It’s no secret that Destiny 2’s year of existence hasn’t been a joyride. From a disappointing launch that lacked vital features present in Destiny by the end of its lifecycle to several controversies, both Bungie and fans have been put through the ringer. Destiny 2 needs a reset and Bungie hopes to recapture the magic with Destiny 2: Forsaken, a true expansion built to give players exactly what they want. With a new campaign, weapons, locations and quality of life improvements, does Forsaken successfully press the reset button?

Capricorns are hard workers who are stubborn and far from content when they are not the top-dogs. Accordingly, Thaviks, the Depraved's inferior size and power in comparison to other bosses is compensated by his stubborn quickness and laser gun shoot

A fallen Servitor, The Warden is a boss incorporated into the Forsaken expansion. The enemy is stubborn and longs for inclusion in the world after being trapped in this strange glowing orb, which is reminiscent of another Bungie creation in 343 Guilty Spark from the Halo ser

Likewise, it’s nice that we finally got a new race of enemies to battle. The Scorn may have some relation to the Fallen, but they look and fight differently. The Scorn brings enemies that rush the player, swing fire-infused maces, attack mid-range and snipe from a distance. They’re not wholly unique from the current crop of enemies, but they provide a good change in pace.

The Wraith Mines - South of the Lost Oasis and northwest of the Spine Burrows is the Wraith Mines. The eye is in the room with the drill to the right of the entrance. This spot can be reached through the excavation tunnels from the Terrabase Cha

Bows join the large staple of weapon types available in Destiny 2: Forsaken. While silly on paper, the bows of Forsaken are surprisingly powerful and feel great to use. Players receive a bow early in the campaign and it’s hard to remove it after finding more powerful weaponry. While not the most practical weapon to take to a gunfight, bows make landing headshots so satisfying, especially when it causes a mini-explosion.

The Magnificent Armor is where the real work begins. Each player is gifted a Renewed set of armor that has low stats and looks old and dilapidated. Every piece of the set has a subset of tasks associated with it. These might include goals such as Complete Five Strikes, or Get 50 Precision Kills, or other things to that effect. Once players complete all requirements on all five pieces of gear, the armor can be upgraded to the Majestic versions with higher stats and better aesthetics. With this upgrade also comes a new, more challenging set of objectives to complete for each armor piece once again. In 2020, this first upgrade also unlocks the universal ornaments for the set as w

In addition to these large requirements, Guardians were upset that their hard-earned rewards were rendered obsolete within weeks due to radical changes in the Destiny 2 armor system . This year, the number one concern of players seems to have been addressed, but the monkey’s paw is clinched harder than ever for players looking to acquire it

Microtransactions were a considerable problem in Destiny 2 with end-game items like Sparrows, ships and shaders tied to the game’s version of Loot Boxes. While not as invasive in Destiny 2 2025 Guide 2: Forsaken, it still feels like large amounts of items are held hostage behind the system. Ships, Sparrows, weapon ornaments and shaders are found in the wild, but many remain tied to Eververse. Considering Destiny 2's costs add upwards of $140 at this point, it's annoying that the microtransactions remain (the abysmal Curse of Osiris and Warmind DLCs are required to play Forsaken).

Destiny 2 is now in the midst of the Season of Arrivals, which as itself brought a new dungeon and public event to the game along with near weapons and gear to chase. So far it’s looking like a decent seasonal update and will likely serve as a good prologue to the major expansion, Beyond Light, coming this fall. Bungie has promised great content coming with Beyond Light (including the return of Hawkmoon!) as well as the "vaulting" of locations like Mars and Mercury. Seeing previous paid content get "vaulted" is concerning, but it should be fine so long as it comes back from time to time as has been promised. That issue aside though, the future is once again looking bright for Destiny 2. Let’s hope it stays that way.

"Armor 2.0" is perhaps the biggest foundational update that Destiny 2 has seen since Forsaken, as it both reintroduced the old stats from Destiny 1 and gave players a means to craft their own character builds via mods and randomly-rolled stats. Following this, Season of the Worthy hosted the return of every Crucible fanatic’s favorite mode: Trials of Osiris. There are still balancing issues and such to iron out of course, but at this moment it’s probably safe to say that Destiny 2 has finally surpassed its predecessor in just about every meaningful way. It’s still a different game of course, but that difference is no longer a bad thing.