Guardian Ranks - Destiny 2
Discover the intricacies of the Guardian Ranks in Destiny 2 including all the objectives needed to move up to Paragon.
The Guardian Ranks is a new system for players to engage with in Destiny 2. Guardian Ranks works as a sort of tutorial or guidance, giving players direction on what task to do next. Most long-term players will find their Guardian Rank to be quite high, while new players will be starting at the beginning. However, both can work to increase their Guardian Ranks and gain new prestige.
All Guardian Ranks & Objectives
The Guardian Ranks are split into 11 individual ranks. Each rank will have several objectives in it and all must be completed before you can move up to the next rank. Your Guardian Rank will be displayed beside your gamertag whenever you’re in an activity. Credit to Light.gg for access to the Destiny 2 API for some of the later Guardian Ranks listed below.
Note that some objectives reset each season. Anything related to the Season's name, Seasonal Artifact, Commendations, and Power will reset. You will keep a portion of Commendations earned. Categories in bold will reset.
Guardian Ranks | ||
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1 - New Light | ||
All new players start as a New Light. This first level just explains what Guardian Ranks are for. If you're lost and need guidance on what to do next, Guardian Ranks is your guiding light. | ||
2 - Explorer | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Ranking Up | The Vanguard | Complete the New Light quest, A Guardian Rises. |
3 - Initiate | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Explore Neptune | First Contact | Complete First Contact mission. |
Point of Contact | Meet the destination vendor on Neptune. | |
Explore EDZ | Discover EDZ | Land in Earth's European Dead Zone, otherwise known as the EDZ, and speak with Devrim Kay, located in the belfry of Trostland Church. |
EDZ Public Events | Complete 3 public events in the EDZ. | |
Explore Nessus | Explore Nessus | Land on Nessus and meet the eccentric AI, Failsafe, located in the wreckage of the Exodus Black colony ship. |
Patrols | Complete 1 patrol on Nessus. | |
Lost Sectors | Complete 2 Lost Sectors on Nessus. | |
4 - Scout | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Light Subclasses | Learning Light | Complete the Learning Light quest. |
Purchase Aspects | Purchase 2 Aspects from Ikora Rey | |
Purchase Fragments | Purchase 3 Fragments from Ikora Rey. | |
Light Subclasses | Complete a Light subclass quest from Ikora Rey. | |
Gunsmith | Meet Banshee-44 | Talk to Banshee-44. |
Glimmer | Collect Glimmer. | |
Legendary Shards | Collect 9 Legendary Shards. | |
Enhancement Cores | Complete Gunsmith bounties to earn Enhancement Cores. | |
Arming Up | Purchase weapons from Banshee-44. | |
Gear Modification | Shaders | Apply 3 shaders to your gear. |
Upgrading Your Ghost | Equip an Economic or Tracking mod on your Ghost. | |
5 - Adventurer | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Exotic Quests | Acquire Riskrunner | Complete the Exotic weapon mission, Spark of Hope, to obtain Riskrunner. |
Masterwork Riskrunner | Once the Riskrunner catalyst has been obtained, open Riskrunner's weapon details and apply the catalyst to the weapon. Upon completing the catalyst objectives, you will be able to upgrade Riskrunner to Masterwork. | |
Playlists | Acquire Vanguard Bounties | Acquire 4 Vanguard bounties from Commander Zavala. |
Vanguard Ops | Complete Vanguard Ops. | |
Complete Vanguard Bounties | Complete 2 Vanguard bounties in Vanguard Ops. | |
Commendations | Commend 2 other players in Vanguard Ops. | |
Meet Lord Shaxx | Learn about the Crucible from Lord Shaxx. | |
Meet Drifter | Learn about Gambit from the Drifter. | |
Collection | Collect Weapons | Increase the number of Legendary weapons in your collection (9). |
Collect Armor | Increase the number of Legendary armor pieces in your collection (10). | |
6 - Veteran | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Gear Progression | Modify Armor | Equip slot-specific mods on armor. |
Armor Energy | Increase the energy level of a piece of armor by 2. | |
Masterwork Weapons | Increase the Masterwork level of a weapon by 2. | |
