Destiny 2 became free-to-play when developer Bungie split off from publisher Activision to become an independent studio.

Two years later, Destiny 2 is still technically free-to-play (F2P). However, many are quick to criticize it, and some go as far as to call it pay-to-win. But is Destiny 2 truly free-to-play? How does it compare to other free-to-play shooters such as Apex Legends or Valorant?

The Decline of the Core Destiny 2 Experience: Vaulted Content

Destiny 2 is perhaps the only AAA modern game to actively delete and remove entire parts of its experience. In a process that is called the “Destiny Content Vault”, or DVC in short, Bungie routinely removes entire campaigns and locations from the live game.

Generally speaking, the Destiny community is not a fan of the DCV. Some of the best Destiny 2 experiences, including secret Exotic missions and campaign missions, are no longer playable. And that is a damn shame.

However, the DCV was particularly bad for free-to-play gamers. Previously, the entire Red War Campaign from the base game and two separate DLCs, Curse of Osiris and Warmind, were part of the free-to-play package. These were excellent at introducing new players to the Destiny universe too, especially the Red War campaign. But those were removed from the game and put into the DCV in 2020.

These days, free-to-play gamers have to contempt with an extremely short and mediocre “New Light” introductory quest. Needless to say, it does a poor job at welcoming new players into the game. As soon as the quest is over, it’s up to players to figure out what to do next. And as many parts of the game are paid, the experience becomes even more confusing overall. Unless they have a friend willing to teach them the core mechanics and gameplay loops, they soon feel overwhelmed and abandon the game much too soon.

What is Included in Destiny 2 for Free?

To be fair, many parts of the game are still free-to-play. In fact, Bungie adds new free-to-play content almost every season in the form of reprised content from Destiny 1, seasonal events, and more.

This is the content you can access as a free-to-play right now (excluding single missions from paid DLCs):

• Patrol areas: Every single location in the game can be visited to take part in public events, tackle Lost Sectors, and more.
• PvP: Iron Banner and all casual and competitive playlists, except Trials of Osiris.
• Vanguard Ops: Rotating Strikes (mini-missions) and Battlegrounds.
• Gambit: A combination of PvP and PvE.
• Nightfalls: Part of the endgame experience at higher difficulties. In fact, some Nightfall weapons are considered to be top-tier.
• Prophecy dungeon: An excellent dungeon released with Season of Arrivals.
• Reprised raids from Destiny 1: Vault of Glass and King’s Fall are two reprised raids originally released in Destiny 1. They were both tuned up and modernized to meet the superior Destiny 2 raid standards.
• Altars of Sorrow: Souped-up public event with increasingly more difficult tiers.
• Dares of Eternity: An insane 6-player activity with rotating enemy races and bosses.
• Seasonal events: Halloween’s Festival of the Lost, Solstice, Dawning and Guadian Games all are free-to-play.

How it Fares Against the Competition?

This is what it all comes down to. How good is Destiny 2’s free experience compared to other F2P shooters, such as Apex Legends or even Fortnite?

While you could argue that those games offer 99% of the game for free (only cosmetics are paid), it is also true that those games are much more limited in scope. With mainly one game mode (Battle Royale), they are forced to give the core experience for free.

Destiny 2, on the other hand, offers many different PvE and PvP experiences, including seasonal story missions and activities. If you were to compare the entirety of Destiny 2’s F2P content with say, Apex Legends, I would argue that Destiny 2 offers more to do.

The way Bungie is handling the Destiny Content Vault, or the way they removed the base campaign and left new players in the cold, leaves a lot to be desired. Bungie’s current monetization model is perhaps Destiny 2’s biggest concern right now. Their model is downright confusing and segmented, and it is in everyone’s best interest to overhaul that they overhaul it as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Destiny 2 is a free-to-play game, and it can offer hundreds of hours of free content, provided you are patient and find your way through its horrendous beginner’s experience…

Is Destiny 2 Still Free? Written by Staff Writer for Fortress of Solitude