Season of Defiance
Season of Defiance is the 20th Season in Destiny 2. It takes place from February 28, 2023, to May 23, 2023. Its launch coincides with the release of the Lightfall expansion.
Contents
[hide]Introduction
Defy Our End
In the aftermath of the attack on the Traveler, the Vanguard calls upon its closest allies. Guardians must master the righteous powers of the Awoken to stand against the encroaching Shadow Legion and prove themselves as Queensguard.[1]
Changes
- See also: Version/7.0.0.1
Armor
Armor energy types have been removed, with armor mods no longer having any element requirements. Out of the mods available in the previous season, most have either been reworked, replaced, or removed entirely. Mods that previously functioned based on weapon archetype (e.g. Auto Rifle, Rocket Launcher) have been replaced with mods that are based on weapon damage type (e.g. Arc, Void).[2]
The Combat Style Armor Mod socket on each armor item has been replaced with a third armor item mod slot (e.g. Helmet Armor Mod). The Charged with Light and Elemental Well mods have been merged into the new Armor Charge system. Warmind Cells have been deprecated, and can no longer be generated.[2]
Seasonal Mods unlocked from the Seasonal Artifact have been replaced with Artifact Perks. Instead of needing to equip a seasonal mod, perks are now always active once unlocked. However, the maximum number of perks that can be unlocked has been reduced to 12. The player can reset their Artifact's perk selection for free, allowing it to be changed at any time. Due to the removal of seasonal mods, the Artifice Armor slot now allows the player to slot in a +3 boost to any armor stat.[2]
The damage reduction bonus granted by Resilience, as well as the ability regeneration granted by Discipline, Strength, and the class ability stats has been rescaled. The Tier 10 effects have been reduced, while lower tiers have been improved.[2]
Difficulty
The difficulty of the Vanguard Ops strike playlist has been increased, capping players' Power Level advantage. Scoring has also been added. Higher scores reward a greater multiplier to Vanguard reputation earned on completion.[2]
The Arms Dealer and Lake of Shadows strikes have been reworked with new mechanics and objectives.[3] Each mission's story and dialogue has also been updated, now taking place in the current season rather than the Red War.
The Hero/Legend/Master difficulty levels have been rebalanced for activities that use them. Adept difficulty has been removed.[2]
The elemental Singe and Burn modifiers have been split into Threats, which increase incoming damage from enemies, and Surges, which increase outgoing damage from players. A new Overcharged Weapons modifier will also grant a damage bonus to certain weapon types. The Match Game modifier has been removed. Shields across the game now take 50% less damage from non-matching element sources.[3][2]
Gameplay
Champions can now be stunned using element keywords. For example, the Solar Radiant buff will allow the player's weapon to pierce a Barrier Champion's shield.[2]
Two new Fragments have been added for each Light-based subclass: Spark of Haste and Spark of Instinct for Arc; Ember of Mercy and Ember of Resolve for Solar; and Echo of Cessation and Echo of Vigilance for Void.[2] They can be purchased from Ikora Rey in the Tower Bazaar.
A catalyst for Two-Tailed Fox has been added. It can drop from strikes, Crucible, and Gambit.
Economy
Commander Zavala's Vanguard Engrams can now be focused. In addition to the Vanguard loot pool, the engrams can also be focused into Nightfall weapons. Adept Nightfall weapons require Nightfall Ciphers to focus, obtained from Grandmaster difficulty. Legacy Gear focusing has been introduced, allowing players to obtain older gear. Zavala, Lord Shaxx, The Drifter, Saint-14, and Lord Saladin now allow focusing of older armor sets. Zavala, Saint, and Saladin also allow focusing of (non-Adept) weapons that have left the current loot pool. Ada-1 now sells older shaders that are no longer available to obtain.[4]
Umbral Engrams will no longer drop in-game. Players who still have them in their inventories can decrypt them at Master Rahool. They have been replaced by seasonal engrams, starting with the Defiant Engram for the current season.[4][5]
Weapon Crafting
Deepsight Resonance will now only appear on weapons that have Weapon Patterns that have not been unlocked. Deepsight has been removed from weapons in players' inventories if they cannot be crafted. Deepsight weapons also no longer need to be attuned by using them. They can immediately be either extracted or dismantled to make progress on the Pattern.[2]
Resonant Elements have been removed. Crafting costs have been replaced with more general currencies, including Glimmer, Enhancement Cores, and Legendary Shards.[2]
UI/UX
A Loadouts tab has been added to the left side of the Character menu, allowing players to save and load their equipment, mods, and subclass builds. Up to 10 loadouts can be saved per character, with slots being unlocked through the new Guardian Ranks progression system. A Mod Customization sub-screen has also been added to the right of the Character menu, giving an overview of the player's equipment and mods similar to the Appearance Customization screen.
