The Ultimate Guide to Destiny 2 Season 19: New Dungeon, Weapons, and Story

Destiny 2 season 19 has finally arrived, bringing with it a much-anticipated wave of updates and exciting new features. From weapon and subclass balance changes to a brand new dungeon and developments in the story, there’s a lot to look forward to in this latest season. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Destiny 2 season 19.

Destiny 2 Season 19 Release Date, Time, and Cost

Destiny 2 season 19 officially began on December 6, 2022, and will continue until the highly anticipated release of Destiny 2 Lightfall on February 28, 2023. If you already own The Witch Queen expansion, you won’t have to pay anything extra for the season 19 content as it is included in the DLC. However, for players who don’t have the expansion, you can purchase the seasonal content for a reasonable price of £10 or $12. Additionally, if you want access to the new dungeon, you can purchase a Dungeon Key for around £17 or $20.

Destiny 2 Season 19 Subclass Balancing

With the introduction of the Arc 3.0, Solar 3.0, and Void 3.0 subclass reworks, Destiny 2 season 19 aims to balance these changes. Bungie has outlined these changes in a recent post, clarifying that they are not intended to be large-scale energy economy tuning. The team plans to wait until the launch of the Strand subclass before making any further adjustments. However, the existing subclasses have received various tweaks, including changes to class-based abilities, Aspects, and Fragments.

Destiny 2 Season 19 Story, Activity, Dungeon, and Events

The title of Destiny 2 season 19 is Season of the Seraph. In this season, the story follows Ana Bray’s efforts to put Rasputin, a powerful AI Warmind, into an Exo body. However, Ana is not alone in her pursuit, as The Witness, aided by Hive God Xivu Arath, also seeks control over Rasputin. Throughout the season, players will encounter the Seraph Cipher, a seasonal artifact that emphasizes the use of Stasis. As you progress through the season, you’ll be able to unlock various artifact mods.

The seasonal activity for season 19 is called Heist Battlegrounds. This activity involves exploring lost Warsat bunkers to recover subminds of Rasputin. Throughout the season, players have the opportunity to farm Seraph Key Codes and Resonant Stems for rewards. Similar to previous seasons, season 19 features weekly story missions, artifact unlocks, and an upgrade path for armor and weapons, granting additional perks as the season progresses.

Developers also confirmed minor changes to Devrim Kay and Failsafe as they work on overhauling the game’s reputation system. Players can no longer purchase sunset weapons from these vendors. Furthermore, season 19 introduces a new Vex-themed dungeon called Spire of the Watcher, located on Mars. Completing this dungeon rewards players with the Hierarchy of Needs Exotic bow, a Western-themed Tex Machina armor set, an Exotic sparrow, and several Legendary weapons. However, the new weapon titled Revision Zero can only be pursued after progressing through the game’s storyline, and it becomes available on December 20.

In terms of PvP, Bungie has announced a major Crucible overhaul that includes ranked Crucible matches. Players can now focus Crucible engrams with Lord Shaxx. Additionally, Bungie has brought back the Legendary hand cannon called Rose, which players can earn by completing the season’s initial Crucible quest line. Players can continue farming for ideal rolls throughout the season. Crucible matchmaking has also undergone changes.

Iron Banner, a popular activity, is now limited to twice per season starting from season 17. Bungie has not announced any plans to increase its frequency. For season 19’s Iron Banner, a new mode called Fortress has been introduced, described as Control with an added twist. Players also have the opportunity to earn a legacy armor set from Destiny’s original The Taken King expansion.

The Dawning, an annual event hosted by “space grandma” Eva Levante, is another exciting addition to season 19. Guardians can participate in The Dawning and receive rewards for earning “Dawning Spirit.” Although the event format has undergone some changes, players can still expect a festive and rewarding experience.

