The Collector's Edition of Destiny 2 included the base game in a SteelBook case, the Expansion Pass, a themed backpack, a "Frontier Kit", which featured a solar panel USB charger with built-in light, a paracord, and a solar blanket, a 15" laptop/tablet sleeve with protective pocket slip, a Cabal-themed collector's box with various items, and premium digital content. Praise focused on its improvements, particularly with regards to its initial story, as well as its gameplay, visuals, exploration focus, multiplayer, and public occasions.

The Guardian then goes and collects data from defeated Fallen to figure out a plan to get past the Arc energy. Forsaken added three new supers for each of the Hunter sub-classes: "Blade Barrage" for Gunslingers, focusing on throwing a volley of flaming knives; "Spectral Blades" for Nightstalkers, allowing players to see through walls and attack with Void daggers; and "Whirlwind Guard" for Arcstriders, which allows players to block and reflect projectiles by spinning their Arc Staff. The expansion also introduces weapon crafting, initially with gear found in the Witch Queen expansion but eventually working in legacy equipment. released in preparation for The Taken King, made the character's experience level and Light level separate: level 34 is now the experience level cap for all players; level 40 for players who own The Taken King and Rise of Iron. The second expansion, Warmind, was released on May 8, 2018, and focuses on the Warmind Rasputin from the original game.Players complete public events, loot Lost Sectors and complete Heroic Adventures to earn high-level rewards. As part of this, in March 2021, Destiny 2 ' current leads Luke Smith and Mark Noseworthy were named as executive creative director and vice president, respectively, of Bungie's new Destiny Universe division, while Justin Truman was named to general manager for Destiny 2. On Europa, the Guardians accept the power of Stasis from the Darkness to defeat one of the Fallen Houses that had also learned to use Stasis. Cody Perez of Game Revolution, however, welcomed the recategorized weapons, saying they were less restrictive and said that "Bungie are masters of gun-play". Year 4 of Destiny 2 began with the large expansion titled Beyond Light on November 10, 2020 (delayed from its original release date of September 22); Bungie described this release as the start of a new era for the franchise.

There were several editions of the game, including a Collector's Edition, a Limited Edition, a Digital Deluxe Edition, and the standard base game. PlayStation's YouTube channel showed a slightly extended teaser, officially confirming that there would be timed exclusive content for PlayStation 4, and it would last until at least fall 2018. For armor, the helmet, gauntlets, chest, legs, and class item slots have remained unchanged, but the artifacts slot has been replaced with one for a player's clan banners. Each piece of armor is limited to one general mod, two mods specific to that armor type (like helmet or gloves) and a mod related to the seasonal events. It showed that Bungie did focus more on the story for the sequel than the original, as Bungie was "attempting to go in-depth into the universe and the motivations of the characters.Bungie already has the next two years of Destiny 2 planned out, will allow cross-play between generations". He said that there were many moments that were of shock and awe, and that the game had a meaningful narrative with an actual fleshed out villain. At The Game Awards 2017, Destiny 2 was one of four games to receive six nominations, the most for the year's event, which were for Best Art Direction, Best Score/Music, Best Audio Design, Best Ongoing Game, Best Action Game, and Best Multiplayer.

One of the rulers, the Osmium King, was killed in a coup, and his three daughters, Aurash, Xi Ro, and Sathona, aware their own lives were in danger, discovered that three Worm Gods, disciples of the Darkness, were trapped in the core of Fundament by the Traveler. In addition to normal story missions, PvE features three-player " strikes" and dungeons and six-player raids. The initial Light level cap was 30, which increased to 32 with The Dark Below and 34 with the House of Wolves. Those without an elemental damage type go in the Kinetic weapons slot while those with a Light-based elemental damage type (Arc, Solar, or Void) go in the Energy weapons slot.

Arcstrider's super, "Arc Staff", focuses on an electrified staff and a large amount of rapid mobility. As the story progresses, it's revealed that the Traveller itself resurrected Savathûn, who actually died, and granted her brood the light. 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. The Vanguard make alliances with the Cabal and one of the Fallen Houses as they recognize they face a common threat from the Hive, Taken, and Vex. Other performers reprising their roles included Bill Nighy, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Peter Stormare, Lennie James, Claudia Black, and James Remar, alongside new voices Frank Langella, Joy Osmanski, and H.

After choosing a class, players select one of three species for their character: Human, Awoken (bluish-gray-skinned descendants of Humans), or Exo (human consciousness in a machine). The Titan's new sub-class for Destiny 2 is the Void-based "Sentinel", replacing the "Defender" sub-class of the original, although the Sentinel sub-class can create the Defender's Ward of Dawn shielding bubble if this option is selected. 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. Legendary and exotic items are the best items for players' characters, and only one exotic weapon and one exotic armor (excluding exotic class items) can be equipped at one time. The original Destiny includes on-the-fly matchmaking that allowed players to communicate only with other players with whom they were "matched" by the game.He was also indifferent to the change of making all modes four-versus-four, but said that "the compact group size demands everyone pull their weight, which is great. In May 2020 Bungie affirmed its plans to release Destiny 2 for the next-generation consoles, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and that the game on these platforms would support native 4K resolution at 60fps. Destiny 2 's Iron Banner, however, does not disable balancing, with Bungie stating that "Your fighting abilities, not your power levels, will decide the outcome". Like the original, activities in Destiny 2 are divided among player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) game types. Quests, including the "main scenario" quests, are specific tasks given to the player by non-player characters (NPCs) which reward items and EXP.