"What do I do now?" - A Newbie Guide - Rise of Iron Edition

[This guide is an updated version of one I originally posted this spring. I will probably not create a new post after this one, unless Bungie does something crazy in Spring 2017. I will continue to edit it to fix mistakes and add new information as needed, please feel free to offer criticism/correction below.]

Hi! If you're reading this, you are probably new to Destiny (and r/Destinythegame) and understandably baffled by this giant and complicated game. Don't get me wrong, I'm obsessed with it, and soon you will be too, but it is NOT easy for new players to pick up and understand.

This guide is intended to provide step-by-step instructions for new players, from the end of the first mission up through LL 400, along the way explaining important concepts like what "LL 400" is supposed to mean. Of course, eventually you should find the many excellent guides we have here about optimizing your character's stats, becoming a PvP baller, or the intricacies of the raids).

#GOAL 1: COMPLETE THE STORY

On one level this is relatively simple: using the mission select screen (referred to as "the director"), follow the purple quest markers. Shoot aliens in the face until your robot friend Ghost tells you you're done, and occasionally return to the Tower to speak to various NPCs.

As a practical matter it can be a bit more confusing than that, as the game's multiple expansions have overlapping level requirements, appear in seemingly random locations on your director, and have such a haphazard storyline that it can be hard to keep up with what's happening.

Things will make more sense and probably be more enjoyable if you play them chronologically by the order that they were released:

• The basic (or "vanilla") storyline missions just have a name (like "Restoration") and a recommended level, and should be done first (they end with "The Black Garden," which is level 18).

• Next comes "The Dark Below," expansion. The quest begins with a repeat of the vanilla story mission "The Sword of Crota," then will take you to new content beginning with "The Fist of Crota," a level 10 mission.

• Then “House of Wolves,” which begins with a visit to “The Reef,” a social area with some interesting NPCs. Like "The Dark Below," the quest for House of Wolves will begin with a retread of a Vanilla mission, "Scourge of Winter," before sending you on to "A Kell Rising," a level 16 mission.

• Next comes “The Taken King” missions, beginning with “The Coming War,” recommended level 25. [Note: During "Outbound Signal," a mission in Taken King, you'll be given the Dread Explorer's Shell at LL220. It looks cool, has a great stat roll, and is only obtainable once per character, so don't dismantle it like I did... three times.]

• Finally, the newest expansion "Rise of Iron" begins with "King of the Mountain," which assumes you to be the maximum level (40) and of Light Level 280.

Finishing all of these will unlock new quests and new missions you should explore; many are not part of the story progression, but are still interesting. Destiny has a convenient way to know you've completed a mission, because the circle on the map will fill in. Be sure to keep checking the "Quests" tab and following the purple markers to see what's next.

###SUBGOAL: Join a Faction

There are three “factions” at the Tower you can join and build reputation with, beginning as soon as you arrive (and have earned 2500 glimmer, which shouldn't be long). Rep comes from doing things in the game like finishing missions and bounties, and will eventually reward you with access to gear and consumables. Each time you rank up your faction will give you a choice of "package"; these packages will contain at least one piece of faction-specific gear, some small goodies, and potentially ships, shaders, or emblems.

You can choose between "Weapon" (self-explanatory), "Armor" (the newest style of armor), or "Chroma" (the armor introduced back in April). The difference between "Armor" and "Chroma" is purely aesthetic. The gear will scale with your light level at the time up to 390.

All you have to do is talk to the representative in the tower, and they'll offer you a place in the faction. Choosing based on color scheme is probably best, but you could also roleplay it, or pick out a gun you want (see "Sweet Vendor Lootz" below). Switching faction can be done once a week and isn't a big deal, so don't freak out about the choice. However, you want to start building reputation with one immediately.

• New Monarchy's representative, Executor Hideo, stands on the far left side of the Tower, near the Speaker. Probably the most “traditional” faction, they're dedicated to protecting the city and believe humanity can rebuild to their Golden Age height. If only they didn't want to elect a king to do it. Their colors are red and white.

• Dead Orbit's representative, Arach Jalal, stands on the far right side of the Tower, in the hangar. They're convinced that the Solar System is doomed, and that humanity ought to bail and find somewhere with fewer homicidal aliens. So they're kinda space goths, but they also might have the best handle on reality, and their grayscale color scheme looks pretty nice.

