How to start playing Destiny 2 in 2024

Here's how you can start fresh in Destiny 2 in 2024 and skip the long opening tutorial

Bungie
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If you’re looking to start playing Destiny 2 for the first time or return to it after an extended absence, look no further. A lot has changed in Bungie’s looter shooter over the years, but it’s a relatively straightforward process to get started and access the latest content. Here’s how you can start playing Destiny 2.

How to start Destiny 2

The Destiny 2 character select screen, featuring my Hunter, Pharaoh.
If you're starting fresh, create a new Guardian from the character select screen.

To start playing Destiny 2, you’ll want to select an empty character slot from the main menu. From here you’ll decide if you want to make a Titan, Hunter, or Warlock. You can then customize the body type and appearance of your Guardian. Once you’re satisfied with your choice, select ‘Finish.’

You’ll be shown a cinematic that lays the groundwork for the story of Destiny 2 before eventually starting the mission ‘A Guardian Rises.’ Follow the objectives until you reach the mission ‘Schism.’ Follow the quest objectives until you reach the room with Maeve. You’ll witness an event and the quest will end.

A screenshot of the Cosmodrone map, with the cursor hovering over The Steppes.
After you finish the mission 'Schism,' fast travel to Shaw Han's camp at The Steppes.

This will put you back on the path of the ‘A Guardian Rises’ quest, which will task you with meeting Shaw Han at his camp. Fast travel to the camp and speak with him. Lastly, you’ll need to sync with Shaw’s ship at his camp. Do so and you will be presented with two options: continue the tutorial at Cosmodrome or head straight to the Tower and join the frontlines.

A page displaying two options for the player: Continue the tutorial and skip it and go straight to the Tower.
When you sync with Shaw's ship, this screen will display your two options moving forward.

If you’re a lapsed Destiny 2 player or someone familiar with games of this genre, you can just interact with the flag to skip the rest of the tutorial and go to the Tower.

A flag that players can interact with to skip the Destiny 2 tutorial.
To skip the remainder of the Destiny 2 tutorial and go straight to the tower, interact with this flag at The Steppes.

After choosing to Join the Frontlines you'll be taken directly to the Tower, but you have two more quick stops before you're ready to start playing Destiny 2's full offering of content with your friends. First, locate Ikora Rey in the Tower and pay her a visit. When you speak with her, she'll offer you a New Light Kit that matches your class (Hunter, Warlock, or Titan). This will unlock a subclass for you without making you jump through all the hoops. 

This is an image showing Destiny 2 players the location of Ikora Rey in the Tower.
This is an image showing Destiny 2 players what Ikora Rey looks like in the Tower.

Once you have your subclass, bring up the Director and choose Destinations. You'll want to select the Into the Light node, then the Hall of Champions. Locate Lord Shaxx in the Hall of Champions and look for a glowing chest behind him and on his right. If you interact with that chest you'll see it's a Gift from the Thundergods. This gift will give you a decent set of armor, several weapons, all of which will be at 1800 Power, the current powerful cap. 

An image showing the location of the Hall of Champions in Destiny 2 in the Director.
An image showing the Gift of the Thundergods in Destiny 2.

Those are the steps you need to take if you’re looking to start playing Destiny 2 in 2024. There’s a lot of content to dig through, so be sure to bypass the tutorial and head straight to the tower if you really want to get to the meat and potatoes of what the game has to offer. Make Shacknews your home for everything in the world of Destiny 2.

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

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