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Destiny guide: all areas, beginner's tips, classes, raids, loot - everything you need to know

Our complete guide to Bungie's Destiny.

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Destiny is a large game for which there's been a large wait. Four years after the release of Halo: Reach, Bungie's next big thing is finally here. An online first-person shooter with heaps of RPG elements, Destiny follows the Guardians, the last defenders of all humanity, as they face off against the alien threat and protect earth's last city.

You're going to need some help, so bookmark this page right now.

You'll probably want to start with the complete guide to picking your race, gender and class. Guardians are split into three races - Humans, Awoken, and Exo - and you'll need to decide which one you're going to take forward on your journey to greatness. We've got complete class guides for you, outlining the strengths, weaknesses, kit and abilities of each. You'll also find detailed information about each class's two subclasses.

Stay with us for regular updates as this guide fills out, giving you a solid working companion to what promises to be one of the most played games of 2014.

NOTE: This guide was written for Destiny's first year. If you're coming to the game after the release of The Taken King, the second year expansion, you'll need to use our Taken King guide in conjunction with the information below.

Destiny guide

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Beginner's tips

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Destiny's kind in the early stages, but you should still take note of tips to get the best out of the starting game. Picking your class is a key choice, and the first thing you'll do when starting play.

You can take on the Titan, the Hunter or the Warlock. Each plays differently, each has its own strengths and each plays a specific role in striking, so be sure to know your class. Below you'll find tips on starting with all classes (we'll have beginner's tips for the Hunter live soon) and exhaustive detail on all the variants and subclasses. Have at it.

Getting started

How to choose your race and gender

A handy guide to emotes. Destiny is all about dancing like a funky chicken. Sort of, anyway. Once you've had a dance, pick your class. Choose carefully.

Understanding character and weapon statistics

Break down the baffling stats behind your character, weapons and armour.

How to choose the right Faction

Here's a briefing on the Future War Cult, New Monarchy or Dead Orbit Factions.

How to get a raid group together using LFG sites

Once you've mastered the basics, you'll want to start raiding. Learn how to get a party together quickly and easily.

Destiny class guide

How to level fast

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Destiny is a journey, but the sooner you reach level 20, the sooner you're playing with Legendary gear and facing the daunting prospect of attempting raids. Get there faster with our tips on pushing up past the lower levels as quickly as possible.

The Tower

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The Tower is Destiny's main social area, a hub where you'll buy new weapons, ships and armour. The Tower is home to The Speaker, the Traveler's go-between, and a pick-up point for bounties and post. You're going to be spending a bunch of time here, so get to know its areas, factions and layout.

Tower guide

Complete area and locations guide

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This is what you signed up for, Guardian. Destiny's fight against The Darkness spreads over the inner solar system and takes in some truly epic locales and combat. You're going to be facing enemies both biological and technical, and some end-bosses fearsome enough to worry even the hardiest gunslinger. Fret not: we've got your back.

You'll find guides to every Gold Chest and Dead Ghost in the game below, as well as complete walkthroughs to all the story missions and Strikes (we've yet to add the Mars Strike, but that'll be placed soon). Good luck.

Earth Old Russia Cosmodrome guide

Moon guide

Venus guide

Mars guide

The Vault of Glass Raid - how to beat Atheon and Templar

The Enemies of Destiny

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Complete tips guide for killing all standard enemies

Using elemental weapons to smash shielded enemies

The Fallen, Hive, Vex, and Cabal. Nasty little blighters. Here’s how to kill them all.

Trophies and Achievements

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All Trophies and Achievements guide

Don't lie. Of course you want all the pretend medals. Make sure you don't miss a single one with our complete guide to Destiny's Trophies and Achievements.

Legendary engrams and upgrades

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Farming for Legendary engrams and upgrade materials

Farming Legendary and Rare loot on the Moon

You need the best gear and the baddest weapons. We're here for you.

Grimoire cards and Consumables

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Why does Destiny give you hundreds of Grimoire cards? You don't know? You do now.

Grimoire cards: how to get them, and what they do

How to maximise your Grimoire Points

Consumables – where to find them and how to use them

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The Dark Below

Whether you buy The Dark Below expansion or not, its arrival on December 9 2014 means big changes to the game. Here's where you'll find our guides to the additions and alterations.

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House of Wolves

Destiny's second major expansion adds new end-game activities in Prison of Elders and Trials of Osiris, as well as a new level cap of 34. You'll find all of our House of Wolves guide pages below.

How to get to level 34

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The Iron Banner

The Iron Banner is a limited time PvP event that offers some really nice weapons, armour and bounty awards. It's actually a lot easier to earn loot than you might think, so here's our simple-to-follow guide to making the most of this exciting multiplayer mode.

How to reach rank 5 in Iron Banner

Destiny is set to evolve, possibly for years, as Bungie introduces new content and makes changes to the shooter MMO's systems. Stick with us for more details as they unfold.

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Destiny

PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC

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About the Author
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Patrick Garratt

Founder & Publisher (Former)

Patrick Garratt is a games media legend - and not just by reputation. He was named as such in the UK's 'Games Media Awards', the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. After garnering experience on countless gaming magazines, he joined Eurogamer and later split from that brand to create VG247, putting the site on the map with fast, 24-hour a day coverage, and assembling the site's earliest editorial teams. He retired from VG247, and the games industry, in 2017.

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