Destiny 2: Beyond Light for Xbox, PC: Everything you need to know

For several in-game seasons, the mysterious Darkness has been rising in the world of Destiny 2, challenging the Light of the Traveler and the Guardians. That rise to power is coming to a head in the upcoming expansion Beyond Light, which sees an army of Fallen warriors ally with the Darkness and wages war with the Guardians on the icy moon of Europa. The Guardians must investigate the situation and stop the Fallen at all costs — even if that means using the Darkness yourself to do it.

Here's our complete in-depth overview of everything that has arrived with the Beyond Light expansion, including information on the story, new Stasis subclasses, pieces of new gear, Europa, and more.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light development and reveal

Destiny 2: Beyond Light, alongside future expansions, The Witch Queen and Lightfall, was revealed on June 9, 2020, by Bungie in a special developer livestream. It's being developed and published entirely by Bungie. The expansion was originally planned to release on September 22, 2020, but Bungie delayed the launch until November 10, 2020, due to complications brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light story details

I won't spoil any of the finer details about the Beyond Light story here, but I will provide an overview of what the expansion has to offer.

The description for the expansion reads as follows: "A new power is born out of the ancient Pyramid ship above Europa's frozen frontier, and a dark empire has risen beneath, united under the banner of the Fallen Kell of Darkness, Eramis. Join your fellow Guardians and bring down the empire at any cost – even if it means wielding the Darkness itself."

It's clear that we're fighting a new army of Darkness-infused Fallen led by Eramis, a Baroness who seeks to take revenge on the Traveler for abandoning her people long ago. Eris Morn, the Drifter, Variks the Loyal, and the Exo Stranger (who players of the original Destiny will remember) are present and active during the story as well.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light information about Europa

Europa is where all of the action in Beyond Light is going down, and it has quite an interesting history. Though the location is characterized by its extremely cold climate and harsh weather, Europa was once the site of a human colony owned by the Clovis Bray Exoscience Corporation — the same company that created Warminds like Rasputin as well as the Exos, a race created by putting a human consciousness into a special exoskeleton. The Deep Stone Crypt, the birthplace of all Exos, is confirmed to be on Europa.

In terms of what enemies players can expect to encounter on Europa, both Eramis' Fallen and legions of the Vex are known to be present there.

Europa also features a dynamic weather system, which is a first for Destiny 2's locations. Players can expect to deal with snowstorms and blizzards as they battle their way across Europa, though, according to Bungie, the weather changes don't have much of an impact beyond reducing visibility.

Bungie also shared an image of the size of Europa's map ahead of Beyond Light's release. Based on the image, players can expect Europa to be roughly the size of the Dreaming City, a very large zone introduced with the Forsaken expansion in 2018.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light Stasis subclasses

One of the more exciting things in Beyond Light is the introduction of a brand new element to Destiny 2: Stasis, a form of cold Darkness energy usable by Guardians. Each class in the game now has its own Stasis subclass. Here's an overview of each of them:

• Titan Behemoth: Titans can use the Shivering Strike melee ability to send a foe careening backward while nearby enemies become slowed. Meanwhile, the Glacial Quake Super allows Titans to slam a Stasis-covered fist into the Earth, doing heavy damage and freezing nearby targets solid.
• Hunter Revenant: The Withering Blade melee ability allows Hunters to throw a Stasis shuriken that ricochets off the target into other enemies, while the Silence & Squall Super enables the use of dual Kama blades that are used to freeze an enemy in place and then shatter them, creating a Stasis storm that damages other enemies close by.
• Warlock Shadebinder: Warlocks can use the Penumbral Blast melee ability to freeze an enemy in place instantly, setting them up for further damage. The Winter's Wrath Super, meanwhile, allows Warlocks to use a Stasis staff to freeze enemies with projectiles. The Warlock can then detonate the staff's crystal, sending out a shockwave that shatters the frozen foes.

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In addition to each of the subclass' unique abilities, all Stasis subclasses have access to three grenade types.

• Glacier Grenade: This grenade can be used to create a wall of Stasis crystals instantly. Enemies close to the detonation area will be frozen inside the crystals, and when the crystals are destroyed, the damage is dealt to nearby opponents.
• Coldsnap Grenade: Upon touching the ground or an enemy, Coldsnap Grenades will unleash a burst of Stasis energy that seeks out nearby foes and can freeze up to three of them.
• Duskfield Grenade: The Duskfield Grenade creates a Stasis field that sucks enemies in, slowing them down. If enemies remain in the field for long enough, they'll become frozen.

Also, unlike the traditional Light-based subclasses, each Stasis subclass can be tweaked through the use of Aspects and Fragments (see above). Aspects are physical items in the world that can be found and then used to change how a class ability may behave (Bungie gives the example of a Healing Rift freezing enemies that touch it). Fragments are also physical items that can be found and are used to add passive effects to Aspects, though they may also come with a drawback. For example, a Fragment may make health regenerate instantly when an Aspect's effect triggers, but it might also slightly reduce the stats of your armor.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light new weapons and gear

Aside from the new Stasis subclasses, there's a ton of new gear in Beyond Light as well. For starters, there are 10 new Exotics — 4 weapons and 6 armor pieces (two for each class). Here's a look at the new Exotic weapons you'll be able to wield:

• No Time to Explain: This pulse rifle returns ammo to the magazine when you score precision hits or hits against enemies being affected by Stasis. Stacking this effect causes a Darkness portal to spawn over your shoulder and shoot additional bullets. It's exclusive to owners of both Beyond Light and the Season 12 Season Pass but will be available after Season 12 for all Beyond Light owners.
• Cloudstrike: This sniper rifle generates lightning bolts at the point of impact, and repeated precision hits will spawn a full lightning storm.
• The Lament: This chainsaw-like sword can be revved up by blocking damage, and then the weapon can be unleashed to shred through shielded enemies. At full rev, it will also heal the user as they do damage.
• Salvation's Grip: This heavy grenade launcher creates Stasis crystals that freeze enemies, and it can be charged to increase the number of crystals created per shot.

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And here's an overview of the new Exotic armor pieces:

• Icefall Mantle: These Titan gauntlets replace the Barricade ability with an overshield.
• Precious Scars: This Titan helmet provides the wearer and allies with an overshield when the wearer is revived.
• Mask of Bakris: This Hunter helmet replaces the Hunter's Dodge with a longer Shift ability that momentarily cloaks the user.
• Athrys's Embrace: These Hunter gauntlets give the Hunter's Weighted Knife a second ricochet and provide a damage bonus for rapid precision hits with weapons.
• Dawn Chorus: This Warlock helmet boosts the damage that the Daybreak Super does and gives back melee ability energy for damage dealt with Solar burn.
• Neurotic Grip: These Warlock gauntlets allow you to apply a corruption damage-over-time effect when meleeing enemies. This corruption spreads to other enemies when the first is killed, and killing corrupted energy refunds melee ability energy.

Some new Legendary weapons are being added to the loot pool, though we don't know much about them. Based on their appearance, though, it looks like we're getting a new scout rifle, sidearm, auto rifle, shotgun, and rocket launcher.

Also, new armor sets based around Destiny 2's three core matchmade activities — Strikes, Crucible, and Gambit — are being added to the game when Beyond Light arrives. These armor sets can be earned by completing various requirements while playing these activities. New armor sets of this nature will be added to the game with each passing year.

Finally, Ghosts have gotten an overhaul in Beyond Light. Mod slots and energy levels are being added to them, bringing them in line with the "Armor 2.0" system introduced in 2019's expansion, Shadowkeep. This change will allow players to customize their Ghost to best suit their favorite playstyles and activities.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light raid details

The Deep Stone Crypt raid that came with Beyond Light launched on November 21 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. As the name suggests, it takes place in the Deep Stone Crypt on Europa and is accessible through the Europa map. You need to own Beyond Light in order to play it.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light Season of the Hunt

Destiny 2's Season of the Hunt launched at the same time that Beyond Light did, and it is bringing its own story revelations and content to the table as you can see in Bungie's official roadmap above. Notably, based on what was seen in a brand new ViDoc, Uldren Sov has returned to the story for the first time in two years following the end of the Forsaken expansion. Additionally, it looks like the Cabal might be working with us at some point, and Osiris will be fighting Xivu Arath, the sister of Oryx and Savathun, who is trying to corrupt the Fallen and the Cabal into fighting for her and her Hive.

Some of the notable content coming during the season includes Empire Hunts on Europa and Wraithborn Hunts that look like they might be in the Dreaming City based on the roadmap art. Additionally, it also looks like there will be missions that involve The Spider, the ruler of the Tangled Shore.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light what has been removed?

Due to the sheer amount that Destiny 2 has grown over the years, Bungie has stated that it needs to rotate older pieces of content out of the game to make room for new activities and locations. Therefore, when Beyond Light launched on November 10, Io, Mercury, Titan, Mars, The Farm, and The Leviathan were all put into the "Destiny Content Vault," or DCV. Additionally, all activities, missions, NPCs, quests, and rewards tied to these areas were removed, too, as are all of the raids aside from Last Wish and Garden of Salvation. Some Crucible and Gambit maps tied to these areas were put into the DCV as well, but not all of them. For a full breakdown of everything that went into the DCV, check out Bungie's guide.

If you're sad that you missed out on gear that is now inaccessible, don't worry; Bungie has introduced a new Exotic Kiosk that sits next to the player's loot Vault. This kiosk allows you to purchase Exotics you didn't manage to earn before they went into the DCV, although it should be noted that they cost a lot of in-game currencies to obtain (thankfully, you don't need to pay real money). Exotics that were raid rewards also require you to use a special currency you can only get in raids.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light tutorial overhaul

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If you're thinking of jumping into Destiny 2 with Beyond Light, Bungie has you covered with a brand new tutorial-like introduction to the game. Alongside Europa, Bungie also added parts of the Cosmodrome from the first Destiny game into Destiny 2. The entire location is intended as a jumping-on point for new players to get used to the game's systems. You'll be guided by Shaw Han, a fellow Guardian who's investigating Hive activity in the area.

If you're a veteran who's feeling nostalgic, don't worry; new and seasoned players alike are able to visit the Cosmodrome and explore the ruins of Old Russia. Also, don't miss our guide on how to get into Destiny 2.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light Release date, pricing, and platforms

As previously mentioned, Beyond Light launched on November 10, 2020. The Standard Edition of the expansion costs $40. The Standard Edition + Season bundle costs $50 and comes with the Season Pass for Season 12, as well as access to the Exotic No Time to Explain pulse rifle. The Deluxe Edition is $70 and comes with everything in the Standard Edition + Season bundle, plus a Freeze Tag Exotic emote, an ornament for the No Time to Explain, and the Any Other Sky Exotic Sparrow. Finally, there's a "The Stranger Edition" that costs $130 and comes with everything the Deluxe Edition does, as well as a high quality 10-inch statue of the Exo Stranger. It's also important to note that Beyond Light is available through Xbox Game Pass when it launches.

Beyond Light is available on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, all Xbox One consoles, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows 10 PCs.

Your thoughts

What do you think? Are you excited to get your hands on Beyond Light? As someone who thinks that Destiny 2 is among the best Xbox One shooters out there, I'm very much ready to dive in for more.