• Future War Cult's representative, Lakshmi-2, is in a nifty lounge above the hangar. As the name implies, they are preparing for a “future war” that they have caught glimpses of using ancient Golden Age technology. They have the tightest connection to Destiny's story, but joining the faction doesn't make you privy to any of their mysterious knowledge. They have a rather bold blue-red-yellow striped color scheme that doesn't go with literally anything else in the game.

#GOAL 2: GAIN XP - REACH LEVEL 40

There's no way to play Destiny that won't, eventually, get your character to level 40, and thus eligible for all the content and gear in the game. Until you're level 40, there's no real point to worrying about gear and grinding. Just equip whatever has the highest numbers as you go along, it'll all become obsolete quite quickly. Experiment! Find out what type of weapons and abilities you like, it'll serve you well in the future.

• Story missions will get you most of the way, as will doing some Patrols on any planet.

• Pick up daily Bounties, small tasks in PvP or PvE, from the bounty boards (located dead ahead in the tower, and right at your spawn in the Reef or Iron Temple) and finish them for even more XP and rep. There are also weekly PvE bounties available from Shiro, once you get to the Rise of Iron content.

• Be sure to repeatedly check your "Quests" tab for more to do; you can "track" quests and bounties by selecting them, which gives a green icon on the navigation map.

• Playing Crucible (PvP) is a good source of XP as well, and Destiny is balanced so your level/gear don't matter (much) to your damage or HP. You will still be at a bit of a disadvantage, though, at least until you...

###SUBGOAL: Max Subclasses

A longer-term part of the leveling process is maximizing your subclasses. It takes much more XP to finish unlocking all the subclass nodes than it does to reach 40, so this is a long-term project. At first you have access to only two subclasses, but a third will unlock through a special quest, once you've completed the Taken King mission "The Coming War."

With certain editions of the game, upon earning the third subclass you will also receive a class item corresponding to it (e.g., the Nightstalker cloak), which gives bonus XP to your character and your subclass. if you get one I'd suggest keeping it on for a while, even after you find a better one, just to speed your progress along.

Eventually you'll finish all three, of course, but I recommend the following trio as top priority, as they are the best for the endgame content:

• Sunsinger Warlock: Getting to Fireborn (self-resurrection) takes time but is the signature ability.

• Defender Titan: Weapons of Light is on the final row and is very useful during the raids.

• Nightstalker Hunter: Black Hole and Disappear in Smoke are the most important abilities for killing bosses and saving your life, but Shadestep is also very valuable as the last thing unlocked.

#GOAL 3: GEAR UP TO LL 365

Your "Light Level" (LL) is a weighted average of the attack and defense ratings of your various gear slots. The higher your LL, the more damage your weapons will do, and the less damage enemies will do to you. Note that disparities between armor slots don't matter, only the average; your arms are not more vulnerable if they have a worse piece of gear than your legs. A weapon's particular LL does matter, but is also affected by your character's overall LL.

You'll notice your LL rising as you level and pick up new pieces, and it can continue to grow up to 385 (and eventually 400). Your initial goal is to hit about 365, at which point you are ready for endgame content. That number is a little arbitrary; you can certainly participate in many activities with a lower figure.

The key to raising your LL is Smart Loot. Destiny's loot primarily come from engrams, which must be brought to cryptarch Master Rahool at the tower (or the corresponding jerk at the Reef, or the nice lady in the Iron Temple). Engrams are designed to decrypt around your light level at the time of decryption, which means you should always be the highest light you can when you decrypt your engrams. That way they'll decrypt as high as possible, slowly raising your light level as you equip the best. It will even be worth it, especially at first, to decrypt items individually and equip them before decrypting more.

Blue (rare) engrams can decrypt up to 365, and you'll get tons of them. Purple (legendary) engrams are far less common, and can decrypt up to 385. Exotic engrams (see Xur, below) can go all the way to 400. Blue engrams can sometimes decrypt into legendary or exotic items, and they will scale as if they came from the higher engram (so up to 385 or 400). You'll also find green engrams, but they'll automatically decrypt. Once you're over LL 200 or so, they will be trash.

• The best source of engrams is to keep plugging away at Strikes. These are just three-player missions (usually with automatic match-making), usually taking no more than 15 minutes or so. You'll already have finished a few strikes (like "Devil's Lair") as a part of the story, and you can select them individually if you want.

