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Destiny The Collection: your complete guide to Bungie's shared-worlds shooter, DLC and events

Guide by Staff Contributor
Published on

Destiny 2 is on the horizon. What better time to dive right in and experience the original?

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Destiny is closing in on three years old now, and a lot has changed.

The 2014 shared-worlds shooter released with no expectations of just how fervently its players would embrace it, to the point where Bungie was blindsided by how quickly Destiny players chewed through content and demanded more.

Over the past few years Destiny has had to evolve from a traditional release-and-DLC format to something more suitable for the modern connected era, driven by free events and player rituals, with rewarding play for those who come to it casually and those who treat it as a lifestyle.

Many Destiny players checked out after that first initial rush of content, and those who haven't checked back in are missing out. Although Bungie began to lay the foundations with the House of Wolves DLC, it was The Taken King expansion in 2015 that really changed things by refining and polishing systems, clearing up mysteries, and doubling down on what worked. 2016's Rise of Iron didn't fix what wasn't broke, but brought back some old favourites lost in the evolving meta, and added a stack more to The Taken King's solid foundation.

As the Destiny Live Team began to warm up to its role, regular free events evolved from lightweight to absolutely essential; the most recent one, Age of Triumph, brings old raids and gear up to endgame standard for one last hurrah. These days it's the record books - checklists of experiences and challenges with meaningful rewards for those dedicated enough to pursue them - that keep us coming back. That and the PvP. And the dance videos.

With Destiny 2 looming, Destiny The Collection neatly bundling up all content to date, and a spike in player numbers as veterans flock to relive their early glories and tick off record book achievements, there has never been a better time to check out Destiny.

Whether you're diving in for the first time to find out what all the fuss has been about, returning after an absence to see what's changed while you've been gone, or a knowledgeable Guardian looking for a specific bit of information, we want to help you out with this all-in-one Destiny guide.

Curated and collated from our many existing Destiny guides, this page is intended to provide an easier to use, up to date, quick browsing resource. Those original pages are still around, but you probably don't want to read about what was added in a years old update just to find out how to get the new Vex Mythoclast, right?

Let us know if you have questions about Destiny that aren't answered on this page, and we'll do our very best to provide answers.

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Destiny: beginnings and basics

This is where we'll collect resources related to the original, vanilla release of Destiny and its two DLC packs, as well as those aimed at explaining the sometimes obtuse mechanisms of Bungie's shared-worlds shooter. For more on these lines, see our vanilla Destiny guide hub.

  • Destiny Weekly Reset time

    Destiny resets daily and weekly. When? What does that even mean? What happens with daylight savings? All this and more answered in a regularly updated hub.

  • Where is Xur?

    We post the details of Xur's location and inventory as he arrives in the tower for his regular weekend visit. Grab the most recent article through the link above for up to date Xur info.

  • Destiny story recap

    grimoire card noodling and speculation aside, here's what's actually happened in Destiny so far. It all makes a lot more sense now Bungie's linked it up with quests, mind.

  • Vault of Glass raid guide

    This dates back to vanilla, so be sure to scroll down for the Age of Triumph version if you're playing the Rise of Iron build of Destiny.

  • Crota's End raid guide

    Again, this is the vanilla guide - scroll down to the Age of Triumph version if you're playing the Rise of Iron build of Destiny.

  • Choosing your race and gender

    Just getting started with Destiny? Not sure what your initial character creation choices mean? The answer may shock you.

  • Class guide

    This page is out of date, but still provides a great starting place if you're weighing up the all important choice between Hunter, Titan and Warlock. This one matters. Read in conjunction with our The Taken King subclass guide for best results.

  • Stats and attributes explained

    Destiny's menus are beautiful but they don't go out of their way to explain things, tooltips be damned. A quick and dirty rundown of basic concepts should help.

  • Light and levelling

    Destiny's levelling system used to be an unholy mess, but as of The Taken King it's a little more straightforward. Still, it's important to know the difference between level and Light, and what you can do to get more of each. Combine with the more recent Rise of Iron levelling guide to dominate.

