Destiny 2: Shadowkeep

Shadowkeep is similar in scale to the original Destiny's fourth expansion, Rise of Iron, and features a "full campaign", two new multiplayer PvE strike missions, and one new PvP Crucible map, as well as two reused ones. The expansion features the Moon as a returning, playable destination, where it has been reprised and expanded upon its original patrol mode from the original Destiny. Bungie claimed that the Moon would be twice the size of its original iteration, featuring major changes to the lunar environment, including the erection of a massive Hive fortress on the lunar surface, the Scarlet Keep, that serves as a key area for the expansion. Eris Morn, a character from the original game who had been absent since the events of Destiny 2's base campaign, serves as the main non-playable character (NPC) for Shadowkeep. The expansion also introduces a new faction of enemies called Nightmares—spectral manifestations of the trauma from the Guardians' past that have been reanimated by the Darkness and have been accidentally unleashed onto the Moon by Eris. Nightmare enemies are mostly major story bosses from both Destiny and Destiny 2, as well as minor enemies from the Fallen, Hive, Cabal, Vex, and Scorn enemy races, made more powerful by the Darkness and can even regenerate their health. Nightmare enemies can also be found in Lost Sectors. A new raid mission, "Garden of Salvation", was released on October 5, 2019, and takes place in the Black Garden on Mars from the original game; the raid was tied to the expansion's first seasonal content offering, Season of the Undying, which focused on the Vex, who invaded the Moon as a result of players' actions during the raid. A new dungeon, "Pit of Heresy", was added on October 29, and takes place underneath the Scarlet Keep on the Moon. A second new dungeon, "Prophecy", was added on June 9, 2020 upon the release of Season of Arrivals, and takes place in the realm of the Nine in unknown space.

The expansion also features a new PvE activity on the Moon called "Nightmare Hunts", which are unlocked after completing the main campaign of Shadowkeep; they feature powerful Nightmare enemies with a major Nightmare boss at the end. The activity has four new difficulty modes—Adept, Hero, Legend, and Master—with brand new, preset modifiers. The Hero version of the activity released on October 8, while the Legend and Master versions were released on October 15 and 22, respectively. Matchmaking is only available in both the Adept and Hero difficulties. Nightmare Hunts award "Nightmare Essences", materials which are required to craft new weapons and gear through another NPC called the Lectern of Enchantment. A new version of the PvE Nightfall strike activity called "Nightfall: The Ordeal" was released; The Ordeal features a weekly rotating Nightfall strike with the Adept, Hero, Legend, and Master difficulty modes as well (also with preset modifiers), and can award exotic weapons and gear as well as upgrade materials. Unlike the regular Nightfall activity, matchmaking is included in The Ordeal but only on the Adept and Hero difficulties. Legacy Nightfall strikes also remain available for all players. A fifth difficulty exclusively for The Ordeal, Grandmaster, was added on April 21, 2020.

Changes were also made to the Crucible for Shadowkeep—the Control game mode is now in its own separate playlist, while a "Classic Mix" playlist consisting of the Control, Clash, and Supremacy modes is also available. Survival is now the only available competitive mode featuring its own playlist and has been revamped into a 3v3 game mode; a separate "freelance" playlist is available for players who prefer to play Survival in a solo queue. The Crucible Labs playlist also returned during Season of the Undying, which featured a beta version of the 3v3 Elimination mode from the original game's House of Wolves expansion; Elimination has since returned as a permanent game mode as of Season of Dawn. Other Crucible game modes are now featured as two weekly rotating playlists. A new rotating PvP mode called "Momentum Control"—a version of Control where weapon damage is more lethal and abilities are only restored via weapon kills—was released on October 29, 2019.

