Destiny 2’s current Season of the Undying is coming to a close in just a few weeks, and that means that a new season will soon take its place. While it is not known exactly how Season of Dawn will compare to Season 8, there are a few things players can count on and prepare themselves for in these last couple of weeks before Season 9 begins.
An official reveal for Season of Dawn is scheduled for next week, which should provide more specifics about what players can expect to be doing next season. However, at the point of that announcement, players will have less than a week to prepare. So, going on what is known about how seasons will work in Year 3 and some announced changes coming in Season 9, here are some things players should be focusing on in these last two weeks before Season of Dawn.
Complete and Hoard Bounties
It is a well-known practice for Destiny 2 players to start completing bounties every day and then hold onto the completed bounties, hoarding them. In the past, this has allowed players to leap forward in Power level very quickly. However, Bungie has since put systems in place to cap all the rewards from previous bounties to that previous season’s level cap. But that doesn’t mean players shouldn’t still do this. They should—for a different reason.
It all comes down to Seasonal Ranks and the Seasonal Artifact. Bungie has said that all of Year 3 seasons will follow a similar system of the Battle-Pass-like Seasonal Ranks and a Seasonal Artifact that will grant powerful mods for players to use only during each specific season. During Season 8, The Gate Lord’s Eye seasonal artifact was unlocked at Rank 7 of the Seasonal Ranks, which meant players needed to play and earn XP before even starting with the new artifact that gives mods and a Power bonus. And that is where the practice of hoarding bounties comes in.
Bounties are one of the best ways to earn XP in the game, and if players build up enough bounties in their inventory before Season 9, they could jump forward multiple ranks immediately when the season starts, allowing them to pick up the artifact and then start unlocking mods and the power bonus on the artifact.
Farm replacements for The Recluse
The Recluse submachinegun is arguably the best primary weapon currently in the game. But in Season 9, The Recluse is getting nerfed. And because of the nerf coming to it, other weapons are naturally going to be better simply due to the fact that The Recluse is getting brought down. With that in mind, players may want to start farming now for weapons that they might want to use instead of The Recluse.
If players are looking for a replacement submachinegun, the Subjunctive from Vex Offensive is the same archetype as The Recluse and can roll with Outlaw and Multikill Clip/Swashbuckler, which in some regards can deal as much or more damage than The Recluse will after its nerf. Players who want a well-rolled Subjunctive will need to jump on this immediately, though, because Vex Offensive will be removed from the game at the end of Season 8.
Similarly, because of the nerf to The Recluse, 600 RPM submachineguns may rise to the top since they deal more damage and are easier to control than The Recluse’s 900 RPM archetype. One of the best 600 RPM submachineguns is Every Waking Moment, which can be farmed via the Lectern of Enchantment on the Moon. Every Waking Moment has a fantastic selection of perks with which it can drop, tailored to each player’s particular playstyle.
It may also behoove players to think about other weapons they might want to use in place of The Recluse and how not using it could shake up their loadouts. And then search out any weapons they may want, such as farming Black Armory Frames, the Menagerie, or the Reckoning.
Stock up on tokens and materials
Many players were able to level up quickly after Shadowkeep and Season 8 launched by turning in tokens and materials to the game’s vendors to gain Legendary drops that raised their level incrementally but steadily toward the soft level cap. This will likely work again in Season 9, so if players are looking for a low-effort but extremely costly way to level themselves once Season of Dawn begins, they will want to build up a huge collection of tokens and materials from every vendor they possibly can.
The exact amount of these materials is honestly up to each player, but there is a fan-made tool with recommended amounts to earn to prepare for the next season that can be found here. Players have until December 10th to prepare for Season of Dawn.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
