players to periodically unleash the sum total of their power in wildly varying ways, and each character has a certain layer of distinction that makes each one bring a signature sense of style to Destiny.

You’ve just got to ask yourself, which one do you want to invest the most time in?

Exotic gear isn’t everything

While you’ll quickly progress from rubbish common gear towards rarer green, blue and legendary purple-status equipment, most players will hunger for the yellow Exotic items which are about as rare as a day where I don’t yammer on about Destiny. They’re the most ridiculous weapons and gear you can find in the world, powerful weapons which can unleash huge lightning storms on trash mobs and can buff certain abilities to deal unbelievable damage until they’re tweaked for being dangerous on a game-breaking scale that upsets the equilibrium of Bungie’s grand plan.

They’re fantastic to have and use (Graviton Pulse is still my all-time favourite), but they’re not the be-all and end-all of Destiny. Rather, it’s the legendary weapons and armour that you should be pursuing, gear that can be re-rolled to provide more subtle bonuses and have no limit on how many class items you can equip at a time. Remember, because of their turbulent power you can only have one Exotic weapon and one piece of armour equipped to your character at any given time, with said items usually being altered and tweaked constantly.

Yellow may be fantastic, but purple is definitely the best.

Guns guns guns!

Like weapons and smooth gunplay? Then you’re going to love Destiny, whose arsenal consists of the following weapons:

• Auto rifles – Your most reliable Jack of all trades gun, high capacity ammo and decent sustained damage
• Hand cannons – Revolvers that deal massive damage, provided that you’re in range and can fan the hammer to unload a series of headshots
• Pulse rifles – Fast-firing with every tap of the trigger, these are a great middle-ground weapon once they reach Legendary status for your Guardian
• Scout rifles – Like a sniper rifle, but requiring a slightly closer range that allows you to deal semi-automatic damage from a safe distance
• Sniper rifles – Like the Scout rifle, this marksman weapon works from a great distance but the safety of using its massive power is balanced out by low ammo reserves
• Shotguns – Get up close, point, shoot and forget about your problems in life
• Sub machine guns – Similar to the shotgun, the SMG is an up close and personal automatic weapon that can saw enemies in half and has a great reload speed
• Pistols – A sidearm designed to be drawn quickly, pistols are perfect for when you’re backed into a corner and need to swap to a gun that can do some lightning-quick hip-fire damage
• Bows – YOU HAVE FAILED THE LAST CITY! A mix between a scout rifle and a hand cannon, bows have fantastic range, can deliver a ton of damage on headshots and reward precision
• Rocket launchers – Just remember, whatever problems you have in life can easily be solved by pointing a device which delivers explosive payloads in that direction
• Trace rifles – There’s only a handful of these in Destiny, but the laser weapons of tomorrow are silly fun and having a Prometheus Lens is well worth the effort of obtaining it
• Heavy Machine Guns – Pay ‘n spray personified, heavy machine guns are loud, proud and will happily vomit all of your ammo into a worthy opponent if you can control the recoil

Levelling up is easy to understand

While you will ding your way up through a traditional RPG ladder of levels, that’s more of a soft barrier that gradually unlocks abilities for you. The real power climb is your Light Level, whose numbers are governed by the gear you happen to have equipped at any given time. All players in the Shadowkeep era are starting off on a fresh foot with a base power of 700 currently, with the maximum power being 950.

Basically, keep playing, always equip better gear and you’ll always be ready to fight, provided that you’re willing to do some arduous climbing and grinding to reach the very top.

Story too much for you? Don’t pay any attention to it

If you’re interested in reading up on it, then Destiny has one of the most oddball narratives ever committed to video game history. It’s a tale of half-true legends and ancient wars, myths of mankind’s last stand and an ancient evil that logic fails to define. It’s all manner of strange science and fantasy of the highest order, mixed together to create a vague future where nothing truly makes sense and the only thing you can really trust is the gun at your side.