• Eventually the Vanguard (Zavala, Ikora, or Cayde-6, depending on your class) will give you a quest ("Neverending Battle") to play a Vanguard Strike Playlist. Basically, you join a playlist and can just keep rolling through randomly-selected strikes with internet randos for as long as you like. Along the way you'll pick up plenty of engrams as well as Skeleton Keys, which are used to unlock hoard chests at the end of strikes. These chests contain loot specific to each strike, like the Grasp of Malok and the Imago Loop, though I'm partial to the Darkblade Helm. Strike bosses can drop loot up to 365, while strike-specific loot chests can drop all the way to 400.

• You can eventually upgrade to Heroic Vanguard Strikes, which are harder but drop better loot (up to 385). The SIVA Crisis playlist is suggested LL 350+, but pre-RoI strikes have "heroic" versions of a lower LL that can be selected individually. Each week you can earn 10 Legendary Marks for your first three heroic strikes, as well as some bonus engrams.

• Another great source of engrams is the Court of Oryx, a location on the Dreadnaught (in the "Hall of Souls"). Here's a guide, but the basic idea is that you place a rune into a statue and then fight the corresponding boss(es) who emerge from the portal. Higher runes summon harder bosses, and will probably require a group, which can include random passers-by.

• The Prison of Elders (PoE) is a special multi-part wave-defense game mode located near The Reef. It has difficulty levels ranging from level 28 up through 41, which suggests LL 260+. The most important part is the hardest (though quickest), Challenge of the Elders, an arcade-like mode with where you score points for killing enemies in various ways (with different modifiers and bonuses each week). The final round of that is LL330, so don't try this if you are under 310. Simply visit Variks (the alien) in The Reef to buy a “sigil” for access. Scoring 30,000 in a single run (easy) will give a weapon, and 90,000 total (2-3 runs) will get a piece of gear. Sigil rewards only fall up to LL365, but rep packages from Variks scale like any other faction (meaning up to 390). Your first completion of Level 41 PoE will earn you a "Sterling Treasure," which contains some cosmetic items and gear (like the "Desolate" set).

• You should also try to do the Daily and Weekly Challenges (PvP and PvE) in the bottom-left corner of the navigation map. They'll reward you with bonus Legendary Marks, which can be spent at vendors in the Tower (see below). Your first heroic strike of the week will also grant a single "Radiant Treasure," which contains a weapon ornament.

Note - At the conclusion of the quest line that sends you through the Vanguard Strikes and concludes with a Nightfall ("Neverending Battle"), you will be offered a shotgun called Conspiracy Theory-D with Rangefinder and Rifled Barrel, which improve its range. It is the highest damage shotgun in the game, and while it is insanely slow and impractical for PvE, it is devastating as a PvP weapon.

###SUBGOAL: Sweet Vendor Lootz

You've probably noticed that nearly everybody in the tower seems to sell some kind of gun or armor, and you probably haven't the faintest idea which are good. This is going to be a running theme for several months; if you're not sure about a purple piece, GOOGLE IT! Find out if people like that weapon, or if it's hard to get, so you don't accidentally dismantle anything insanely more useful than you realize. r/sharditkeepit exists to help you evaluate legendary weapons, make use of it!

Here are some vendor weapon recommendations:

1. Crucible Quartermaster Arcite 99-40, the robot located across from Lord Shaxx downstairs in the Tower, has several useful guns. The most popular right now is The Palindrome, a midrange Hand Cannon that comes equipped with rangefinder, rifled barrel, and Truesight IS, which boosts aim assist. Hand cannons aren't everyone's cup of tea, but this is a really strong choice for PvP. Low magazine size makes it less awesome in PvE, but certainly usable.

2. Arcite 99-40 also sells Event Horizon, a sniper rifle from the highest damage category. It's powerful enough to kill guardians during their supers (like Stormtrance or Hammer of Sol) with one headshot, and has Hidden Hand to help that happen. It also comes with Shortgaze SLH10, perhaps the best scope, and Smallbore, which boosts its range to maximum and gives some additional stability. Smallbore normally reduces magazine size, but since Event Horizon only holds 3, in this case there is no penalty. Again, more of a PvP gun.

3. The Vanguard Quartermaster (who lives in the Tower Hangar) sells Angel's Advocate, a quick-firing scout rifle of the same archetype as MIDA Multitool. It's versatile enough to be useful in PvP (Smallbore highly recommended) or PvE (switch Smallbore to Explosive Rounds, though Outlaw won't work as well).

• If you're New Monarchy, Executor Hideo sells the Assembly II, a fast-firing Auto Rifle with Counterbalance and Perfect Balance to help it stay on-target and Quickdraw for speedy handling. It's a superb PvP choice. For PvE I recommend Bad Counsel IV, a midrange shotgun. It comes with full-auto and extended magazine for maximum lead downrange, plus an interesting perk called Cascade that will reload the gun upon melee kills.

• If you're Dead Orbit, Arach Jalal sells Last-Ditch 001, a high-impact shotgun with Quickdraw and some range extensions, allowing for easy one-hit kills in PvP. In PvE I suggest the Keystone 01, a high-damage scout rifle with a big magazine and Crowd Control, a really useful perk for killing ads.

• If you're Future War Cult, try one of their trademark fusion rifles, The Waiting. The vendor roll offers improved range, stability, and charge time, all critical for PvP OHKOs. In PvE I'd suggest The Wounded, a midrange scout rifle with stability-enhancing perks to make it extremely easy to use.

#GOAL 4: ENDGAME STUFF

Once you've hit 365, rare (blue) engrams will cease to be directly useful. You should still pick them up and decrypt them, because sometimes they'll spontaneously produce Legendary/Exotic gear, and they'll be an important source of the parts and glimmer you need to upgrade weapons.

Between 365 and 385, you'll depend upon a mixture of vendor purchases, activity rewards (like strike bosses), and legendary engrams to keep progressing forward. Just make sure you always finish activities (or decrypt engrams) at maximum light to increase your chances of getting an upgrade.

You can continue to "grind" all the way up to 400 with the activities already mentioned. Rep packages will provide slow progress up to 390, and exotic engrams and strike-specific loot will eventually get you all the way to 400. To move things along, though, you will want to challenge endgame content:

• Wrath of the Machine is the primary raid. While not as complicated as previous raids like King's Fall, WotM is still 6-man content with a lot of unexplained mechanics and intricate cooperation and communication. Consider running for the first time with a group on r/Destinysherpa before using other matchmaking channels, so you'll have a knowledgeable guide. Normal Mode is listed in the director at LL370+, though only the final boss really demands that number (and can certainly be beaten at LL360+). Heroic (Hard) Mode is listed at 390. Rewards will range up to 385 for Normal and 400 for Heroic. Raid gear has unique properties to help during WotM, for example bonus damage to Fallen or bonus armor while holding a SIVA bomb. At worst it's high-LL gear you can use for infusion (see below). The chests in the raid can also drop exotics.

• The weekly Nightfall is a special, extra-hard (you should probably be 370+) strike with modifiers to complicate the game, like extra Arc or Solar damage. You can see them in the director when you highlight it in the bottom right, or view them with your ghost when you get into the level. Finishing the Nightfall each week will provide a nice reward, usually a piece of high-level (up to 400) legendary or exotic gear, and potentially odds and ends like emotes. It's also possible to get screwed and wind up with some Strange Coins. There's no matchmaking on Nightfalls, so you'll have to find a group. I recommend r/fireteams of course.

• Lord Shaxx will give you a crucible quest line that is incredibly annoying, but eventually unlocks a special weekly bounty from him. These bounties are multi-part and require several games of a given game type over the course of a week. This bounty is sometimes called the "PvP Nightfall" because the rewards are often similar: an exotic or legendary item up to LL400.

• Rise of Iron has a feature very similar to the Court of Oryx called The Archon's Forge, located in The Plaguelands. In this case you can only hold one offering at a time, beginning with LL320 "Fused" offerings and moving up to 370 "Perfected" offerings. Completed offerings will randomly award special Forge gear up to LL385, while accessories (class items, ghost shells, and artifacts) can drop up to LL400.

• Iron Banner is a week-long PvP event each month, where you earn reputation points by playing a special 6v6 playlist. This is different from other PvP in that gear matters - you'll be at a big disadvantage if you try to play at less than 360 or so (at least). However, it drops far more loot than regular Crucible matches (all special Iron Banner-specific gear), and is therefore worth the time. Visit Lady Efrideet at the Iron Temple to pick up the bounties for the week, which give guaranteed gear. Even if you're terrible, Iron Banner will be rewarding.

• Trials of Osiris is a special “elimination” mode (3v3, last team with someone surviving wins the round, first team to 5 rounds wins) available on weekends. Similar deal to Iron Banner in that gear matters, so you shouldn't attempt this lightly. Pick up the bounties from Brother Vance, the candle-obsessed dude at the Reef, as well as a "Trials Passage," basically a ticket. If you have any "passage coins," you use them by selecting the Trials Passage in your inventory and buying "boons," which give some boosts. Do your best and hope something drops from the bounties. If your team is good, and wins 5 or 7 games before hitting 3 losses, you'll get extra gear. If your team is REALLY good, and gets to 9 wins without losing a match, it'll earn a trip to the Lighthouse, a social area, for... more gear. I'd tell you more, but I've never been. =(

###SUBGOAL: Old Content

There were three raids before Wrath of the Machine: Vault of Glass, Crota's End, and King's Fall. These have not been updated to the highest difficulty, and thus are pretty easy for groups of geared players. They won't give you anything useful, really, but they're great fun and worth exploring eventually.

An exception: King's Fall gear IS capable of being infused, and the machine gun Quillim's Terminus is perhaps the best in the game. There are partisans for other raid weapons as well; my favorite is Smite of Merain, the only pulse rifle in the game that can roll with Firefly.

#GOAL 5: XUR AND GETTING EXOTICS

Exotic weapons and armor are very powerful; you are limited to one of each at a time, and they help define your playstyle. Some unlock a node for free, allowing you to “break” your build, or give an extra grenade or melee charge. Others have more unique abilities, like the Bones of Eao, which provide Hunters an extra jump.

There are a few obscure ways to get exotics, but 90% are gained from Xur. He's a dude with tentacles for a face who shows up Fridays and Saturdays in a random location and sells several exotics (here's a sales history). I recommend new players try to buy any exotics they don't already own, because you never know which one will be your elusive "white whale."

Xur's goods are bought with Strange Coins. The coins are impossible to farm, as they drop from just about everywhere, but randomly. If you're in desperate need of a few, buying a new rank of reputation in your faction (with motes of light, heavy ammo synths, or something else) will yield 4 coins guaranteed.

Xur also sells a more important source of exotics: the “Three of Coins” (3oC) They're tarot cards you buy in packs of 5, and use as a consumable. Once used, you'll have a buff called "Exotic Particles," viewable on your character screen as the Roman numerals IX. Basically, it gives you a chance for an exotic to drop after your next crucible match or next Ultra (boss) defeated. You either have the buff or you don't, so there's no reason to use more than one at a time, and the buff doesn't run out. The general rule is to just try to keep remembering to use them every time you see the buff disappear. Each one you use that doesn't produce an exotic increases the chances that next time, it will, so just keep at it and you'll see the exotics roll in.

The final item that you'll eventually want from Xur are Glass Needles. These are used to "re-roll" exotic armor, meaning you can change things like which stats it boosts or what type of weapon ammo it carries. Some exotics have permanent or limited perks, so be sure to check before you waste a lot of needles looking for a perk it can't get.

Note: Exotic weapons and armor are special in that there are "Kiosks" down in the Vanguard room (with Cayde and Ikora and Zavala) that will record which you own. Once you've acquired an exotic, you can purchase it back off the wall whenever you like. It'll cost you an exotic shard and some glimmer, but it means there's no need to hoard exotics you don't use. The kiosk also permits the "heavy weapon trick," a means to convert glimmer and motes into exotic shards.

#GOAL 6: UNIQUE WEAPONS

Well, between the raids, strikes, and Three of Coins, nearly everything in the game is possible to acquire at this point. There are, however, some very powerful unique weapons that you can only acquire via quest. In rough order of usefulness:

1. The Gjallarhorn - During the first year of Destiny, this rocket launcher became the stuff of legend, and source of some of the weirdest r/destinythegame behavior. It's much easier to acquire as of Rise of Iron; the quest is a bit convoluted but manageable solo, and will culminate in an insane infinite-ammo explosionfest with your new weapon, which comes in at LL 350. While not "the one and only" in the way it was year one, it's a fantastic go-to heavy weapon for almost any situation. Note that Rise of Iron preorderers will receive the "Iron Gjallarhorn," an identical but re-skinned version that arrives at the Postmaster at LL 3. Infuse it up!

2. Exotic Swords - Swords are completely sweet and/or rad, and you can get one once you're finished with the Taken King story. At that point you can get a quest from Eris Morn ("A Sword Reforged") that concludes with your choice of legendary sword (eventually you can get all three). After a few more steps and a lot of farming, the sword can be upgraded into an exotic version. The starting decision is a little like Pokemon, in that each has its loyalists. The solar version, Raze Lighter, does possibly the highest single-target damage in the game. It renders elite enemies trivial and, while risky to use, murders ultras too. The void version, Dark Drinker, has a Link-style spin move that does heavy damage in an area, which means it's actually the best DPS against the final boss of the WotM raid. The arc version, Bolt Caster, can shoot arc energy at enemies over long ranges, making it the clear PvP favorite if you're crazy like that. You'll also get a legendary sword called Dreadfang when you do the April Update content, and another exotic called Young Wolf's Howl as a part of the Rise of Iron storyline; they're both fine but unremarkable.

3. Outbreak Prime - Acquiring this weapon is perhaps the most complicated and grueling process in Destiny, requiring multiple trips through Wrath of the Machine, a Nightfall, some PvP, patrols in the Plaguelands, and a lot of math. In exchange you'll receive a LL390 fast-firing pulse rifle. A stable gun with solid handling, it is absolutely devastating against Fallen and not bad at all outside the raid either. Its "SIVA mites" effect, unleashed on multiple hits and on precision kills, eats through tougher enemies.

4. Sleeper Simulant – This is a special Fusion Rifle that counts as a Heavy weapon. It fires a really big red laser that bounces around and does a billion damage, so it can come in handy. Starting the mission is basically just luck, where you'll find a DVALIN Fusion Rifle relic and hand it to the gunsmith to get it started.

5. The Black Spindle – During the mission "Lost to Light" on heroic difficulty, there' an alternate ending and alternate boss to finish; it's difficult but not insanely so. As a reward you receive the most powerful sniper rifle in the game, one equipped with a unique perk that makes it utterly devastating against any enemy you can consistently shoot in the head. It was basically mandatory for King's Fall, but is still pretty darn useful (and cool looking!).

There are a number of other special exotics, like Boolean Gemini, No Time to Explain, and The Chaperone, each with their own prerequisites and quests. But these are luxury weapons, fun and effective but nowhere near necessary.

The old raids also have their own unique exotics, though the Vex Mythoclast (Vault of Glass) and Necrochasm (Crota's End) cannot be infused, and Touch of Malice (King's Fall) is virtually useless outside the final two fights of that raid.

Note: The three "Fallen weapons" -- Lord of Wolves, Dreg's Promise, and Queenbreaker's Bow, can only be acquired as a random reward for completing Challenge of Elders, not through exotic engrams.

#GOAL 7: ARMSDAY AND THE GUNSMITH

Banshee-44 is the Gunsmith, who chills behind his table in the main part of the Tower, on the right just past the Cryptarch. Each week on Armsday (Wednesday), he provides a number of test weapons. These are crappy white weapons that you must use in a particular fashion (kill Hive, for instance, or use in the Crucible). Instead of building XP like a normal weapon, you'll "finish" the weapon by reaching 100%, and can safely dismantle it. Simply finishing the weapon's quest will give you reputation with Banshee; his rep packages will give a weapon up to LL400.

Increasing your level with Banshee will unlock quests to get two exclusive weapons for each class, a legendary special weapon and an exotic primary weapon. Some of these, like the Warlock's Tlaloc, are popular choices. Keep in mind that the legendary weapons (Stillpiercer, Immobius, and Susanoo) are unique and cannot be replaced without creating a new character.

Banshee reputation also allows you to buy Armsday Orders between Wednesday and Saturday. These take up a slot in your inventory and cannot be transferred or put in the vault. On the following Armsday, you can bring these packages to Banshee for a choice among up to 3 versions of the corresponding gun. If you don't like the options, you can wait for next week, and they'll be different. Your rep with Banshee determines how many orders you can buy on a character (up to 3) and how many rolls you'll get (again, up to 3).

Most gunsmith weapons are unremarkable, but the possibility of getting a perfect (or "God") roll for a given gun is appealing, and glimmer is generally plentiful, so I recommend it. Some of the guns are really great, too, (like the Arminius-D or PDX-45, for example), so do some research.

Note - Banshee ends up receiving 90% of my excess glimmer. I buy ammo synths, useful in many contexts, and Weapon/Armor Parts, which you'll need for upgrading your gear.

#GOAL 8: ALTERNATE CHARACTERS

There's no reason why you can't create an alternate character right after your first one, though odds are you won't bother until you're most of the way through the leveling process. Destiny allows you to have three characters, which conveniently aligns with the three classes. Most activities can be done with each character, though some can't (like the daily heroic mission or weekly PvP).

If you're a true power gamer, you could choose to have two (or even three...) of a single class, which would allow you to do weekly activities twice to build up gear faster. It's far more fun to have all three, though, especially since you won't know your favorite until you play them all. So I recommend starting alternates immediately, and finding out what way to play Destiny is most fun for you.

Note - The first alternate character is the best recipient of the Spark of Light, which jumps a character straight to level 40. This makes the early missions a sprint, and gets your exotic class item on immediately (if you have one). Once it's leveled, your alt can do most weekly activities just like your main, sharing weapons and ghosts, but not armor or artifacts.

#GOAL 9: METAGAME?

Despite the game's best efforts to dispel you of this notion, Destiny's underlying storyline is a superb work of sci-fi/fantasy (or more succinctly, “Space Magic”). It just happens to be hidden in the game's “Grimoire Cards,” accessible only on bungie.net, that offer a fascinating array of “primary sources,” descriptions, legends, and even jokes to build the game's world. I think the most gripping story is that of Thorn and The Last Word, but the Books of Sorrow offer a more substantial “history” of an enemy (the Hive) that appears cliché on its face.

Building your own “Grimoire Score” to unlock these cards is done through almost everything in the game, but certain aspects (like killing Vex Hydra, for instance) might require you to go out of your way to earn them. It's certainly a level well beyond “Platinum” to get even close to the maximum possible score.

For the natural “collectors” among you, the game also has a vast array of cosmetic items, including emblems, shaders, ornaments, class items, emotes, ships, and sparrows.

If you're done with all of that, consider becoming a Sherpa! If you've got the patience, it can be extremely rewarding to help someone learn in Destiny. Whether you're a crucible wizard, raid expert, or just a dude with time on his hands, there are a lot of people who need help. Destiny is fun solo, but it's transcendent in a coordinated group. Help someone else have that experience.

#ADDENDUM: INFUSION

On your quest toward LL 400, you will find pieces of gear with higher attack/defense numbers than your gear, but that you do not otherwise like. Destiny allows you to fix that by "infusing" the higher LL piece into the lower LL one. Infusion only works on legendary and exotic gear of the same gear slot, but class is irrelevant; a legendary warlock helmet can be infused with a rare titan helmet, for example.

You access infusion by selecting an item you want to boost and then clicking the "infuse" node in the bottom left. You will then be confronted with anything you have in your inventory with a higher number, and thus can be infused into the piece. In addition to the gear sacrificed, this costs glimmer, legendary marks, and if an exotic, exotic shards (gained by disassembling exotics), so it shouldn't be done lightly.

The lower-level item will simply jump to the light level of the infusing item, so you have only the materials to lose by doing it. You'll want to do this with most of the items you find and like.

#ADDENDUM 2: INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

Each character in Destiny can hold 9 items in each slot, plus whatever is equipped. The game provides an additional 108 weapon and 108 armor storage slots in the Vault, shared between all characters. To access the vault directly from any social space, just interact with the kiosk, then open your inventory and click to store/remove.

216 items is kind of a lot of space, and since the Vault cannot be sorted or filtered, and Destiny showers you with loot, eventually it'll become a mess. I HIGHLY recommend that all players get some sort of second screen app to help manage things. Bungie has its own app and website, but I find the third-party options to be far superior.

Personally I play with a PC nearby, and use Destiny Item Manager, a Google Chrome extension. It not only allows you to move items easily between characters and the vault (even if you're not in the Tower), but also can easily "maximize light" (finding the highest possible combo and moving the gear accordingly), save loadouts, equip items for leveling, or engage "Engrams to Vault," which is enormously helpful while farming.

Other popular options include Tower Ghost and Ishtar Commander, which are available for mobile devices.

#REFERENCES

• Here's a lovely infographic on leveling up in Rise of Iron, courtesy u/aunm.

• This thread has a helpful breakdown of strike-specific loot, including a nice graphic from u/MetalCard_

• u/Mercules904, Reddit hero, has produced a series of "Massive breakdowns" with all the information you could possibly need about the game's gear. In particular I highly recommend his weapon spreadsheet, which helps immensely in evaluating weapons.

###TL;DR

Play the game a lot, and only do what's fun for you. There is literally only one true "mistake" you can make in Destiny, and that's to disassemble or infuse a legendary item with a really nice roll. Even then, almost everything is replaceable, usually quite easily.