The Triumphs menu tab has been renamed to "Journey" and is now used to display the player's Guardian Ranks progression. Triumphs and titles have been given their own sub-screens. Seasonal Challenges can also be accessed from this screen. Lore, Patterns and Catalysts, Medals, and Stat Trackers have been moved to the Collections tab.[2]
Players can now give Commendations to other players at the end of activities. Commendations can be viewed in the Journey tab.[2]
Overview
- See also: Seasonal Challenges and Rank Rewards
The Seasonal Artifact is the Ascendant Scepter, which provides Artifact Perks and additional Power. It is obtained from Nimbus on Neptune, after completing the free introductory First Contact mission from the Lightfall campaign. The War Table is the seasonal vendor, located in the H.E.L.M. The Farm in the EDZ has also returned as an instanced social space.
New activities include Defiant Battlegrounds, seasonal story missions, and the //node.ovrd.AVALON// secret Exotic mission.
A new raid, Root of Nightmares, was released on March 10, 2023. It requires ownership of the Lightfall expansion to access.[6]
The Guardian Games 2023 event began on May 2, 2023, lasting until the end of the season on May 23, 2023.[7]
Timeline
February 2023
March 2023
- March 7: The //node.ovrd.AVALON// Exotic Mission becomes available
- March 10: The Root of Nightmares raid releases at 9am PST, requiring the Lightfall expansion to access. Contest mode will be available for 48 hours, until 10am PDT on March 12.[8][6][9][10]
- March 17: Trials of Osiris becomes available.[7][11]
- March 21: First Iron Banner week of the season begins, featuring Control.[7][11][12]
- March 28: Master difficulty and weekly encounter challenges become available in the Root of Nightmares raid.[13]
April 2023
- April 4: Second Iron Banner week of the season begins, featuring Eruption.[7][12]
- April 11: Grandmaster Nightfalls become available.[7]
- April 25: Third and final Iron Banner week of the season begins, featuring Fortress.[7][12]
May 2023
- May 2: Guardian Games 2023 event begins.[7]
- May 23:
- End of the season.[1]
- Guardian Games 2023 event ends.[7]
- Season of the Deep begins.[5]
Seasonal content
Weapons
Armor
Ghost Shells
Ships
Sparrows
Finishers
Emotes
Emblems
Shaders
Transmat Effects
Weapon Ornaments
Armor Ornaments
Quests
Miscellaneous
Packages
References
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 "Season of Defiance" Bungie, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/Seasons/SeasonOfDefiance. Accessed 1 Mar. 2023.
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 "Destiny 2 Update 7.0.0.1" Bungie, posted by Destiny 2 Dev Team, 27 Feb. 2023, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/update_7_0_0_1. wikipage
- ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 "Bringing Challenge Back to Destiny" Bungie, posted by Destiny Dev Team, posted 21 Feb. 2023, updated 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/bringing_challenge_back. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.
- ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 "Economy Updates And More Coming In Lightfall" Bungie, posted by Destiny 2 Dev Team, 25 Jan. 2023, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/season-20-legacy-focusing. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.
- ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Lightfall and the Year Ahead" Bungie, posted by Destiny Dev Team, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/lightfall-year-ahead. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.
- ↑ Jump up to: 6.0 6.1 @Destiny2Team. "The Lightfall raid will launch on Friday, March 10, 2023 at 9am PST (Pacific Standard Time). Contest mode on the Lightfall raid will be active for 48 hours ending on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 10am PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)." Twitter, 3 Feb. 2023, https://twitter.com/Destiny2Team/status/1621594300411936769. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.
- ↑ Jump up to: 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 "This Week at Bungie – 03/02/23" Bungie, posted by Hippy, 2 Mar. 2023, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/lightfall-twab-03-02-23. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023.
- Jump up ↑ "This Week at Bungie – 1/19/2023" Bungie, posted by Hippy, 19 Jan. 2023, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/twab_01_19_2023. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.
- Jump up ↑ @Destiny2Team. "We are extending contest mode an additional day to allow teams pursuing the emblem more chances to take breaks, as well as allow anyone who has commitments on Friday to still have time to participate. More details will be available in a future TWAB." Twitter, 3 Feb. 2023, https://twitter.com/Destiny2Team/status/1621594301531828225. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.
- Jump up ↑ @DestinyTheGame. "Ferried from an unknown time and place, a haunting presence has been detected. We must now confront the ancient threat growing at our doorstep. The Root of Nightmares raid opens on March 10, 2023 at 9am PST. Contest Mode will be enabled for 48 hours. http://bung.ie/lightfall" Twitter, 27 Feb. 2023, https://twitter.com/DestinyTheGame/status/1630295932209360896. Accessed 1 Mar. 2023.
- ↑ Jump up to: 11.0 11.1 "This Week At Bungie – 3/9/2023" Bungie, posted by Sam, 9 Mar. 2023, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/twab_03_09_2023. Accessed 9 Mar. 2023.
- ↑ Jump up to: 12.0 12.1 12.2 "This Week At Bungie – 03/16/2023" Bungie, posted by Bruno Louviers, 16 Mar. 2023, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/twab_03_16_2023. Accessed 16 Mar. 2023.
- Jump up ↑ "This Week At Bungie – 03/23/2023" Bungie, posted by Sam, 23 Mar. 2023, https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/twab_03_23_23. Accessed 24 Mar. 2023.