Enhancement Materials | Acquire Enhancement Prisms. | |
Power | Soft Cap | Increase your Power to the soft cap. |
Vendor Challenges | Complete weekly vendor challenges to acquire powerful rewards. | |
Trials | Trials Introduction | Talk to Saint-14 to learn about Trials of Osiris. |
7 - Elite | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Lightfall | Lightfall Campaign | Complete the Lightfall campaign. |
Earn the Respect of Nimbus | Increase your vendor reputation with Nimbus to 3 in Neomuna. | |
Weekly Campaign Missions | Complete the weekly Lightfall campaign mission in Neomuna. | |
Season of Defiance | Season Rank | Increase your Season Rank to 7. |
Seasonal Challenges | Complete 4 Seasonal Challenges from the current Season. | |
War Table Ranks | Increase your reputation level with the War Table to 2. | |
War Table Upgrades | Purchase 2 upgrades from the War Table. | |
Verglas Curve | Defeat 50 targets with the Exotic bow Verglas Curve. | |
Seasonal Playlist Rewards | Increase your reputation with the Vanguard Ops, Crucible, or Gambit vendors to 4. | |
Seasonal Artifact | Seasonal Artifact | Obtain the current Seasonal Artifact. |
Seasonal Artifact Perks | Activate 5 perks from your Seasonal Artifact. | |
Artifact Power Bonus | Increase your Power bonus from the Seasonal Artifact to 5. | |
Nightfall | Threats and Surges | Complete 3 Nightfalls while using a subclass that matches the current surge. |
Platinum Rewards | Complete Nightfalls and earn 2 Platinum rewards. | |
Champions | Unstoppable Champions | Stun 6 Unstoppable Champions. |
Barrier Champions | Stun 6 Barrier Champions. | |
Overload Champions | Stun 6 Overload Champions. | |
Commendations | Liked | Increase your commendation score to 200. |
Power | Powerful Cap | Increase your Power to the powerful cap. |
Pinnacle Rewards | Earn 2 pinnacle rewards from Gambit, Nightfall, or Crucible weekly challenges. | |
8 - Justiciar | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Collections | Exotic Arsenal | Increase the number of Exotic weapons in your collection to 15. |
Exotic Armorer | Collect 15 Exotic armor pieces. | |
Titles | Claim a Title. | |
Commendations | Appreciated | Acquire a commendation score of 477. |
Endgame | King's Fall | Complete the King's Fall raid. |
Duality | Complete the Duality dungeon. | |
Spire of the Watcher | Complete the Spire of the Watcher dungeon. | |
Root of Nightmares | Complete the Root of Nightmares raid. | |
Lost Sectors | Solo Legend Lost Sectors | Complete 5 Legend Lost sectors solo. |
Flawless, Solo, & Legendary | Complete a Legend Lost Sector solo without dying. | |
Lightfall | Lightfall - Legendary Part 1 | Complete the first four Lightfall campaign missions on Legendary difficulty. |
Lightfall - Legendary Part 2 | Complete the last four Lightfall campaign missions on Legendary difficulty. | |
Deep Contacts | Claim 6 reputation rewards from Nimbus. | |
Weekly Campaign Missions | Complete 3 weekly campaign missions from the Lightfall campaign on Legend difficulty and acquire a team score of 100k. | |
Nightfall | Legend Difficulty | Complete a Nightfall on Legend difficulty. |
Legendary Platinum Rewards | Complete a Nightfall on Legend with Platinum rewards. | |
Legend Score | Complete a Nightfall on Legend with a score of 130,000 or better. (This may be bugged and only possible on Master). | |
Season of Defiance | Seasonal Ranks | Acquire 20 Seasonal ranks. |
Seasonal Difficulty | Complete the current Seasonal activity or Exotic quest on the highest difficulty. | |
Seasonal Challenges | Complete 10 Seasonal Challenges. | |
9 - Vanquisher | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Collection | Exotic Armor | Collect 20 Exotic armor pieces. |
Exotic Weapons | Collect 85 Exotic weapons. | |
Titles | Claim 2 Titles. | |
Commendations | Respected | Increase your commendation score to 910 or higher. |
Dungeons | Shattered Throne | Complete the Shattered Throne dungeon. |
Pit of Heresy | Complete the Pit of Heresy dungeon. | |
Prophecy | Complete the Prophecy dungeon. | |
Grasp of Avarice | Complete the Grasp of Avarice dungeon. | |
Nightfall | Master Nightfall | Complete a Nightfall on Master difficulty or higher. |