  • Elements and shields

    Those colourful auras that stop you getting sick headshot damage, completely explained.

  • All trophies and achievements guide

    Three years on we still don't have Flawless Raider - and probably never will. Moving right along.

  • Grimoire cards guide

    They say Destiny's story is mostly in the Grimoire cards - and they're right. Make sure you know what they are and how to get them. For bragging rights, bump your Grimoire score up; this vanilla Grimoire guide is a good starting place, although it doesn't include material fro The Taken King and Rise of Iron.

  • Patrol symbol guide

    Three years on and many Guardians still don't know the difference between an Assassination Patrol mission and their own arses. Come on, cats. Here's the intel.

  • Skeleton Keys and Strike-specific loot sorted out

    "I cannot open this chest. Why? And what is inside? And where did yonder pally get that cloak I have never seen before?" It is so good to be able to dispel the mystery.

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The Taken King

These pages pertain to content and systems introduced with The Taken King, Destiny's 2015 re-release and expansion. This era was commonly known as Destiny Year 2, although wags tended to label it Destiny 1.0 - the joke being it had finally come out of beta. You can find further resources and deep dives from Year 2 in our Destiny: The Taken King guide hub.

  • Calcified Fragments location guide

    What are they? What are they for? Well, you'll need them for a specific Exotic ... but also they give you Grimoire cards. Go get 'em.

  • King's Fall raid guide

    King's Fall was the first raid to present Challenge Modes. It's an epic battle with Oryx in his throne world, but you don't have to know what that means in order to enjoy an act of regicide.

  • Runes and the Court of Oryx

    Plenty of people have no idea how Court of Oryx works or what to do with their runes. This guide breaks it down so you can finally get those last boss Grimoire cards and finish whatever quest or bounty has you in a flap.

  • "??????" Patrol quests

    Since The Taken King released, Guardians who venture out in Patrol mode are sometimes automatically roped into a mysterious quest in which objectives are replaced with question marks. What does it mean? How do you finish them? At least one of these two questions has been answered.

  • Find and kill Taken Champions

    Many quests and bounties in The taken King will challenge you to assassinate specific Taken Champions. Here's how to track them down and what to do when you do (spoilers: don't die).

  • How to get Touch of Malice

    Touch of Malice is a terrific Exotic weapon which comes in handy especially in the King's Fall raid. The quest to obtain it isn't especially easy or straightforward; let's break it down.

  • How to get Boolean Gemini

    Need a new Exotic? The Taken King has a pretty easy questline leading to this tasty scout rifle.

  • How to get Chaperone

    An Exotic shotgun? Yes please. I am ready. Take me there. I want it. Yes.

  • How to get Black Spindle

    It's no longer the meta king, but plenty of Guardians still swear by Black Spindle and won't let you into the party without one. They should call it Black Tie.

  • Hot to get Bolt-Caster

    An Exotic sword used to be something we got really excited about, because there was only one. Those days are past but you should track 'em down anyway.

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Rise of Iron

We all know Bungie needed an extra year to make Destiny 2, since it had to come up with a whole new content pipeline along the way and throw out most of the old game. Hence Rise of Iron, the 2016 holiday expansion, which doesn't so much change things as just add more of them. Rise of Iron is only available on PS4 and Xbox One; support for PS3 and Xbox 360 builds of Destiny has ended. Visit our Destiny: Rise of Iron guide hub for more, including collectibles like Dead Ghosts and SIVA clusters.

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Age of Triumph

One record book to rule them all. These are the newest pages of our guide, pertaining to the Age of Triumph event that seems set to close out the Destiny era ahead of the release of Destiny 2 in September 2017. We'll be adding more pages to this section soon. Age of Triumph is only available to those who own Rise of Iron, which is included in Destiny: The Collection.

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Destiny 2: key news and info

Hell, while we're here: here's a quick rundown of everything we know about Destiny 2, the anticipated sequel. We've known it was coming for years - it was part of Activision and Bungie's contract, and the companies have made no bones about it - but with an official announce and a release date, it's suddenly looking real.

Need more Destiny guidance? Drop us a line and let us know how we can help.

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