Players assume the role of a Guardian, protectors of Earth's last safe city as they wield a power called Light to protect humanity from different alien races and combat the looming threat of the Darkness.

Each class has its own specific upgrades, perks, special abilities, and three sub-classes that allow players to finely tune their individual characters to provide a different play style.

Like the original, there are Patrol missions and public events, but the emphasis has been placed more on the exploration of the worlds, including towns that players can visit and friendly NPCs who can be found in-game and will give side-quests.

This activity puts two teams of four against each other to defeat AI opponents from one of the game's different factions/races (Cabal, Fallen, Hive, Vex, or new with forsaken Scorn), collect their motes and then bank them.

One year after the SIVA Crisis, Cabal forces of the Red Legion launch an aerial assault on the Last City, destroying the main portion of the Tower, the headquarters of the Guardians.

After restoring long-range communications, Hawthorne intercepts a distress call from Commander Zavala, urging surviving Guardians to travel to Saturn's moon Titan to assist in preparing to mount a counter-offensive.

With assistance from Deputy Commander Sloane, they learn that the Red Legion was dispatched to the Milky Way in response to a distress call sent during the Taken War two years prior, and that Ghaul possesses a superweapon known as the Almighty, a space station capable of destroying stars.

During this time, it is shown that Ghaul, aided by his mentor, the Consul, overthrew and exiled Emperor Calus and took control of the Cabal, and has been studying the Traveler in order to learn how to utilise the Light.

With the aid of Failsafe, an AI from the crashed colony ship Exodus Black, the Guardian frees Cayde from a Vex portal loop and claims a teleporter for use in taking back the city.

Afterwards, the Vanguard reunites at the Farm and conclude that the only way to retake the Last City and save the Traveler is to shut down the Almighty first, eliminating the possibility of it destroying the Sun.

The wave of Light then extends beyond the solar system and spreads beyond the Milky Way, before panning across a fleet of dark, mysterious Pyramid-shaped ships sitting some distance away in extragalactic space.

Following Ghaul's defeat, a massive Cabal ship called the Leviathan appears in orbit of Nessus (which it slowly begins to consume), under the control of the exiled Emperor Calus.

Ghost then guides the Guardian, battling Fallen enemies along the way, until they encounter a Vanguard Operative, a Hunter named Shaw Han, who is in search of his fireteam members, Cas and Maeve.

The Vanguard deal with new threats from Hive and Vex forces loyal to the Darkness as the Pyramid fleet arrives, taking positions above Io, Titan, Mercury, and Mars.

A Vanguard command is given out to all Guardians across the solar system to return to the Last City, and they witness the Traveler repairing its broken shell in a burst of Light.

After the Guardians rescue Techeuns lost in the Ascendant Realm, Savathûn's worm is exorcised, and Mara Sov aims to kill her in her weakened state.

In the subsequent seasons, the Vanguard sought ways to follow the Witness, eventually learning from a resurrected Savathûn that she has crafted a wish with Riven that will allow one person to enter the Traveler.

[27] To cover the delay period, Bungie released a free update called Into the Light in April 2024, adding new activities and weapons to prepare for The Final Shape.

[28] The Final Shape sees events taking place in the Pale Heart, a space within the Traveler opened by the Witness, and includes the return of Cayde-6 (with Nathan Fillion reprising this role).

[43] A full reveal trailer released on March 30, showing the three class Vanguards, Commander Zavala (Titan), Cayde-6 (Hunter), and Ikora Rey (Warlock), rallying Guardians in the war-torn Tower.

[54] When creating the music, the composers stated their goal with it was to "capture the somber spirit of a civilization confronting immense tragedy", and also to "inspire bravery in the hearts of our heroes as they stand together and fight to reclaim all that they hold dear".

Uldren is driven to find his lost sister, Queen Mara Sov, believing her to still be alive after the events of The Taken King and he leads the Scorn, former Fallen that were revived from the dead and have become their own race.

[91] As well as ensuring the return of Osiris, who Savathun herself admits to kidnapping and pretending to take his place in order to prepare the armies of the Sol system for the coming battle with the Darkness[92] The Witch Queen expansion was released on February 22, 2022, beginning the fifth year of Destiny 2.

After the Witness was defeated by the Coalition in the Excision mission that was unlocked after the World's First race for the Salvation's Edge raid was completed, its Darkness collided with the Traveler's Light to create paracausal artifacts called Echoes, setting the stage for the episodic structure that followed throughout the cycle.

[97] In addition to these expansions, Destiny 2 features limited time seasonal events that recur annually tied to real-world holidays, many introduced during its first year of service.

[99] "Solstice of Heroes" was original introduced in 2018 to celebrate the end of the Red War campaign but has since played out as a mid-year event, where players work to improve special armor by completing various challenges.

[100] The "Festival of the Lost" is a Halloween-themed event, where players hunt down special enemies in spooky-themed versions of world areas to collect candy and gain rewards.

[102] "Crimson Days", the Valentine's Day-themed event from Year 2 (2016) of the original Destiny, featured a 2-versus-2 Crucible mode that encouraged teammates to stay close to improve their winning chances, but this was also retired in 2020.

Miller of Game Informer stated that the Leviathan raid was "one of Bungie's most intricate and fascinating environments to date", praising its maze-like structure with hidden chests and secret passages.

[119] Destiny 2 was also the second highest-grossing console game of 2017 in North America (behind Call of Duty: WWII), and was also Activision's biggest PC release based on units sold.