Here's Everything You Need to Know to Start 'Destiny 2's' Guardian Games
Updated April 21 2021, 2:31 p.m. ET
From April 20 through May 11, the online game Destiny 2 is hosting its second annual Guardian Games. This year's competition series has the following classes: Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks. They're fighting for the number one spot. If you missed the first round of games last year, there's no need to worry. You don't have to have played back in 2020 to join in on the fun this time.
If you are new, you might not know how everything works, but that's where we come in. Here's everything you need to know about the Guardian Games to get started and rank as high as you can.
Here's how to start the Guardian Games.
The games are open to all players regardless of whether they've purchased Destiny's season pass. Unlike 2020's games, where players could play all kinds of different characters regardless of class, this year, they specifically have to choose one class and stick with it.
To begin the games, you speak with Eva Levante, who guides you through it all. She gives you event-specific class items. (No, you can't use the ones from last year.) After this, you can officially start collecting points. To do so, players use two different methods.
One of them is to collect medals and a medal case. They can be either Bronze, Silver, or Gold, and those are worth one, two, and five points respectively. Eva gives you this case at the beginning of the game. The case stores your medals until it's at full capacity. Then you have to turn them in to collect more. Otherwise, they'll be lost to the game for good.
The second thing players can do to earn points is to collect Laurels. These can be obtained by doing the typical Destiny quests and can even be dropped by other players. With this method, make sure to interact with the Laurels to collect them. If you're playing Gambit or Crucible, however, Laurels automatically go into your inventory.
Laurels can then be used to purchase Contender Cards that give players objectives in strikes, Crucible, and Gambit. Completing the objectives earns them Gold medals.
On top of that, a Platinum Contender Card gives players objectives for Nightfalls, Survival, and Trials. Completing everything on these cards gets a player all-star status and a special award at the following podium ceremony. This is the only way you can earn a Platinum medal for 15 points each, but there are also Gold Contender Cards that if completed, earn a player Gold medal.
How do we know who wins?
On May 7, the Guardian Games will hold its closing ceremonies and a victor will be announced after all the points have been tallied. Players can use all the medals they've earned over the course of the Games to earn rewards like weapons, shaders, and emblems. But the medals also symbolize a class's overall standing. When you turn them in, they are used to improve your rank and determine the victor.
Keep in mind that Bungie, Destiny 2's developer, has implemented a new system for this year's Guardian Games to make up for the uneven class sizes. At the end of each week, the last ranking class gets a 10 percent bonus to its medal count. This also helps keep things competitive and all the teams on their toes.