Destiny 2 Beginner's Guide: Choosing a Class, New Light, the Director and Power
A Destiny 2 starter guide: PC controls, choosing a class and subclass, the New Light quest, the Director and Portal, raising your Power and where to start with free content.
Destiny 2 is an online sci-fi shooter released by Bungie in 2017. You play a Guardian raised from death to protect humanity's last city, taking on missions across the Sol System alone or with friends. The base game is free; some campaigns and activities are unlocked with paid expansions.
For a new player the hardest part of Destiny 2 isn't aiming but finding your way through menus, currencies and activity types built up over nearly a decade. This guide follows Bungie's official New Player Guide to explain what to do in your first hours, in order.
One important piece of context: according to Bungie, the Monument of Triumph update released on 9 June 2026 was Destiny 2's last live service update. The game remains playable, but no new seasonal content should be expected.
Goal of the game
The core loop is simple: play missions and activities, earn better gear, raise your Power, move on to harder content. Every piece of gear has its own Power value, and together they define your character's Power. Bungie says the Power cap stays at 550 with Monument of Triumph.
Three things define your character: class (Hunter, Warlock, Titan), subclass (elemental powers such as Solar, Arc and Void) and gear. On the story side there's a campaign order that starts with the New Light tutorial and runs from older expansions to newer ones. At the top end, three-player dungeons and six-player raids await.
Controls
| Key | Action |
|---|
| W A S D | Move |
| Left click / Right click | Fire / aim down sights |
| R | Reload |
| Space | Jump (press again mid-air for class movement) |
| Shift | Toggle sprint |
| Ctrl | Toggle crouch |
| E | Interact (hold) |
| Q | Grenade |
| C | Melee |
| F | Super |
| V | Class ability (Hunter dodge, Warlock rift, Titan barricade) |
| 1 / 2 / 3 | Kinetic, Energy, Power weapon slots |
| Tab | Deploy Ghost: shows objective, scans the area |
| M / I | Director (map and activities) / Character menu |
| Arrow keys | Emotes |
First steps
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Pick your class
Hunters are mobile and stealthy, Warlocks excel at healing and empowering, Titans focus on close combat and protection. Bungie says all three have equal access to content and your account has extra character slots, so there's no wrong choice.
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Choose your race carefully
Human, Awoken and Exo play identically. But race is permanent: you can change face, hair and body type later, but the only way to change race is deleting the character.
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Don't skip New Light
Your Ghost wakes you in the first mission, then the Hunter Shaw Han guides you through the New Light tutorial quest in the Cosmodrome. Bungie notes it can be skipped but recommends finishing it if you're new to shooters or Destiny.
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Visit Ikora at the Tower
The quest brings you to the Tower, the main social hub. Ikora Rey in the Bazaar offers starter class builds that include Exotic gear. Your Vault is also accessible at the Tower.
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Learn the Director
The Director, opened with M, is the game's main map. The World tab holds older content and destinations from New Light to The Final Shape, while the Portal tab holds newer activities including The Edge of Fate and Renegades.
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Catch up with Cayde's Fate
In Bungie's recommended order, the Timeline mission "Cayde's Fate" comes after New Light. Timeline missions quickly cover Destiny 2's key story moments.
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Play the free campaigns
The Shadowkeep (Moon) and Beyond Light (Europa) campaigns are available to all players. Finishing Beyond Light grants the Stasis subclass, one of the Darkness elements.
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Unlock subclass pieces
Aspects and Fragments for Arc, Solar and Void are bought from Ikora at the Tower with Glimmer, the in-game currency. Aspects change your abilities, Fragments fine-tune them; together they form your build.
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Get your first Sparrow
The Sparrow is a vehicle for moving quickly through open areas. Bungie says new players earn their first one by finishing the main campaign and speaking to Amanda Holliday at the Tower.
Tips and tactics
- Don't get attached to green and blueThe green (Uncommon) and blue (Rare) gear you get early is for learning. Once purple (Legendary) drops arrive, dismantle the old pieces; the game nudges you that way.
- Always run an ExoticGold-background Exotic gear, with its unique perks, is the cornerstone of builds. If you get an Exotic Engram, take it to Rahool at the Tower to decrypt it.
- Know your ammo typesPrimary ammo (white icon) is unlimited. Special (light green) and Heavy (light purple) ammo are limited, so save them for strong enemies and bosses. Since The Edge of Fate they drop when the bars at the bottom left of your HUD fill up.
- Watch elemental shieldsSome enemies have shields weak to a specific element. Keeping gear of different elements in your Vault speeds these encounters up a lot.
- Set Portal difficulty yourselfPortal activities let you choose difficulty and modifiers. Higher difficulty raises the reward Tier. Bungie's advice: don't be afraid to try and fail; you'll find the balance over time.
- Join Public EventsPublic Events shown on the map in open areas are easy to do with other players. Each has a hidden condition; trigger it and the event turns Heroic with better rewards.
- Back your build with armor statsArmor stats are Health, Melee, Grenade, Super, Class and Weapons. If you play around grenades, invest in armor with a matching archetype such as Grenadier.
- Use set bonusesWearing 2 or 4 armor pieces from the same set unlocks bonuses. Your Exotic armor doesn't break them; go four pieces for one strong bonus or two pieces each from two sets.
- Use Fireteam Finder to find playersFireteam Finder, the in-game LFG tool, opens from the roster screen. It's the easiest route for activities without matchmaking such as dungeons and raids.
- Track Guardian RankGuardian Rank is the overall progression system; ranking up unlocks features like Loadouts and mods. The Journey tab shows your next steps.
Common mistakes
- Skipping New Light and diving straight into the latest expansion: without the basics, menus and activities become confusing.
- Rushing race selection: it can't be changed except by deleting the character.
- Spending Special and Heavy ammo on ordinary enemies: when the boss arrives you're left with only your primary.
- Hanging on to green and blue gear: you miss out on the perks and mods of Legendary gear.
- Picking Portal difficulty far above your Power: rewards rise, but constant failure slows progress.
Frequently asked questions
Is Destiny 2 available in Turkish?
No. Turkish isn't on the language list of its Steam page; the game supports English and a range of European and Asian languages.
Is Destiny 2 free?
The base game is free. According to Bungie, the New Light, Shadowkeep and Beyond Light campaigns, some raids (Vault of Glass, King's Fall, Crota's End), Crucible and Gambit are open to everyone. The Witch Queen, Lightfall, The Final Shape, The Edge of Fate and Renegades campaigns are paid, with only their introductory missions free.
Can I play solo?
Yes, campaigns and Solo Ops in the Portal can be played alone. But the game is always online, and the hardest activities such as dungeons and raids need a team.
Is Destiny 2 still being updated?
According to Bungie, Monument of Triumph on 9 June 2026 was the game's last live service update. The game remains playable and existing content is accessible.
How do I unlock Stasis, Strand and Prismatic?
Stasis comes from the free Beyond Light campaign, Strand from the Lightfall expansion and Prismatic from The Final Shape expansion.
Is there cross-platform progression?
Yes. With Cross Save on your Bungie account you can play the same character on different platforms. The game is on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store.
This guide was written for version: This guide reflects the game as of September 2026, after the final live service update, Monument of Triumph. PC controls are default bindings and can be changed.
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