Trials of Osiris, the pinnacle PvP mode from the original game's House of Wolves expansion and the predecessor to Destiny 2's pinnacle PvP mode Trials of the Nine, was announced on February 25, 2020 alongside the announcement of Season of the Worthy, and returned on March 13, 2020. Similar to its original iteration, Trials is only available every weekend from Friday until the weekly reset on Tuesday, and uses the 3v3 Elimination mode with Power levels enabled; access to the activity is only granted upon a purchase of a "Trials Passage" scorecard with a recommended Power level of 960. Fireteams of three attempt to win as many matches as possible; going flawless with seven wins and no losses grants access to the original Lighthouse social space on Mercury for pinnacle rewards (including Trials gear from the original game), while losing three matches renders the player's scorecard void and a new scorecard must be purchased to continue. Saint-14, a character from the lore of the original Destiny who returned as an NPC in Season of Dawn, serves as the game mode's main vendor and announcer.[3]

The armor system of Destiny 2 received a major overhaul with Shadowkeep. The "Armor 2.0" system rebuilds many of the functional aspects of the former armor system, allowing players more customization and control over their characters and their armor. Armor 2.0 allows players to use an "energy system" within each armor piece in order to equip armor mods; each mod acquired can be reused indefinitely, which allows for more experimentation and customization. Mods come either as a general mod or an elemental mod. Elemental mods must have the same energy type (Arc, Solar, or Void) that matches the armor piece's energy type in order for them to be equipped. General mods, however, can be equipped as normal. Each mod has an energy cost to them depending on its type, function and how powerful they are; players can upgrade armor pieces to increase their energy capacity to allow for the use of more powerful mods, and armor pieces get a small stat boost when they are fully upgraded. As of Season of the Worthy, players can change each armor piece's energy type by spending upgrade materials. Armor 2.0 also reintroduces the Intellect, Discipline, and Strength stats from the first Destiny game, which allows players to reduce the cooldown times of their super, grenade, and melee abilities, respectively. Each armor piece also features a "Universal Ornament" slot, where players can change the aesthetic appearance of any Armor 2.0 piece to look like any Eververse armor pieces if they were already purchased and/or unlocked from Eververse or season passes. These ornaments do not impact gameplay.[4] The Majestic Solstice armor earned during the Solstice of Heroes event during Season of Opulence was updated to the Armor 2.0 system; players have access to the Armor 2.0 version of the armor set via Banshee-44 if they have fully upgraded their Solstice armor to its Majestic level during Solstice of Heroes. All other armor sets (including exotic armor) were also updated to the Armor 2.0 system.[5]

Shadowkeep also introduced "finishers" as a new gameplay ability. These new abilities put a marker above enemies when their health is below a certain threshold, which indicates that a finisher can be performed. Functionally, these moves can be modified through armor mods that make them more powerful, or provide different kinds of benefits to the player. These benefits come at a cost; for example, being made vulnerable during the move animation or losing some super energy. The finisher animation is entirely separate from the functional aspect, so players can choose the gameplay function they want and match with a finishing animation that they like the most. Different finisher animations can be acquired similarly to emotes within the game, either through Eververse, in-game gameplay challenges, or from the season pass. The armor mods, which give finishers their functional gameplay aspect, can only be acquired through gameplay means. Upon launch, the feature was restricted to a single animation equipped at a time; as of Season of Dawn, it has expanded upon to allow a random, multi-finisher functionality.[6]

The expansion also brought back artifacts, a gameplay feature that was originally introduced in the first Destiny with The Taken King expansion and expanded upon in Rise of Iron, but had been absent from Destiny 2. With the release of Shadowkeep, artifacts are seasonal, meaning that at the end of each season, players lose their current artifact and its associated mods and gain a new one at the beginning of the next season. Players are able to enhance their characters and gameplay abilities by leveling up their artifact through earning experience points (XP). Seasonal artifacts also grant seasonal mods that players can equip on their armor and weapons; some of these mods are required in order to defeat powerful versions of enemies called "Champions" featured in each season's exclusive seasonal activity; in the Hero, Legend, Master, and Grandmaster versions of Nightfall: The Ordeal and Nightmare Hunts; as well as the Garden of Salvation raid. These artifacts, and their seasonal limitations and mods, allow for experimentation with new and different gameplay abilities. Gameplay abilities that are favored by players can be further expanded upon in later seasons with new seasonal artifacts.[7] The artifact featured in Season of the Undying was the Gate Lord's Eye (featuring mods focusing on mid-range weapons and Void and Arc abilities), while the artifact featured in Season of Dawn was the Lantern of Osiris (featuring mods focusing on long-range weapons and Solar and Void abilities). The artifact featured in Season of the Worthy was the Warmind Khanjali (featuring mods focusing on close-range weapons and Arc and Solar abilities), while the artifact featured in Season of Arrivals is the Seed of Silver Wings (featuring mods focusing on mid-range weapons and Solar and Void abilities).