Destiny 2 Season 19 Exotics and Weapon Overhauls

Bungie has delivered on its promise by introducing two new Exotic weapons in season 19. The Manticore Exotic submachine gun is available to all season pass holders. The Revision Zero Exotic pulse rifle, which is tied to a quest available on December 20, comes with multiple catalysts, making it more powerful as you unlock these upgrades. In addition, the Hierarchy of Needs Exotic bow can be obtained from the final chest of the Spire of the Watcher dungeon.

Season 19 also introduces several new IKELOS weapons. To start farming for these weapons, players must complete the initial season quest titled “More Than a Weapon.” Once you obtain the Resonant Amp, you can begin collecting Resonant Stems to produce an Override Frequency, which grants you access to an IKELOS weapon. It’s worth noting that IKELOS weapons drop Warmind Cells, making them highly valuable for building powerful loadouts.

Apart from IKELOS weapons, players can also earn the following Seraph weapons during season 19. However, it’s important to note that these weapons do not grant Warmind Cells:

• Disparity Legendary pulse rifle
• Tripwire Canary Legendary combat bow
• Path of Least Resistance Legendary trace rifle
• Judgment of Kelgorath Legendary glaive
• Fire and Forget linear fusion rifle
• Retrofit Escapade machine gun

The new general loot pool weapons introduced in season 19 include:

• Lodbroc-C Legendary auto rifle
• Jararaca-3SR Legendary scout rifle
• Aurvanfil FR6 Legendary fusion rifle
• Fioritura-59 Legendary sidearm

Additionally, playlist and activity weapons for this season include:

• Prolonged Engagement Legendary submachine gun (Vanguard weapon)
• Blowout Legendary rocket launcher (Crucible weapon)
• Albruna-D Legendary sniper rifle (Gambit weapon)
• Rose Legendary hand cannon (Competitive Crucible weapon)

Finally, completing the Spire of the Watcher dungeon can reward players with the following Legendary weapons:

• Wilderflight Legendary grenade launcher
• Long Arm Legendary scout rifle
• Liminal Vigil Legendary sidearm
• Terminus Horizon Legendary machine gun

Moreover, players have the opportunity to earn the Season of the Seraph ritual weapon, Veles-X Legendary pulse rifle, by resetting ranks in Vanguard, Gambit, or Crucible.

To enhance the weapon crafting experience, Bungie now allows players to craft weapons from Deep Stone Crypt. Each Deep Stone Crypt raid encounter has a chance to award a Deepsight weapon, and players can choose a guaranteed Deepsight weapon of their choice every week by purchasing it from the end-of-encounter chest. Deep Stone Crypt weapons also drop with the Bray Inheritance Origin Trait, providing a small ability boost when damaging opponents.

Destiny 2 season 19 also brings significant changes to weapon balancing. Bungie has reworked 26 weapons, including both buffs and nerfs, and improved glaive hit detection, and adjusted shotgun randomness. The team has removed certain weapons from the activity loot pool and introduced new additions.

Destiny 2 Material Economy Updates

Bungie has made changes to the material economy in Destiny 2. Planetary materials, such as Dusklight Shards and Baryon Boughs, have been removed and can no longer be acquired as of season 19. To compensate for this change, the amount of Glimmer earned from public events has been increased. Heroic public events now reward 12.5K Glimmer, and regular public events reward 4,645 Glimmer.

Rahool, the Cryptarch, now accepts Dark Fragments, Phantasmal Fragments, and Herealways Pieces. Some items that previously required destination materials have been replaced with Legendary Shard costs. Materialism mods for Crucible, Gambit, and Vanguard have been removed, and they now grant additional Glimmer. Bountiful Harvest now grants more Glimmer instead of materials.

That covers everything you need to know about Destiny 2 season 19. As you embark on your journey through this exciting new season, don’t forget to check out our guides to the best Destiny 2 Warlock builds, best Destiny 2 Hunter builds, and best Destiny 2 Titan builds to help you conquer all the latest content.