It’s also completely capable of being ignored if it gets a bit much for you.

If you find yourself scratching your head over Rasputin’s protocols and you’re standing slack-jawed over the mention of the battle at Twilight Gap that saw the majority of the Fallen houses band together in a last-ditch effort to retake the Last City, don’t worry about it. The stuff that matters, the characters who really drive the story of Destiny forward, are a lot less complex and more than capable of filling you in on the beats that matter.

And if even that goes over your head, the personal legend you’ll craft is so much simpler: A Guardian, reborn and ready to protect his people against all manner of threats who come knocking on his door. Because even space gods from beyond mortal ken can fall if a bullet finds the right mark. That, and you’ll unlock plenty of reading material as you go along, in your triumphs tab.

Know your enemies

Destiny currently has six primary enemy factions who’ll harass you at every turn:

• The Fallen – The weakest of the lot but still dangerous, they’re made up primarily of trash mobs, slightly more dangerous Captains and their trusty Servitor eyeballs of doom
• The Hive – If Terry Gilliam designed alien space knights, they’d probably look like these nightmare dudes who worship death and power
• The Vex – Robots who exist beyond time and scour the past, present and future for a chance to complete a simulation that would allow them unlimited paradoxical power over reality
• The Cabal – Bullet sponges hailing from a military empire that has conquered countless planets and consumed even more, you do not want to get on the bad side of these big dudes
• The Taken – A remix of all the races listed above, the Taken are possessed soldiers who provide a new challenge by giving familiar foes unpredictable abilities that upsets the PvE status quo
• The Scorn – A new addition to Destiny, the Scorn are an aggressive clique of escaped prisoners who’ll totally mess your crap up

Don’t forget to visit Xur!

If you’ve been saving some Legendary Shard currency by dismantling legendary items and you want to complete your collection of Exotics, then the Agent of the Nine is the dude to visit every weekend. He usually pops up on Friday night and sticks around to the weekly reset, offering a rotating selection of goods that you can purchase. Where he is and what he’s carrying is usually a mystery, but we usually have a guide up every Friday night within minutes of his landing that’ll tell you where to go and what you can expect from him.

Try out Gambit

If you want Destiny at its purest and most condensed form, Gambit is a must. While it has many many layers of depth to it, the core idea is simple enough to understand: Two teams race against each other, killing enemies and banking motes harvested from their foes. Bank 75 of these motes, summon a massive boss monster and defeat it. First team to do that on a best two out of three runs earns the win.

And to make things more interesting, players can routinely invade the map of the other side to throw the mother of all wrenches into the progress of the opposition. It’s fun, doesn’t waste your time and is the perfect lunchtime distraction.

There’s no shortage of other activities to try out either!

In addition to Gambit, here’s what Destiny also offers:

• Story mode – Your regular narrative that takes place across the Red War, Curse of Osiris and Warmind saga, with paying players also having access to the Forsaken and Shadowkeep sagas
• Strikes – Harder missions, which usually run for around 15 minutes and are best played with a fireteam of three players
• Crucible – Destiny’s amazing multiplayer, which features a wide plethora of activities to keep your online fingers busy
• Raids – The pinnacle of the Destiny challenge, gargantuan six-man activities that’ll push you to the breaking point and can consume hours of your life as you take on all manner of challenges

Don’t forget bounties!

If you’re ever looking to get some more Glimmer cash or other rewards, you might want to try your hand at a few bounties. Destiny is filled to the brim with them, with many vendors offering activity-specific requests. Zavalla has plenty of Strike bounties, Tess Everess will give you general PvE missions to take on and Spider over in the Reef willt ask you with capturing escaped felons. You’ll need some Glimmer cash to grab a bounty, but they’re usually extremely rewarding and will help fill your inventory up with the ingredients you need to modify your gear.

And there you go!  A taste of what Destiny has to offer, in case you want to hop on into Bungie’s magical world.

Last Updated: October 1, 2019