The Power level cap was increased to 960 upon the expansion's release; new and existing players' Power levels were automatically increased to the new minimum Power level of 750 upon the release of both Shadowkeep and the free-to-play New Light version of the base game.[8] Bungie also made some changes to Power progression in Shadowkeep—Prime Engrams, which were first introduced in Forsaken and granted gear that provided a large boost to players' Power levels, are now awarded after players reach Power level 900. Players accrue Prime Engram charges while increasing their Power level from 750 to 900, which allow Prime Engrams to drop more often once the first soft level cap of 900 is reached. Legendary weapons and gear obtained through random drops during regular gameplay now have a chance to drop at players' current Power levels.[9] Once players reach the second soft level of 950, they can further increase their Power level to 960 by participating in pinnacle endgame activities (such as raids, Nightfall: The Ordeal strikes, Master Nightmare Hunts, Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris), which reward pinnacle gear up to Power level 960.[10] Players can then further increase their Power level beyond 960 by upgrading their seasonal artifact through earning XP via gameplay and completing vendor bounties; seasonal artifacts also serve as an alternate Power progression source for players who choose not to participate in pinnacle endgame activities, and are shared across all of a player's characters.[11] Season of Dawn saw the Power level caps increased to 960 for the second soft cap and 970 for the pinnacle cap; Season of the Worthy then saw a further Power level increase to 1000 for the second soft cap and 1010 for the pinnacle cap, then to 1050 for the second soft cap and 1060 for the pinnacle cap in Season of Arrivals. Beginning in Season of the Worthy, bonus Power levels granted by the seasonal artifact are disabled in Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris; Bungie stated plans to implement a seasonal artifact Power cap for said activities sometime later during the season.[12]

Seasons and seasonal content also received a major overhaul with the release of both Shadowkeep and New Light. There are four seasons with the release of Shadowkeep, with each season lasting ten weeks; unlike the Annual Pass that came with the release of Forsaken, seasons can now be purchased à la carte in the form of season passes. The first seasonal content offering, Season of the Undying, was free to all players who purchased Shadowkeep; subsequently, the season occurring at time of purchase of the expansion was free (e.g., if a player purchased Shadowkeep during Season of the Worthy, that season was free). Players who purchased either the digital deluxe edition or the collector's edition of Shadowkeep at launch or during Season of the Undying were granted access to that season plus the subsequent three seasons. Only players who purchase season passes have access to each season's exclusive seasonal activity, which players' actions during these activities have major effects on the game world and progress the story forward; these seasonal activities then become unavailable at the conclusion of each season. Players also have access to "seasonal ranks", which work similarly to the battle passes in Fortnite and Apex Legends. Seasonal ranks are divided into a free track and a premium track, with each track granting rewards at any given tier; there are 100 tiers for both tracks. Season pass holders have access to both the free and premium tracks, as well as season-exclusive weapons and gear, materials, universal ornaments, and exotic quests. Bungie stated that players can purchase seasonal rank boosts before the end of each season.[13] Season of the Undying ended on December 10, 2019, at which point the second season, Season of Dawn, began and then concluded on March 9, 2020.[14] The third season, Season of the Worthy, began on March 10 and concluded on June 8. The fourth and final season for Shadowkeep, Season of Arrivals, began on June 9 and will conclude on September 21, a day before the release of the next expansion, Beyond Light.

