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Only a few weeks remain before Destiny 2: Lightfall releases and begins the sixth year of Destiny 2. With a major expansion, players can expect to see a significant increase in Power level along with Neptune as a new playable destination and a brand-new raid releasing on March 10th. Not only that, but Lightfall also releases alongside of Season 20.
With such a large content update coming, players may be wondering how they can spend the final weeks of Season 19 getting ready. Here are a few ways that players can be as prepared as they can be for Lightfall.
Stock Up on Materials
One of the most important things to do before a new expansion in Destiny 2 is to stock up on materials. To be more specific, players should focus on getting as many Enhancement Cores, Enhancement Prisms, Ascendant Shards, Ascendant Alloys, and Legendary Shards as possible. These materials will be helpful for players who wish to Masterwork or Infuse any new weapons or armor from Lightfall that they get, especially from the raid. Aside from Masterworking, materials like Glimmer and Enhancement Cores will be used to craft weapons in place of Resonant Elements which are being removed in Lightfall.
Complete Seasonal Content
If there is anything from Season of the Risen, Season of the Haunted, Season of Plunder, or Season of the Seraph (Seasons 16 through 19) that players want to finish, they will want to do so before Lightfall comes out. On the 28th, all content from those Seasons will be removed from the game and put into the Destiny Content Vault. This includes both Vox Obscura and Operation: Seraph's Shield, the Exotic missions that reward players with Dead Messenger and Revision Zero respectively.
Both Dungeons that were released during Year 5 (Duality and Spire of the Watcher) are not considered seasonal content, so they will not be removed from the game when Lightfall comes out. The same applies for King's Fall as well.
While the missions will be going away, the Exotics themselves will still be purchasable either through the kiosk in the Tower or from Xur. At this time, Bungie has given no confirmation as to how players will acquire the catalysts for these weapons once Lightfall starts, but it is safe to say that they will likely drop from Core Playlists. Certain seasonal activities like Psi Ops and Heist Battlegrounds will remain in the game and be put into the Vanguard Ops playlist.
In addition to activities, players will want to make sure to get any seasonal titles like Reaper, Seraph, and MMXXII before the start of Lightfall, as these titles will no longer be obtainable when the new expansion begins.
Unlock Weapon Patterns
In addition to content from Seasons 16 though 19, players will also want to unlock any weapon patterns for seasonal weapons that they want. Whether it is Bump in the Night or the updated IKELOS weapons, players will want to unlock and craft these weapons before Lightfall makes them unobtainable.
Reach Pinnacle Cap
If Destiny 2 players haven't done so already, one of the best things to do before an expansion is reach the Pinnacle Cap which is currently 1590 Power (excluding the bonus from the seasonal artifact, of course). Since expansions increase the Power cap significantly, it doesn't hurt for players to be at the previous maximum at the start of a new expansion. While Witch Queen did give all players a small boost to 1350, there has been no word from Bungie on if they will do the same for Lightfall.
Stock Up on Bounties
As Destiny 2 players may know, incomplete bounties expire after a while. But bounties that have been completed do not expire and remain in the quest log until players turn them in. So one thing that some players have been doing for years now is to stock up completed bounties and then turn them all in when they have obtained the next seasonal artifact. The reason for this is that it helps players unlock a lot of seasonal mods and a Power boost right out the gate.
Don't bother stocking up seasonal bounties from the H.E.L.M. as these are all going to be removed from the game when Lightfall launches.
Some good bounties to stock up with are Destination bounties and Gunsmith bounties. Also make sure to grab any weekly bounties, as they reward significantly more XP than daily bounties. This will help get players a head start in the new expansion and Season.
Choose a Loadout
If possible, a couple of days prior to the start of Lightfall, players should go through their weapons and builds and pick one to have equipped and ready. Typically, a new expansion will throw players immediately into the first campaign mission when they log in, so it is best to be ready for that. This is especially the case if players wish to tackle the new campaign on Legendary difficulty on day one.
Destiny 2 is available now on Epic Games Store, PS4, PS5, Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.