Destiny 2 is currently in the middle of its thirteenth Season, the Season the Chosen, and is continuing to grow and develop. It's been four years since Bungie launched the sci-fi looter-shooter sequel and seven since the release of the original Destiny. Over that time, the games have spun together a rich and engaging lore for players to experience, centered on the Guardians, protectors of Earth's last safe city.
The home of the Guardians in the Last City is the Tower, a vast fortress that overlooks the metropolis. The Tower is the headquarters of the Vanguard, a group of elite Guardians who coordinate the city's defenses, organize assaults on its enemies, and train newly-risen Guardians. The Tower is a key location in both of the Destiny games, but it hasn't remained unchanged over those seven years.
The Original Tower
The history of the Tower is heavily linked to the Traveler and the end of the Dark Age of mankind. Under the safety of the Traveler's shields, humanity built the Last City. To further protect their last bastion, the Titan Guardians built a massive wall around the city. Spaced along the wall were eight Tower fortresses, one of which became the headquarters of the Vanguard.
In the first Destiny game, the Tower is one of the four Social Spaces in the game, the others being the Vestian Outpost in the Reef, the Lighthouse, and the Iron Temple on Felwinter Peak. Social Spaces are non-combat areas where players can interact with each other as well as NPCs. The Tower in Destiny 1 had five distinct areas, ranging from the Tower Plaza to the Hall of Guardians, and over a dozen named NPCs. At the Tower players could manage their inventories with the Vault, decrypt or purchase Engrams, retrieve lost items from the Postmaster, or pledge to one of the Lost City's three factions.
The Red War and a New Tower
After being a bastion for humanity since the end of the Dark Age, the Tower finally fell at the beginning of Destiny 2's story campaign. It was destroyed by Dominus Ghaul and his Red Legion during their surprise invasion of the Last City. For a while, the Guardians were forced to operate from the Farm Social Space, until Ghaul and his Legion were defeated during the story.
With the former Tower destroyed, the Guardians set up a new headquarters along the Last City's perimeter wall while it was being rebuilt. While this new Social Space is more ad-hoc than the Tower in Destiny 1, it does offer many of the same features. There are four different areas in Destiny 2's Tower: the Courtyard, Bazaar, Hangar, and Annex.
The Tower in Destiny 2
Several of the functions from Destiny 1's tower can also be found in the sequel's version. These include decoding engrams, inventory management with the vault, creating fireteams, and pledging to a Lost City faction. Many of the NPCs from the first Tower also reappeared in the second, though with some notable absences. Amanda Holliday retains her role as the Guardian's shipwright, while Commander Zavala and Ikora Rey return as the Titan and Warlock Vanguards. One notable absence is Eva Levante, the outfitter who has only returned for special events since the Red War.
There are also some secrets and mini-games in the new Tower that weren't in the original. These include Destiny 2's Floor is Lava Challenge, which requires players to reach a certain part of the map without touching the ground, and the Ball puzzle, which is all about rolling around a series of colorful balls. The Tower is set to remain as core of Social play in Destiny 2 for the foreseeable future, and players can expect more secrets, stories, and events to focus around the home of the Guardians.
Destiny 2 Beyond Light is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X.