How Monetization works in Destiny 2

Up to date as of Year 5

Overview

DLC (downloadable content), are separately purchased add ons. Think of it as intermediate between a subscription model and a standard "buy to play" model.

The DLCs for Destiny 2 add a campaign, variety of side quests, new loot drops, some end game activities, and additional subclasses such as Stasis and Strand.

Power level is no longer capped based on what DLC you own. All players can visit all destinations by earning enough XP to unlock them, but buying the DLC that came with a planet will give you quickest access to that destination. Do not buy old DLC because you think it will raise your power level. Buy it if it includes something you want, such as a raid or activity. You do not need to own prior DLCs to play the latest ones; simply pick and choose whichever one(s) contain what you most want.

While some DLCs have been removed, either fully or partially, this will no longer be the case. All current DLC content is a permanent part of the game.[www.pcgamesn.com] This does not apply to season passes, which get removed yearly.

See the FAQ at the bottom of this guide for quick recommendations. If you want to know what is available for free, see my steam guide here.

Season Passes

Started with the New Light update in fall 2019. This is the "battle pass system." A battle pass system is where you earn xp and you get rewards upon reaching certain thresholds. Unlike other games with pass systems like this, Destiny 2's season passes also include items, quests, and gameplay, not just cosmetics. However, they always need to be purchased with real money.

You can view your progress, as well as how much time is left in the season, in the Seasons tab of the director. The top row is the loot accessible to all players and the bottom row requires the current season pass, available to purchase in-game for silver or as part of a bundle each year. Rewards from the season pass are retroactively unlocked if you buy the season pass after ranking up. You can also pay money to unlock season pass levels, but this is widely regarded as a ripoff it's not that difficult to rank up through gameplay, even for casual players. Details for each season since the start of the season passes can be found here.[www.bungie.net]

• A season lasts approximately three months, but it does vary a bit. There are 4 seasons per "year," with the year being when a new DLC releases, not a calendar year.
  
• The armor and armor ornaments in the season pass can be claimed on each class. If you ever buy a season pass, you should make a character of each class in order to claim these, even if you don't plan on playing them all any time soon.
  
• Each season has a new pass. Buying a past season's pass doesn't grant you future seasons.
  
• Each season, there is a new artifact that goes in the lower left of your character menu. As you earn xp, this artifact gives you bonus power levels on top of your equipped items, which matters for gameplay, though bonus power levels are not included when calculating the power level of loot drops. You can unlock mods from the artifact as you earn xp. It is the only source of champion weapon mods, which are necessary to deactivate the abilities of champion enemies.
  
• There is a special group activity with matchmaking that only owners of the season pass can participate in. There are some free trial runs accessible to non-pass owners. A variety of legendary rarity items can be farmed from this activity.
  
• The pass adds a variety of side quests, including exotic gun quests. There is a title available from each season. View titles at the bottom of the Triumphs menu.
  
• The exotic gun from the season pass available at rank 1 to pass holders and 35 to free to play players will move to the Monument to Lost Lights and go behind a paywall.
  
• At the end of a season, the season pass legendary armor can be sold by weekend Xur[wherethe♥♥♥♥isxur.com]. There isn't a consistent pattern for when and if the legendary weapons become available again. The exotics remain available, but require the year's DLC to get them once the season pass ends.
  
• The only way to pre-purchase seasons or buy seasons you missed is to buy the relevant Destiny year's Deluxe or Annual edition. When the next DLC comes out, the Deluxe edition for the previous expansion ceases to exist.
  
• The season when a new DLC launches is typically the most minimal in terms of story and activities.
  
• The season right before a new DLC tends to have the "meatiest" story.
  
• At the end of every season, the gunsmith, vanguard, crucible, and gambit ranks and rank up rewards all reset.
  
• Eververse stock will refresh. Any sparrows, ships, and ornaments from this season will only be obtainable if they appear in the bright dust rotation or randomly drop from a future eververse engram.

Eververse

The in-game microtransaction store. Eververse uses two currencies. Silver, which is purchased with real money, and bright dust, which can be earned in game by unlocking seasonal achievements in the Quests tab, completing repeatable bounties, and ranking up in the season pass.

When you purchase something, it will go to the inventory tab of your character menu and you must press and hold a button to unwrap them for use. Before unwrapping, they are refundable.

The weekly rotation items in Eververse are predetermined in advance. We used to be able to see the schedule showing which items were available each week, but now we cannot. See the website Today In Destiny for which items are silver only and which can be purchased for bright dust.[www.todayindestiny.com]

Everything here is cosmetic, with the exception of the bright dust consumable: concentrated mattergem, glimmershard, and scavenger's boon. These are widely regarded as a terrible deal. Do not buy them. As you play you will find ghost mods and consumables that boost your glimmer and planetary materials, and you will gain the materials needed to purchase upgrade modules from Banshee-44 or Ada-1 in the Tower.

Character Boosts

These are widely regarded as a scam.

If you have one character who has reached the soft cap power level, you can spend 2,000 silver to bring your other characters up to the soft cap. Note that the actual grind for power level does not start until after the soft cap, so you are paying to skip the fastest part only.

If you have one character who has completed the Lightfall campaign, you can spend silver to bypass the campaign on your other characters. Source[www.bungie.net]

Holiday Events

Holiday events are listed as free in marketing materials, but as of Solstice (summer 2022), they have Event Passes. These are $10 for exclusive cosmetics. Some are granted up front, others require you to earn an intermediate currency, tickets, through playing the event.

All players earn tickets, but their sole use is for these exclusive paid cosmetics. The point of tickets dropping for everyone is to make you feel like you're wasting them if you don't pay for the opportunity to spend them. Most people consider event cards to be a total waste of money.

Forsaken

The DLC that revitalized Destiny 2, released in fall 2018. Tragically, Forsaken's Campaign and the Tangled Shore have gone to the great Destiny Content Vault in the sky[www.bungie.net].

Starting December 7th, Forsaken became the Forsaken Pack, containing:

• A large number of exotics. See my steam guide on exotics for which ones.
  
• Some side activities in the Dreaming City, such as the three weekly missions.
  
• Last Wish raid
  
• Shattered Throne dungeon

Shadowkeep

Shadowkeep released at the start of the game's third year, with the New Light update on October 1, 2019.

Shadowkeep used to give you the pass for the season you bought it during, but this is no longer the case. It now includes these things:

• A short campaign started from the Moon.
  
• Pit of Heresy dungeon
  
• A small number of exotics. See my steam guide on exotics for which ones.
  
• Garden of Salvation raid
  
• Bounty access from Eris Morn and the Lectern on the Moon.

Beyond Light

Released in November 2020. This is also when the Destiny Content Vault[www.bungie.net] began, where seldomly played content is periodically cut from the game.

Beyond Light on its own it is $40. From the time of its release until Witch Queen's release on 02/22/2022, it also had a Deluxe version, for $70. Beyond Light contains:

• A medium length campaign starting on Europa
  
• Some hidden lore collectibles
  
• Empire Hunts
  
• The Stasis element subclass. Formerly timegated over many weeks, but as of fall 2023 can be unlocked all at once with glimmer.
  
• A small number of exotics. See my steam guide on exotics for which ones.
  
• Deep Stone Crypt raid
  
• Exotic armors that can only drop from Legend and Master lost sectors
  
• Bounty access from Variks on Europa, including repeatable quests to farm Europa weapons.

The Deluxe Version contained all the season passes for that year. The Deluxe Upgrade for $30 could apparently be purchased without owning Beyond Light, which would get you only the year of season passes. It led to a lot of confusion, with people thinking they'd actually bought Beyond Light.

30th Anniversary

Released December 7th, $25. This pack adds a dungeon and variety of items and cosmetics. Ownership of this pack does not cross platforms like a season pass. It is platform specific like a DLC.

As of yet, unclear how long it will be in-game or if it will go on sale like a DLC. We know it will be around for the long term, because on the Bungie Rewards page, the option to buy a physical version of the Vidmaster seal states it can be purchased if you earn the title before December 2022. In the past, physical merch seals have been made unavailable years before the actual title was, so my guess is the free and paid 30th anniversary content will still be around after that.

For more information on what is free and what is paywalled, see the page on the Bungie website[www.bungie.net] which includes this handy chart.

Witch Queen

Released February 22, 2022. It was $40 on release and, up until Lightfall, had a deluxe version for $80.

Witch Queen includes:

• A long campaign, maybe a little shorter than Forsaken's was. This is the most well liked campaign currently available.
  
• Wellspring, a 6 player matchmade activity
  
• Vow of the Disciple raid
  
• Some post campaign activities in the Throne World such as Altars of Reflection and exotic quests
  
• Weapon crafting is free for all players, but there are some craftable weapons you can only get here.
  
• On release, completing the Legendary campaign gave you a full set of gear slightly above the soft cap as well as the choice of one of the launch exotics with very low stats. After Lightfall's release, you no longer receive a full set of gear, only the choice of low stat exotic. Be warned, one of these exotics will not work unless you also own Beyond Light. This was done to encourage people to buy both, but you can fully enjoy Witch Queen on its own.
  
• The exotic SMG Osteo Striga. This used to be Deluxe exclusive, but after three months was made available for all Witch Queen owners.
  
• See my exotic guide for a full list of Witch Queen exotics.

This is the first year the Dungeon Keys were added. Instead of a dungeon being included in the expansion, there are two dungeons released that year but they are a separate purchase. In this case, it is Duality and Spire of the Watcher, which you can do once you buy the Witch Queen Dungeon Key. Despite the name you do not need to also own Witch Queen, and it does not come with Witch Queen. These are independent pieces of content.

Lightfall

Released February 28, 2023.

From the Bungie website:

Starting with Season of the Deep (21), season passes will be $15 of silver. Due to how you get a small bonus amount you get when purchasing silver, if you buy the season passes and dungeon keys separately, you will end up with some extra silver. The season pass price increase was not announced until right before Season of the Deep.

Lightfall Annual is $100. To buy separately, the parts that make up the annual version are a total of $115:

• Lightfall + Season 20 = $50
  
• Seasons 21, 22, and 23 = $45
  
• Lightfall dungeon key = $20

While the term "annual pass" is used here, it's not at all like the Forsaken Annual Pass. It's the same thing as the "deluxe" versions of Beyond Light and Witch Queen that were available when those were the latest DLCs.

Of the things listed in this image, free roam on Neptune will be available free to play. Quicksilver Storm is now available to regular Lightfall owners.

The Lightfall raid is Root of Nightmares.

The Final Shape

Despite the name, this won't actually be the end of Destiny 2. The Final Shape DLC is set to release February 27, 2024. This marks the end of the season pass system. Instead of four season passes per year, there will be three episodes per year, at 1500 silver each. You can read more about it in tThe Final Shape showcase here.[www.bungie.net]

Price breakdown:

• The Final Shape base DLC $50
  
• Episodes, $15 silver package for one, or $30 silver package + $5 silver package for all three
  
• The Final Shape dungeon key, $20

The Final Shape Annual version includes all of that and costs $100. To buy it all separately instead would be $105.

Historical Prices

All prices listed are in USD.

2017: On release, vanilla Destiny 2 was $60. Curse of Osiris (CoO) released in early 2018 for $20. Warmind released in summer 2018 for $20. Curse of Osiris and Warmind could be purchased as a bundle for $35. Now, they are gone.

2018: Forsaken was $40 on release, and initially didn't come with CoO or Warmind, but required them to play it. Eventually, CoO and Warmind were included with purchase of Forsaken for the same price, with some in-game loot given as compensation to those who'd bought them separately.

The Forsaken Annual Pass was initially a $35 purchase that you needed Forsaken in order to play. Not to be confused with the current Season Pass system, which is different. It gave access to Black Armory, Gambit Prime and Reckoning, the Menagerie, and the raids Scourge of the Past and Crown of Sorrow. The biggest difference was these were not designed or advertised to be temporary content.

2019: Shadowkeep was $35 on release, and included one season pass. Individually, season passes are $10. This marks the beginning of intentionally temporary content. Shadowkeep deluxe was $60.

2020: Beyond Light was $40 on release. Beyond Light Deluxe was $70. The 30th anniversary pack released late in this year for $25.

2022: Witch Queen was $40 on release. Witch Queen Deluxe was $80. This is the first year dungeon keys were added. The dungeon key from this year is $20 silver.

2023: Lightfall + season 20 is $50. Lightfall annual is $100. This year they added a new bundle, the Armory Collection, which is the Forsaken Pack plus 30th anniversary pack for $30. (At this time the Forsaken Pack is $20 and the 30th pack is $25 to buy separately). Season of the Deep, season 21, marked an increase in the price of season passes from $10 to $15. This was not announced until immediately before Season of the Deep. In November 2023, the Starter Pack was created. It was a terrible deal at $15 and was removed within a couple of days.

DLCs go on sale every few months. Season passes and dungeon keys never go on sale.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I buy?

Consider how much you like this game and which parts of it you enjoy. Read the descriptions of each listing in the store or in this guide. If you are unsure, it's never a mistake to save your money and wait. DLCs go on sale every now and then. Do not feel like you have to have everything straight away; you should be far enough into the game to at least understand what it is you are buying.

If you plan to play a lot, season passes are a good choice. However, you must play a lot to get the most value out of them. For the casual but regularly active player, it's fairly easy to get to rank 100 of the season pass rewards track in about a month.

What should I buy first?

Order doesn't matter. Each purchase functions independently, so you don't need to buy or play them in order. Later DLC campaigns may have slightly different dialogue if you didn't play earlier DLC campaign, so it all kind of makes sense. There isn't any one that is better to start with than another. They all include something of value. There are various reasons people may suggest to start with a certain thing, so you can pick which ones sound most relevant to you:

• The Forsaken Pack offers a lot of easily accessible exotics
  
• Shadowkeep is the first story, chronologically.
  
• Witch Queen has a well-liked story campaign.
  
• Lightfall is often recommended simply for being new, but being new doesn't make it inherently better for new players. New content does have the advantage of offering more powerful and pinnacle gear sources, but that's not as important as it may sound.

What should I buy if I want everything?

If you want everything, you will need to buy everything. Destiny 2 Legacy Collection, Lightfall, and Armory Collection.

I do not recommend "just buying everything" unless you understand exactly what you are getting. It's perfectly possible to play and enjoy the game long term without owning every DLC and season pass. It's fine to spread out purchases.

What should I buy if I want. . .

• All exotics? All DLC, the 30th pack, and the dungeon keys. No season passes.
  
• All campaigns? No Forsaken Pack, no 30th anniversary pack. All other DLCs and season passes.
  
• Good gear? Good items are scattered throughout the entire game, including the free to play parts. If there is a specific item you have in mind, this question could be answered more specifically.
  
• To be stronger? Power level is not paywalled, and hasn't been for years. All players can reach the same max power level for their gear, and the artifact and its bonus power levels are available free. However, owning the current latest DLC and season pass will give access to more powerful and pinnacle gear source, so a dedicated player can increase in power level to the hard cap faster.
  
• End game? Bungie defines "end game" as raids, dungeons, Trials of Osiris, and high difficulty nightfalls and lost sectors. If you want every raid, you would want to buy every DLC. If you want every dungeon, you would want to buy every DLC except Witch Queen and Lightfall, and instead buy the dungeon keys in Eververse. If you want every nightfall you would want to buy every DLC. If you want Trials of Osiris you would want to buy the current latest DLC.

What do you think I should buy?

This is purely my own opinion.

• Do not buy the 30th pack, it's relatively expensive for what it gives. Consider buying the Armory Collection.
  
• Do not buy bundles that include season passes unless you fully understand the season pass system and are certain you will play a lot for the entire time. If you are interested in the cosmetics, they are exclusive to the paid pass and are much more cost effective than any other paid cosmetics.
  
• Consider buying each of the DLCs, depending on what you want. They all include worthwhile stuff, and are permanent parts of the game so there is no rush, unlike with season passes. They do go on sale.
  
• Consider buying the current season pass if there's at least a month left in it and you want the legendary weapons and exclusive cosmetics.

What are dungeon keys?

Starting with Witch Queen, dungeons are no longer included in the DLC. There are now two dungeons per year instead of one, and you buy access by year. The Witch Queen Dungeon Key is not included in Witch Queen, does not require Witch Queen, and gives access to the two dungeons that released during the same year Witch Queen did (Duality, Spire). You have unlimited access to the two dungeons once you buy, and these appear to be permanent parts of the game.

The Lightfall dungeon key is not yet available for separate purchase. It might be once the first dungeon in it comes out.

Does buying the latest expansion get all of the older ones?

No. You can tell this by reading their store descriptions, or by seeing how they have separate store listings. The Legacy Collection includes the older 3 DLCs, but they can also be purchased separately.

When should I buy DLC?

After you've played enough of Destiny 2 New Light to decide if you like this game a lot. Do not buy DLC because it feels like you have to, or because you want to get a higher power level, or because you don't want to be "left behind." That's not how it works. Power level is not capped based on DLC ownership like it was in the past, though it is harder to reach higher power levels if you don't own the latest DLC or current season pass.

Season passes are worth less towards the end of a season, since you'll have less time to play whatever they add, but they always cost the same amount of money. You should buy them towards the start of a season if you want them. It does not matter what time you purchase the non-pass DLCs, so if you are unsure, wait for them to go on sale.

I bought DLC on xbox or PS4, why isn't it on Steam?

DLC purchases do not cross platforms, only season passes do. The rationale is that microsoft, sony, and valve don't care if you gave money to one or both of the other companies, so buying (for example) Forsaken on xbox doesn't get you Forsaken on PS4 or PC because you purchased it from microsoft. Season passes are purchased in-game using silver, unlike DLC which is purchased from the store for your platform. Read more in the cross save FAQ from the official website. [www.bungie.net]

is D3 coming soon? Is it too late to invest in D2 now?

No.

Why would anyone buy older content?

This is not the kind of game where the age of content automatically determines its worth. Newer expansions aren't inherently better than older ones and vice versa.

Will Bungie give me free things because I am unhappy with my purchase, or because I bought something that became cheaper later on?

No, unless specifically stated otherwise, as with the shader, emblem, and consumables given to people who bought Curse of Osiris, Warmind, and Forsaken separately. Steam does have a return policy for DLC.

[Gabe]

Anyone trying to normalize or make excuses for this level of predatory monetization and drip feeding of content is an absolute shill and a bad human being.

[DiggyPee M.D.]

I have all the DLC's and still read this entire guide. Really well made!

[Odddude21]

Thanks for your response. Yeah I just finished the first quest of forsaken an it wont let me go any further. Guess I should have gone a little farther before asking the question lol

[Heliopteryx]

Only the first mission of each DLC story is available free. There's a variety of side quests and items exclusive to DLC holders.

[Odddude21]

I got a question about the how the dlc work and I figure I may as well ask it here. I just downloaded destiny 2 fresh off of steam with a new account. I can see that I can play on the worlds and areas that were introduced with the dlc, I can play the dlc stories, I can obtain dlc weapons and armor from drops, and I can even play stuff like the strikes that came out with the dlc. So what content, aside from the raids I've noticed, is actually unlocked when you buy the dlc?

[Plasmodium]

Thanks for clarifying, Heliopteryx. This is still a massively helpful guide to a confusing subject nevertheless. Keep up the good work, both here and IRL!

[Heliopteryx]

Reviewing the store, it does look like the DLC packages have been changed! Sorry, I haven't done a great job of keeping up to date (I am a healthcare worker in the US, and things haven't exactly been going great here).

[Heliopteryx]

Warframe wasn't the first to do this season pass thing, both Warframe and Destiny 2 are copying earlier games that pioneered this "game pass" system. Personally I have mixed feelings.

[Plasmodium]

Does Shadowkeep still come with a copy of the Season Pass as suggested above? I've had a look at the store page and I can't see it mentioned anywhere

[Wintergalactic]

Super helpful. Thank you.