Shadowkeep focuses on Eris Morn, who had departed from the Tower and remained absent since the events of the Red War. Following the events of Season of Opulence, the Guardian is summoned to the Moon by Commander Zavala in response to a disturbance originating from a massive citadel recently erected by the Hive near the Hellmouth called the Scarlet Keep. As the Guardian makes their way to the keep, Ikora Rey contacts the Guardian and reveals that the disturbance was caused by Eris Morn, and asks them to find her. The Guardian enters the Scarlet Keep and descends to the caverns below in search for Eris. They eventually discover a derelict alien vessel called the Pyramid (which was teased in the final cutscene of the base game), which Eris had discovered and accidentally activated. The Guardian tries to approach the Pyramid but is pushed back by a barrier emitted by the structure. The Guardian is then suddenly attacked by a phantasmal Nightmare of Crota, Son of Oryx, and an army of Hive; it is soon joined by Nightmares of Dominus Ghaul and Fikrul, the Fanatic, and they begin to overwhelm the Guardian. Eris then contacts the Guardian and teleports them away to safety.

The Guardian is teleported to an alcove overlooking the Pyramid, where Eris is looking over the massive structure, with a phantom of a fallen Guardian floating behind her. Eris explains that the Pyramid is a remnant of the Darkness that may have been struck down by the Traveler, and asks for the Guardian's help in finding a way inside the vessel in hopes of finding something that would help prevent a second Collapse. As the Guardian investigates on how to enter the Pyramid, Eris reveals that the Hive living on the Moon have lived next to the Pyramid for eons due to its connection with the Darkness and they had recently constructed the Scarlet Keep above it as a result. The Guardian and Ghost discover that the Hive had exploited the Darkness originating from the vessel in order to control the Nightmares, phantasms created by the Darkness from the Pyramid that are manifested by the traumas of the Guardians' past and appear as enemies previously slain by Guardians; these Nightmares have begun appearing across the Moon and throughout the solar system. The Guardian then gives Eris a Nightmare essence from when they first fought the Nightmare of Crota, with which Eris forges a piece of Dreambane armor that would help protect the Guardian from the dark energies of the Pyramid and be able to bypass its barrier and enter the vessel. Eris then instructs the Guardian to defeat the Nightmare of Omnigul, Will of Crota, in order to collect more Nightmare essence, to which the Guardian does.

After defeating the Nightmare of Omnigul and extracting its essence, Eris forges another piece of Dreambane armor for the Guardian. She then instructs the Guardian to investigate the Scarlet Keep and its tower in hopes of finding more information from the Hive in order to forge more armor. The Guardian makes their way into the keep itself and finds Hashladûn, Daughter of Crota, the architect of the Scarlet Keep who is seeking revenge against the Guardian for the death of her father. The Guardian chases after Hashladûn into the keep and confronts her at the top of its tower. The Guardian defeats Hashladûn and retrieves a Hive tablet that reveals the location of a powerful Hive artifact known as the Cryptoglyph, which the Daughters of Crota have been using to protect themselves from the Pyramid's dark energies and to control the Nightmares; its powers could be used to harness Nightmare essence and craft more Dreambane armor. Eris then sends the Guardian to the bottom of the Hellmouth in order to retrieve the Cryptoglyph. The Guardian finds the Cryptoglyph near the bottom of the Pyramid, and escapes with the artifact after defeating Besurith, Daughter of Crota, and her Hive forces who were guarding it.

The Guardian returns to Eris with the Cryptoglyph, and uses it to empower Eris's Lectern of Enchantment in order to forge more Dreambane armor needed to infiltrate the Pyramid. It is then shown that more phantoms of deceased Guardians are haunting Eris while the Guardian was fulfilling tasks for her; Eris reveals that said phantoms are those of her former fireteam who previously took on Crota prior to the events of the first game. The Guardian then meets with Ikora, who had traveled to the Moon to see the alien vessel with her own eyes. She beckons the Guardian to assist Eris in fighting the Nightmares any way they can. The Guardian then defeats and extracts the essences of the Nightmares of Skolas, Kell of Kells; Taniks, the Scarred; and Phogoth, the Untamed in order to complete the full Dreambane armor set. After completing the full armor set and equipping it, the Guardian descends beneath the Scarlet Keep once more to the Pyramid, and finally manages to bypass the vessel's barrier. Ghost all of a sudden becomes possessed by the Darkness originating from the Pyramid as the Guardian is being drawn into the vessel. The Guardian makes their way through the Pyramid, defeating the Nightmares of Ghaul, the Fanatic, and Crota along the way; the Darkness also taunts the Guardian through Ghost, commenting on the Light's failures and weaknesses. The Guardian then arrives at an altar where an unknown artifact is presented to them; upon touching it, the Guardian is subjected to a vision from within the Black Garden on Mars, with a fleet of Pyramid vessels floating in the sky behind them. The Guardian then encounters the Darkness itself, taking on the form of the Guardian, claiming to be neither friend nor foe, but instead their "salvation".

Upon returning to the surface of the Moon, the Guardian gives Eris the artifact for her to study, and reports what they had encountered inside the Pyramid to the Vanguard in the Tower. Utterly suspicious of what the Darkness spoke to be their salvation, Eris, Zavala, and Ikora conclude that the Darkness is preparing for its return, with a threat of a second Collapse soon to be imminent. As the Guardian continues to work with Eris and the Vanguard to combat the lingering Nightmare threat on the Moon and across the solar system caused by the Pyramid, Eris contacts the Guardian once again and reveals that the artifact began emitting a signal that leads to the Black Garden. Despite Eris's fears that the Darkness is leading them into a trap, a fireteam of Guardians assembled by Eris invades the Black Garden through a newly discovered Vex portal beneath the lunar surface near the Scarlet Keep to follow the signal to its source ("Garden of Salvation" raid). The Guardians make their way through, tracing the artifact's signal while evading the Consecrated Mind, Sol Inherent, which they eventually destroy. They eventually discover another Pyramid-like vessel in the Black Garden's central mesa, guarded by the Sanctified Mind, Sol Inherent. They destroy the Sanctified Mind and enter the vessel, leading them to another altar similar to the one in the Pyramid, where the artifact's signal ends. The Guardian then returns to Eris, who states that the discovery of a second Pyramid-like remnant of the Darkness in the Black Garden enabled the artifact to receive messages directly from the Darkness itself. Eris dismisses these messages as attempts at manipulation, and warns the Guardian to not be swayed by whatever the artifact communicates to them.

Sometime after the invasion of the Black Garden, Eris contacts the Guardian once again, who reveals that the remaining Daughters of Crota, Voshyr and Kinox, have begun performing dark Hive rituals involving sacrificing Nightmares at the Scarlet Keep; Eris believes that the Daughters are attempting through these rituals to harvest the Nightmares' essences for purposes unknown. The Guardian heads to the Scarlet Keep and disrupts the ongoing rituals by killing several Nightmares before they can be sacrificed. Eris then instructs the Guardian to head to the Pit, located in the depths of the Scarlet Keep, to investigate further ("Pit of Heresy" dungeon). A fireteam of Guardians enter the Pit, where they fight their way through and find Zulmak, Instrument of Torment, a powerful Hive warrior who was resurrected by the Daughters of Crota and empowered by the Darkness harvested from the Nightmares. The Guardians defeat Zulmak and return to Eris afterwards, who states that the Daughters have become more dangerous than ever as they had violated the Sword Logic (the religious dogma of the Hive where only the strong survive through slaughter, death, and sacrifice) by resurrecting Zulmak. Eris fears that the Daughters will attempt to resurrect Zulmak again, and she advises the Guardian to remain vigilant.

Throughout the weeks, the Guardian also helps Eris in banishing the phantoms of her old fireteam that continually haunt her. By restoring the memorabilia that once belonged to each of the fireteam members, Eris slowly recovers from grieving over her old friends, and makes peace with their passing. As a result, the phantoms surrounding Eris gradually disappear, one each week. After enhancing the memorabilia with the Lectern of Enchantment, Eris enters the Pyramid by herself and goes to the altar where the Guardian was presented with the unknown artifact, now emitting dark energy. Eris touches the altar, seemingly absorbing the energy from it.