What Destiny 2 Content is Free?

Since Destiny 2 transitioned to a free-to-play model in 2019, numerous content changes, including vaulting, modifications, and additions, have been made. Something that is likely confusing to the casual gamer attempting to try Destiny 2 for the first time. Thankfully, while not perfect, the game will explain and introduce you to all the content you will be able to enjoy without taking a loan from the bank. Here is all the free-to-play content in Destiny 2.

Destiny 2: All Free-To-Play Content

Into the Light: Pinnacle Cap Shortcut

Because we are about to experience the last chapter in Destiny 2, The Final Shape, Bungie released the free content named Into the Light as a previous step which helps us prepare for what's to come.

Other than providing updated versions of weapons of yore in the form of Brave weapons, the new social space called Hall of Champions features the Gifts of the Thunder Gods chest, which will provide 1810 weapons and armor. This renders traditional leveling up useless - if you choose to use said chest.

Finally, for new Guardians, Into the Light also features a New Light introductory quest skip, allowing players to experience the game as it is intended to be played, which is a very welcomed addition. Both of these additions render some of the free content below pretty much redundant, but we will include it anyway.

Access to Classes and Subclasses

Now, although I might as well think that Destiny 2 is limited to my Titan and Solar class and subclass choice, the truth is that all Guardians will be able to access all classes and three out of the five different subclasses, which are the light subclasses - the other two darkness subclasses are campaign unlocks.

You will get to choose your class as soon as you boot up the game and customize your new Guardian, while you will need to unlock all subclasses after completing their corresponding introductory quest - which can be skipped altogether after Into the Light:

• Riding the Storm: Arc subclass.
• Stoking the Flame: Solar subclass.
• Gazing into the Abyss: Void subclass.

New Light Questline

The New Light questline, as we mentioned above, is the way Bungie teaches the game to players. You will learn about the game's main mechanics, weapon rarity, modes, and everything in between.

If you are completely new to Destiny 2, then I suggest experiencing this mode at least once to better understand the game - not the lore, though, that's another monster entirely. However, due to its nature, can get annoying for seasoned players or ones who are somewhat familiar with the game's content. In other words, skipping is up to you but it won't be the end of the world if you choose to do so.

PVE Content: Strikes, Dungeons, Raids, and more

PVE content available for free Guardian accounts is plenty, albeit limited. Let's start with Strikes. These are three-player instances in which, by completing objectives, you will fight a plethora of minor enemies until you reach a final boss, which sounds and feels very similar to Dungeons. The catch is that most Strikes are locked behind a paywall, so your experience will be severely limited to what the free content can offer.

Regarding Dungeons and Raids, which are arguably the most challenging modes in the game, you will only get to play one free Dungeon and three different Raids. Dungeons are pretty straightforward missions based on enemy encounters and the occasional platforming/traps. Raids, however, will require more communication between players given the amount of puzzles and unique mechanics, making them extra challenging.

Patrols, Public Events, and Lost Sectors will also be available in each Destiny 2 location - which are all free to access, by the way. Patrols are short objective-based quests. Public Events happen all across the map and players can join them and work together to complete them. Finally, Lost Sectors are even shorter versions of a Dungeon - or a mini Strike, maybe? - taking place in secluded areas on the map which can be particularly challenging, especially at Legend or Master difficulties.

While introduced with the 30th Anniversary Pack DLC, Dares of Eternity is a six-player activity in which you will battle rounds of enemies determined by RNG and have ludicrous gameplay elements that you need to experience as soon as you read this! Not only that, but you will also get great loot and gear thanks to this activity, so you better "dare" to try this mode!

Finally, thanks to Into the Light, players can freely play Onslaught mode. This is a Tower Defense, Horde mode which will see you and two other Guardians face up to 50 waves of increasingly harder enemies you need to defeat to defend your position. There are no limits to this mode, currently featuring three different locations - Mothyards, Midtown, and Vostok - for you to try.

PVP Content: Crucible and Gambit 

PVP is much more open and available for free players. Starting with the most obvious, Crucible's modes are completely free and restricted for all Guardians, except for Trials of Osiris, which will have you purchase Lightfall to enjoy it. Other than that, be prepared to partake and, most probably, be destroyed by fellow Guardians.

Gambit is both a PVE and PVP mode, which will pit players against enemy forces that drop Motes you need to summon a Primevil, a powerful enemy boss. What makes this mode unique is that an entire enemy team will attempt to do so as well. Each of the teams can sabotage the other by summoning blockers - that is, enemies that will prevent your team from cashing Motes - and even invading the other team's map to kill players, which can be frustrating. What is not frustrating, though, is the fact that all Gambit content is free for you to enjoy.

Weapons, Armor, and Transmogrification

While content such as Campaigns and most of the Dungeons and Raids will be locked behind a paywall, weapons, and armor for all Guardians are mostly available for them to pick up. This is because a decent chunk of the weapons are part of the World Loot Pool, meaning that for completing quests, modes, or even killing enemies, there is a chance that a piece of gear or weapon will drop, allowing you to pick legendary and even exotic weapons.

If you want to transmogrify your armor to enjoy specific armor piece stats but want to sport a look better suited to your taste, then the Transmogrification mechanic will be available for you to use by using Synthweave with Ada-1, the armor vendor in the Tower.

Finally, you will also get to use the crafting system introduced during The Witch Queen campaign. This system will only unlock after completing the Relic quest of said campaign. Now, you may be wondering: "Isn't campaign content not free at all, you misinformation machine?" Well, speaking about that...

A Glimpse to Expansion Campaigns

While campaigns are indeed paid content and you won't be able to play through it like you would the New Light questline, there is a catch. You see, you will be able to enjoy the first few missions for all available campaigns as a sort of "sneak peek" of what you can expect if you decide to purchase their pertaining DLC. Here are the four different campaigns available for you to try their first missions and their locations:

• Shadowkeep (Moon)
• Beyond Light (Europa)
• The Witch Queen (Mars)
• Lightfall (Neptune)

Limited Seasonal Content and Events

Finally, you will be able to enjoy some of the seasonal content and all Seasonal Events happening across the year. In the case of seasonal content, and to be more precise, Guardians will be able to level up their Season Pass and, while not having the same loot as Guardians that pay for the current DLC - Lightfall - they will indeed get loot and even unlock the current Seasonal Exotic.

Seasonal Events, on the other hand, will feature a great amount of content for all players for free. These happen four times a year and will have Guardians engage in several in-game activities that can even become competitive in the long run, with new and unique activities for Guardians to enjoy. Here are all the Seasonal Events in Destiny 2: