With the current Season of the Deep storyline shedding new light on the origins of The Witness, revealing more about the mysterious Veil, and setting the stage for The Final Shape expansion, it’s time to start looking at what the next couple of months has in store for Destiny 2. Right now, only Bungie knows exactly what will happen next season, although some leaks may have spoiled the surprise.
For now, we’re mostly ignoring those rumors for a spoiler-free roundup of what you can expect in Season 22. Obviously, not a whole lot has been revealed so far, but we’ll update this post with new details and assets as soon as Bungie begins to share those details.
Usually, the studio reveals a lot about how it’ll be mechanically tweaking Destiny 2 in the weeks leading up to a new season, as it focuses on improving underperforming areas of the game, tightening up sections in need of some maintenance, and experimenting with new ideas. Here’s everything that we know about Season 22 so far.
Destiny 2 Season 22 start date
Season of the Deep officially ends on August 22, which is also the day of Destiny 2’s weekly reset, and presumably the start of Season 22. What makes this day special is that it’s also the date on which a new Bungie Showcase will be broadcast, detailing what lies ahead in the game’s next expansion, The Final Shape.
Season 22 story
Bungie usually remains tight-lipped on what the seasonal storyline will be right until the eleventh hour, but according to recent leaks, it sounds like Season 22 will bring an end to a long-running conflict in Destiny 2 and introduce a major new change for at least one fan-favorite character.
Narratively, players can also expect Season 22 to establish several story threads that’ll lead into The Final Shape expansion. “From Season 22 and Season 23 onwards, it’s the ramp-up and lead into The Final Shape,” senior narrative designer Robert Brookes explained in an interview. “So it’s a very different shape than what we were used to.”
Seasonal activity
Again, nothing official has been revealed by Bungie, but the leaks claim that Season 22’s activity will be similar to one of Destiny 2’s earlier match-made activities from its Shadowkeep era. Usually, you can expect new three and six-person activities.
Season 22 raid
The upcoming reprised raid will be available beginning on Friday, September 1, 2023 with the daily reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. Contest Mode, for anyone planning to compete for the World First title, will be enabled for the first 48 hours, just as it was for Root of Nightmares earlier this year.
While we’re not certain what raid will be featured in Season 22, there are some likely options here. After King’s Fall made the cut, the options include Wrath of the Machines, the Fallen raid from vanilla Destiny’s final expansion Rise of Iron, and Crota’s End, which was added in the game’s first expansion The Dark Below. Wrath of the Machines featured the last stand of the SIVA-empowered House of Devils and took place in the heart of the Cosmodrome badlands, eventually ending with the defeat of Aksis and the destruction of SIVA. Crota’s End, as the name suggests, was a Hive-centric raid that introduced a number of fascinating gameplay mechanics to the structure of that PvE activity and notably ended with a Guardian slaying Crota with his own blade. We could also see one of the raids that has been vaulted in Destiny 2, such as Leviathan.
Destiny 2 Season 22 weapon updates
A recent Season 21 patch adjusted the performance of pulse rifles, bows, submachine guns, and shotguns, and beyond that, some interesting changes are scheduled for glaives, hand cannons, swords, and bows in Season 22.
Hand cannons will gain improved reload speeds and damage increases when targeting major or minor enemies in PvE, and guarding with swords will get a “substantial rework,” according to Bungie. Various perks–including Bipod, Envious Assassin, and Under-Over–will be buffed in unspecified ways and more Exotics will see balance changes, including Le Monarque and Touch of Malice.
Destiny 2 seasonal weapons
Currently, there’s no clue as to what the weapon theme will be in Season 22 and what new perks you can expect. These usually tie into the current season, like Season of the Deep’s Taken-influenced weapons or Season of Plunder’s pirate arsenal, so there’s a good chance that this theme will continue in Season 22.
Gambit is becoming “optional”
The writing is on the wall for Gambit, as Bungie says that the PvPvE will become more “optional” in the months leading up to The Final Shape. Not wanting to devote valuable resources or staff to this mode, Gambit will become a part of Destiny 2 that can be safely ignored for the most part.
Crucible updates
In comparison, there’s a lot to look forward to in Destiny 2’s PvP. Next season will see a new Vex-themed map added to the playlist, a new mode will allow you to wield seasonal weapons against your fellow Guardians, and a new modifier that emphasizes gunplay are just some of the changes on the horizon.
New Strand Aspects
Destiny’s newest subclass gets three more Aspects next season: Weavewalk for Warlocks, Whirling Maelstrom for Hunters, and Banner of War for Titans.
Destiny 2 power cap
The overall player power cap–the combined power level from all your equipped armor, weapons, and gear–has remained the same in Season of the Deep, and Bungie has confirmed that it won’t be raised in Season 22.
Bungie has seemingly deemphasized the need to chase Power levels as of late, and it’s long been rumored that they could eventually be removed entirely.
Quality-of-life updates
Bungie isn’t showing its entire hand just yet, but next season, you can expect the following convenient changes:
- Cosmetic favoring
- Purchasable Stasis Aspects and Fragments if the Beyond Light campaign has been completed
- Transmat effects will no longer be consumable items
- The Fireteam-Finder (LFG) feature will be added
- Exotic Mission rotator
- Increased Masterwork material cap
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