Last week, I speculated about the next season of Destiny 2 taking place on Europa. That piece wasn’t really based on any evidence, just an idea for a future season that made sense to me. But now, I think I’ve found something that points towards me being on the right track. That doesn’t necessarily mean things are going to play out the way I described them in that piece, but thanks to one particular Seasonal Challenge, I do think the odds that season 18 of Destiny 2 will see us return to Europa just got stronger.
I was looking through the Seasonal Challenges when I noticed something interesting. (All of the challenges are publicly visible through the API at the beginning of a season, though they’re only displayed a week at a time in-game.) As in previous seasons, the challenges for season 17 taper off towards the end, with only three in the last batch. For the most part, the challenges all have to do with the season, or else are general incentives to run playlist activities or simply play the game.
But there’s one week ten Seasonal Challenge for Season of the Haunted that’s a little unusual. It’s called “Europa Activities,” and it asks Guardians to complete bounties, patrols, public events, and Lost Sectors on Europa. That in itself isn’t so suspicious, except that the events of Season of the Haunted have very little to do with Europa. Week three had a similar challenge for the Moon, which makes sense because Season of the Haunted is set in orbit above it and prominently features the Nightmares from Shadowkeep. Week four also had a Throne World Activities challenge, which could be explained as simply encouraging players to revisit the location of the most recent expansion.
Here’s where it gets interesting, though — the Season of the Risen had a week 10 Seasonal Challenge tied to a location, too. That location? The Moon. Risen had a Moon-based PsiOps Battleground, but that’s about it. So what if that was a hint that season 17 (Haunted) would be tied to the Moon, and the Europa challenge at the end of this season is similarly pointing towards a focus on that area for next season? We’ll have to wait and see, but given Bungie’s penchant for poetic rhythm and the contrast between past and future, fire and ice that a Vex-focused season on Europa would give us, I think the odds are pretty good. Season of the Fractured, baby! It’s coming!
If you’re looking for more help with Destiny 2, we have guides covering how to unlock the Solar 3.0 fragments and grenades, how to get the new Jotunn catalyst, how to farm Vestiges of Dread and Opulent Umbral Energy, all Exotics, new weapon Patterns, seasonal mods, and Season of the Haunted triumphs. In addition, we’re covering all patch notes, bugs and top issues, Bound in Sorrow quest steps, and Calus Bobbleheads. We’ve covered how to get Opulent Keys, Bound Presence in Containment, Crown of Sorrow H.E.L.M. upgrades, Iron Banner Seal Triumphs, and the Trespasser Catalyst. And lastly, we’ve written on how to find a Loyalist Commander for Battles Lines Triumph and the Cek’ik Boss.
