Destiny 2 just launched the second season of its fourth year. Called Season of the Chosen, this season continues the trend of previous ones while also adding some novelties.
While Destiny 2 is committed to this seasonal content model for the foreseeable future, it is making one key change going forward. After the feedback from Beyond Light and its scarce weapon offerings, the studio has expanded its rewards team with the goal to inject even more loot to the game each release.
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The narrative of Season of the Chosen picks up where Season of the Hunt concluded, but shifts focus now that the Hive have been pushed back temporarily. In this lull period, Caiatl has made her appearance in the system with the hope of persuading humanity to join her forces before another Darkness or Hive onslaught engulfs Earth and its surroundings. Caiatl offers a spot on her council to Zavala if he pledges his forces to the empire.
The meeting ends bitterly with both parties readying for battle. The empress aims to expand her line of commanders by absorbing Red Legion war heroes into her army while also forcing humanity into submission and a mutual alliance. Meanwhile, the Vanguard tries to sabotage Caiatl's attempts at strengthening her military and pushes back against the new Cabal occupation in the Solar System to show her that Guardians don't bow to monarchs.
The main attraction of Season 13 is Battlegrounds: a 3-player matchmade activity where players disrupt Cabal operations, hunt down a chief, and pillage offerings made to the empress. There are multiple Battlegrounds maps, each taking place on a different destination. These can be launched manually, or played inside a playlist like Strikes.
Speaking of Strikes, three have been added this season. Two are returning Destiny 1 Strikes with very minor touchups. The other is a brand new one, called Proving Grounds. In it, players raid a massive mobile fortress Caiatl has deployed on Nessus. There are two new weapons to earn in Strikes, and three additional weapons inside Nightfalls, on any difficulty. The Grandmaster Nightfall can award Adept versions of said weapons.
One of the most interesting additions of Season of the Chosen is the H.E.L.M., a new player hub. Designed to prep Guardians for future incursions, it contains the modified Umbral Recaster and Decoder, a Postmaster, the Vault, the Crow, a mission table, and will likely house more as time goes on. Players will get mission briefings, interact with Vanguard commanders, manage inventories, and use the seasonal vendor here. The War Table acts as this season's unique vendor, providing a progression system for Battlegrounds.
After looting a ceremonial hammer off a Red Legion higher-up, players will bring it to the War Table to fit it with perks and make the most out of Season 13. Named the Hammer of Proving, this relic gives players the right to challenge elite Cabal and defeat them as part of ritual combat. After adorning it with Cabal Gold, players will also use the hammer to smash imperial chests at the end of Battlegrounds and loot the spoils. This will ensure that Caiatl bond with the Red Legion never strengthens.
Tied into the hammer and War Table is Seasonal Challenges. These have replaced bounties, especially weekly ones, and award seasonal vendor ranks, loot, Bright Dust, and more. Seasonal Challenges come in multiple varieties and generally resemble Triumph objectives. They don't take up space in the quests log, and unlike bounties, never expire. So, even if a player logs in at the end of the season, they can still complete the previous weeks' worth of Challenges, never missing out on Bright Dust or any other resource.
Several things will be familiar here to dedicated fans. There is a pursuit weapon that can be earned by playing either Strikes, Crucible, Gambit, or all at the same time. The Season Pass remains virtually the same as last season, and more of Season 13's content will be unlocked in the coming weeks. This includes the seasonal exotic quest, which takes place on an abandoned Cabal ship and will award a Tex Mechanica Scout Rifle. Guardian Games will return in April, and Trials of Osiris has gotten brand new armor, as well as new weapons. Lastly, several weapons have expanded the legendary loot pool, including some Year 1 weapons updated to current standards and two new weapons added to each ritual activity.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.