Nightfall Score | Complete a Nightfall at Master difficult or higher with a score of 200,000 or more. | |
Power | Pinnacle Cap | Increase your Power to the pinnacle cap of the Season. |
Seasonal Artifact Power | Increase your Seasonal Artifact Power bonus to +12. | |
Raids | Last Wish | Complete the Last Wish raid. |
Garden of Salvation | Complete the Garden of Salvation raid. | |
Deep Stone Crypt | Complete the Deep Stone Crypt raid. | |
Vault of Glass | Complete the Vault of Glass raid. | |
Vow of the Disciple | Complete the Vow of the Disciple raid. | |
King's Fall | Complete the King's Fall raid. | |
Root of Nightmares | Complete the Root of Nightmares raid. | |
Season of Defiance | Seasonal Ranks | Acquire 50 Seasonal ranks. |
War Table Upgrades | Purchase 8 upgrades from the War Table. | |
Seasonal Challenges | Complete 20 Seasonal Challenges. | |
10 - Exemplar | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Collections | Catalyst Collector | Fully Masterwork 25 Exotic weapons using catalysts. |
Armor Collector | Collect 30 pieces of Exotic armor. | |
Titles | Claim 5 Titles. | |
Commendations | Cherished | Achieve a commendation score of 1530. Leadership commendations from difficult activities provide the most progress to your commendation score. |
Coach | Receive 100 ally and leadership commendations. Leadership commendations provide bonus progress. | |
Lost Sectors | Master Solo Lost Sectors | Complete 5 Master Lost Sectors solo. |
Master Staying Alive | Complete a Master Lost Sector solo without dying. | |
Darkness | Dark Wielder | Unlock all Darkness subclasses. |
Stasis Collector | Collect 5 Stasis Fragments. | |
Strand Collector | Collect 5 Strand Fragments for a single character. | |
Dark Mastery | Complete a Grandmaster Nightfall with a Darkness subclass equipped. | |
Grandmaster | Grandmaster Nightfall | Complete the featured Nightfall on Grandmaster difficulty. |
Scoring Grandmaster | Complete a Grandmaster Nightfall with a score of 230,000 or more. | |
Season of Defiance | Seasonal Ranks | Acquire 80 Seasonal ranks. |
Seasonal Challenges | Complete 30 Seasonal Challenges. | |
11 - Paragon | ||
Category | Objective | Description |
Collections | Titles | Claim 7 Titles. |
Commendations | Beloved | Achieve a commendation score of 1800. |
Shepherd | Receive 200 ally and leadership commendations. Leadership commendations provide bonus progress. | |
Grandmaster | Conqueror | Complete the Triumphs to acquire the Conqueror Title. |
Gilded Conqueror | Complete the Triumphs to gild the Conqueror Title. | |
Endgame | Solo Spelunker | Complete the most recently released dungeon solo. |
Master Spelunker | Complete the most recently released dungeon on Master difficulty. | |
Classified | Secret. |
How to rank up Guardian Ranks

Source: Shacknews
There are 11 Guardian Ranks to work through in Destiny 2. Unlike other ranks such as Vanguard, Crucible, or Gambit, Guardian Ranks do not level up by simply accruing XP or playing activities. Players must complete specific tasks in order to increase their Guardian Rank.
As seen in the table above, the types of objectives players encounter at each rank will vary. There will also be some hurdles to overcome, specifically surviving Legend and Master Lost Sectors without dying.
You will note that some of the Guardian Rank objectives are presented in-game with different colored boxes. These objectives are limited to the season and will expire when a season ends. Which brings us too…
Guardian Ranks reset
Each season your Guardian Rank will reset. As mentioned above, some objectives are tied to seasons, which means you’ll lose those objectives and be issued new ones. How many ranks you lose remains to be seen, but players will need to work their way back up to max every single season.
With a firm grasp on the Guardian Ranks system, you’ll be one step closer to maxing it out and showing other players your expertise in Destiny 2. Remember to pay it forward and help out others, which you can do through the new Commendation system. Read more explanations and info for other mechanics on our Destiny 2 strategy guide.
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Sam Chandler posted a new article, Guardian Ranks - Destiny 2