Destiny 2 starts today in Season 19 – everything important about dungeon, PvP and the story

Destiny 2 starts Season 19 today and with it the last part of the “The Witch Queen” DLC. Guardians eagerly await fresh information, but Bungie is once again holding tight to the last. Nevertheless, MeinMMO summarizes all important information about the new season in this overview article.

What is a Season in Destiny 2? A season usually lasts three months and provides the game with new content. These are usually subordinate to a seasonal story theme. The big difference to the classic DLCs or expansions is that the seasons don’t shoot their powder all at once, but spread over the whole three months.

Compared to the classic expansions, a Season is cheaper and even includes tons of content for all players, so it’s free for every Guardian – whether they pay or not. You can purchase the current season separately and jump straight into the action even if you haven’t been there in previous seasons.

When will there finally be concrete information about Season 19? Bungie’s last TWaB blog gave little information on upcoming content, with a few cryptic hints.

It looks like the specific details of Season 19 will only be revealed again with a trailer release a while before the start of the season at 6:00 p.m. The trailer will then be broadcast on the “usual channels”, i.e. on YouTube and Twitterreleased.

Everything you need to know about the start of Season 19

When exactly does Season 19 start and how long does it last? It starts today, Tuesday, December 6th, 2022. Together with the reset at 6:00 p.m. German time, the time has come. The following season will then run for 12 weeks, i.e. until February 28, 2023. This is also the start of the new Lightfall DLC.

To keep the players happy for several weeks, you can expect among other things:

• a sequel to the great Destiny light and darkness saga
• probably several, usually two, new PvE activities
• A brand new dungeon
• fresh weapons, armor and loot
• Events that any player can participate in
• numerous changes and adjustments to skills and weapons

The story of the new season 19

As with the last Season 18, Bungie is hiding the story and what the guardians can expect in the next three months. So far, hardly any new leaks have been announced, so that all guardians remain curious.

There was just a small hint on the official Bungie Twitter account that gives a little hint of what many suspected of a new direction in the story.

What did Bungie reveal with the tweet? Some story-savvy Guardians had already suspected that Season 19 revolves around the Warmind. And the latest picture on the Twitter account could confirm this suspicion.

We currently know that after the Warmind Rasputin was wiped out by the Pyramid Ships, Ana Bray loaded what was left of him into an engram using her spirit Jinjus and his light. This can be seen in the photo and around it the typical flickering of the red Warmind theme. So Jinju basically filled Rasputin with light to save him.

We can only speculate what the Guardians can expect in the Season 19 story:

• Theory 1: It is possible that the Guardians should help Ana to reload the Warmind into another, better shell. They may need to get parts for this so Ana can build him an exo-body so he can communicate again.
• Theory 2: Rasputin’s sacrifice in the name of defending humanity may have qualified him to become a Guardian. He tried his best to defeat the darkness with everything he had. And now imagine the entire arsenal of the Warmind imbued with paracausal energy. This could be the power the Vanguard could use in their fight against the Darkness. Supporting this theory is a line on the Ikelos weapons “APOTHEOSE STATUS: Active”. Apotheosis refers to the deification, that is, the elevation to a god.
• Theory 3: The photo is just a subplot involving Rasputin. Instead, the story revolves around the newly acquired knowledge of Osiris and Savathun’s sister, Xivu Arath. The latter could make its grand entrance in Season 19, waging war on one of the planets to further the Witness’ scheme while Osiris uses Nezarek’s newfound knowledge and power to seek the dark’s weakest point.

Maybe you have completely different theories. Then we look forward to your personal story assessment in the comments.

PvE content and activities in Season 19

The highlight of the upcoming Season 19 will probably be the brand new dungeon. Nothing is currently known about its exact content. But that is also what makes it so appealing. Guardians like to explore the mechanics themselves and be surprised by the new weapons.

When does the new dungeon start? The popular 2-player activity will start a little later than the season itself. But you don’t have to wait long. It starts on December 9th, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. It’s quite possible that Bungie will also get you in the mood for it with a trailer.

Five of these PvE dungeons are currently available to the Guardians in Destiny 2:

• The “Shattered Throne”
• The “Pit of Heresy”
• “Prophecy”
• “Drawn of Greed”
• “Duality”

A new Season Pass for the Guardians

The new season will also bring new rewards for all Destiny 2 players and additional items for purchasers of the current Season 19.

