It's been over four years since Destiny 2 was released, and the game's seen quite a few improvements and updates over the years. From cross-platform upgrades to cross-save functionality, general quality-of-life improvements, and memory optimization options, Destiny 2 has embraced the formula of its predecessor and has tweaked it to near-perfection.
Of course, with these updates often comes some additional content, and with each new large-scale expansion that Bungie adds to the game, a new raid is also added. Destiny 2's raids are designed for six highly-skilled players, who all have excellent gear, and are looking for the game's greatest challenge. Teamwork is essential, and communication is key. Destiny 2 has had a history of raids, with nine in total being playable over the last four years.
Leviathan
The first raid in vanilla Destiny 2, Leviathan required a power level of 260 to unlock and took place on the Cabal Emperor's ship. This raid had a fairly unique structure, in which the fireteam would access each of the raid's levels via a hub area. Upon completing one of the levels, the fireteam would return to the hub and would enter another level, the order of which would be chosen at random. Once a fireteam had completed the five levels, the Emperor's Throne Room would be available, and a boss fight would await the players.
This raid had some pretty notable loot, including an exotic shotgun named the Legend of Acrius, and an exotic catalyst for the Skyburner's Oath. The infamous Midnight Coup hand cannon and the Sins of the Past rocket launcher were also available in this raid.
Leviathan, Eater of Worlds
The next raid update for Destiny 2, Leviathan, Eater of Worlds, was essentially a tweaked version of the original Leviathan raid, still taking place on the same ship, but featuring a whole host of new missions. This is the first Raid Lair of the game and required an entry power level of 300.
Rather than fight the Cabal Emperor, players would face off against Argos, a Hydra, in the final battle. The piece of loot that would come to be a fan-favorite of this raid is the exotic catalyst for the Telesto fusion rifle.
Leviathan, Spire of Stars
Being introduced in the game's Warmind Expansion, the Leviathan, Spire of Stars was the second raid lair in Destiny 2, requiring a power level of 370. As was the case with the Eater of Worlds raid, this event was shorter, but just as challenging, also taking place on the Leviathan ship of the first raid.
While the raid had a vast selection of great loot upon its initial release, not much of the weapons or gear are used by current players today. The exotic catalyst for the Sleeper Simulant linear fusion rifle is generally still considered worth picking up today, though.
Last Wish
Destiny 2's Forsaken DLC added the game's second fully-fledged raid, titled Last Wish. This raid acts as the final story chapter in the Forsaken DLC and sees the Guardian fireteam attempt to repel the Taken forces from the Dreaming City and the homeworld of the Awoken.
The entry level for this raid was 520, but a power level of 550 was recommended. The raid sees the fireteam battle through waves of Taken forces, defeating a number of Taken bosses along the way, most of which are the result of horrific mutations and genetic experiments.
The raid ends with the fireteam taking down an extremely powerful Taken Ahamkara, who is corrupting the Awoken Guardian, Uldren Sov. The players strike the final blow to the monster by entering its mouth and blasting its heart from the inside. Some notable loot from this raid is the exotic fusion rifle One Thousand Voices, as well as the Great Hunt armor sets for the Hunter, Titan, and Warlock.
Scourge of the Past
The next raid, titled Scourge of the Past, was introduced in the Black Armory DLC and gave players a more open-ended environment, in which they could use their Sparrows to traverse the entire raid. This raid required 630 power and concludes the story of the Black Armory DLC, tasking the Guardians with defeating all of Kell's Scourge bosses.
While the Scourge of the Past raid was designed to be a fully-fledged experience, it was quite a bit shorter than Last Wish. But the raid did have some solid loot drops, like the incredibly popular exotic grenade launcher Anarchy, and the exotic Sparrow Always on Time, which could only be found in a hidden chest.
Crown of Sorrow
The Crown of Sorrow raid, requiring a power level of 740, brought back the Leviathan ship from the game's first set of raids and raid lairs and tasked players with wiping out a Hive infestation. The raid ends with the Guardians facing off against Gahlran, the Sorrow-Bearer, who uses a series of illusions to trick the players and prolong the fight. The standout loot in this raid was the exotic submachine gun Tarrabah, which has a Ravenous Beast buff that stores power whenever the player dishes out or receives damage, leading it to cause an extremely high amount of damage.
Garden of Salvation
Destiny 2's Garden of Salvation raid requires a recommended power level of 930 and sees the Guardian fireteam fight through waves of Sol Divisive Vex in the Black Garden. The exotic drop in this raid was the Divinity trace rifle. Kentarch 3 armor suits were available for the Hunter, Warlock, and Titan classes as well.
Deep Stone Crypt
Destiny 2's most recent original raid, Deep Stone Crypt, released in November 2020 and sees the Guardians taking back control of the crypt from the House of Salvation, who is attempting to use the crypt to unleash an extremely powerful enemy. After destroying the orbital Morning Star station, the Guardians land on Europa and face off against Taniks, the Abomination. This raid's exotic weapon is the Eyes of Tomorrow rocket launcher.
Vault of Glass
Technically the most recent raid in Destiny 2, Vault of Glass is actually a repurposed raid from the first game, just with some tweaked elements. The raid has a very high recommended power level of 1300, so newcomers might have to grind it out a bit before they can give it a go.
Aside from a few minor gameplay tweaks, like enemy types, buffs, and chest locations, the raid is essentially the same as it was all those years ago. The exotic weapon that can be earned in this raid is the Vex Mythoclast fusion rifle, which has a great fire rate of 360 RPM.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.