The Season Pass for Season 19 costs 1,000 Silver – so around €10

This is included in the season pass:

• A new exotic weapon. Season Pass owners will receive them at Tier 1 – Free2Play Guardians later in the pass.
• A new seasonal armor set inspired by the Season
• new cosmetics
• Bonus XP, materials, and seasonal items
• a story quest that progresses weekly

Important adjustments and revisions in Season 19

In the run-up to Season 19, Bungie announced a lot of content from updates and sandbox adjustments, which should make life easier for us from tonight. Numerous adjustments for more “Quality of Life”. There are also extensive changes to weapons, PvP playlists, abilities and more.

General changes from Season 19

• You will be able to craft and farm weapons from the Deepstone Crypt raid.
  • Crafting will include a revamped perk pool and origin trait. You can get a guaranteed tuneable weapon of your choice by purchasing it from the final boss’ chest.

For example, you can get the Heir slug shotgun with the Reconstruction and Focused Frenzy perks, the Progeny handgun with the powerful Volt Shot and Rampage combo, and the Trustee scout rifle with the Quick Strike and Firefly perks.

That changes in PvP from Season 19

Expect the new PvP Triumph Seal: For one, Bungie will be introducing a new Crucible Sigil called Glorious and bringing the popular Engram focus to Lord Shaxx as well. This should give you more options to get the Crucible rewards you want.

Crucible weapons available for subclassing in Season 19:

• Stars in the Shadow (Pulse Rifle)
• The Lamentation (pistol)
• Frozen Orbit (Sniper Rifle)
• Survivor’s Epitaph (Hand Cannon)
• Verse of Sorrows (Auto Rifle)
• Crisis Reversed (Hand Cannon)
• Riptide (Fusion Rifle)
• Out of Control (Submachine Gun)

A new ranking system arrives in PvP: The completely redesigned and real ranking system is mainly intended to help streamline the playlist structure in PvP and direct more players into the less frequented game modes. In addition, the Iron Banner armor rewards will be reworked.

Additionally, Bungie will adjust matchmaking techniques between skills, connection, and squad size to provide a better player experience in the Crucible.

In order to give you a better and, above all, brief overview, we have summarized the most important details about the changes in Guardian vs. Guardian combat here. Above all, which matchmaking awaits you where.

• Quick Match 6v6: This playlist contains Conflict and Control modes and runs on skill-based matchmaking.
• Weekly Rotation 6v6: Alternates weekly between Dynamic Control, Cauldron, Team Scorched, Rift, and Rumble. Connection-based matchmaking is used here.
• Competitive Division/Freelance 3v3: This playlist randomly selects Survival, Rift, or Showdown and also uses skill-based matchmaking.
• Crucible Laboratories: In Season 19, the Laboratories, Bungie’s PvP testbed, will have a version of 3v3 Rift with asymmetric maps. This mode uses connection-based matchmaking and also has a 25% reputation boost to spur you on.
• Private Matches: They remain unchanged. So you can still play all game modes with friends,
• Iron Banner Event: When Lord Saladin is on the tower, his Iron Banner event replaces the quickplay node. Iron Banner will use skill-based matchmaking in Season 19 and will include a new mode called Stronghold.
  • This is a mode about conquering and holding territory, much like zone control. Apparently, however, Lord Saladin also made a deal with the Cabal Empress Caiatl, who is sending in some Cabal turrets for added spice.
  • When does the first Iron Banner start in Season 19? Guardians will not be able to explore the new Season 19 mode until next year, i.e. on January 3, 2023.

• Trials of Osiris PvP Endgame: If the Trials are active on a weekend, they will replace the Crucible Laboratories. The ticket-based matchmaking system is maintained here. Freelance will probably no longer exist then.
• PvP Quit Protection Adjustment: Anyone who doesn’t feel like it and leaves a match early must continue to expect penalties from season 19. The remaining time is added to all suspension messages and the messages are also displayed when clicked.

Feel free to tell us in the comments whether you’re going to jump straight into the new Season 19 after update 6.0.3 or take it easy. MeinMMO stays on the ball for you and will diligently check and classify all content and details of the new season for you in the next few days.

If you need a story refresher, want to pass time during downtime, or just want to enjoy some old story trailers, then we recommend this article: