Destiny 2: Season Of The Wish -- Start Date, Exotic Changes, And Everything We Know

The next season of Destiny 2, Season of the Wish, officially has a start date as we head into the final period of post-Lightfall content. After seasons of defiance, deep-sea diving, and spooky Hive witchcraft, Season of the Wish focuses on a more obscure part of Destiny lore.

This new season arrives during a turbulent time for Destiny 2, as the studio laid off a large number of its employees in October. Reports claim that as much as 8% of Bungie's workforce, or 100 people, were let go, and the community response has been highly critical of the developer's leadership during this time.

Ahead of its release later this month, we've gathered up everything that we know so far about Season 23, from its storyline to upcoming Exotic weapon changes, economy overhauls, and how vaults are getting a much-needed upgrade.

Season of the Wish start date

Season of the Wish will start on November 28, following the weekly reset at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET. What we don't know yet is just how long this season will be, as there have been reports that The Final Shape expansion has been delayed to June. If the expansion is still on track to launch on February 27, 2024, then this final season of the Lightfall era will run for three months. But if Bungie is delaying The Final Shape, expect Season of the Wish to be one of the longest Destiny 2 seasons since Season of the Lost, which ran for six months between August 2021 and February 2022.

Season of the Wish story

As the title suggests, Season of the Wish will likely focus on one of the stranger aspects of that universe, the wish-granting dragons known as the Ahamkara. These cosmic creatures would fulfill the wishes of anyone who called upon their powers, but they would usually throw in some cruel irony with each wish made. Deciding that they were too dangerous to be allowed to exist. The Vanguard and the Guardians would exterminate all the Ahamkara in an event known as the Great Hunt, save for one survivor that Awoken Queen Mara Sov would hide in the Dreaming City.

An ace up her sleeve, the Ahamkara Riven would eventually become a focal point in the Forsaken expansion and its raid, The Last Wish. For years, players have been experimenting with the 14 "wishes" that could be accessed in that raid, and in Season 23, it looks like the mysterious 15th wish will finally be revealed. Could this be the power that finally gets us closer to the Witness since it has taken up residence inside of the Traveler, and somehow also brings Cayde-6 back to life?

The end of Legendary Shards

Legendary Shards are being removed entirely from Destiny 2 in Season 23, and if you have a stockpile of them, now is a good time to spend them before they're gone for good by the time that The Final Shape launches. Bungie says that by phasing Legendary Shards out of circulation, the Destiny 2 economy will become less bloated and the game will be easier to understand for new players. All Legendary Shard costs from the Monument to Lost Lights will be removed while Glimmer, Exotic Cipher, and Spoils of Conquest costs will remain the same and non-Adept focusing will only have ritual engram and Glimmer costs.

Season of the Wish Exotic weapon changes

Season 23 will see several changes made to some of the most popular and iconic Exotics in Destiny 2. It's slightly bad news for Strand Warlocks who enjoy mixing the power of Necrotic Grips with the Osteo Striga SMG, as Bungie says that the weapon is far too powerful for the ease of use it provides when it comes to add clear in PvE. Next season, Osteo Striga will be more in line with other weapons designed to function as an add clear Exotic, although not by that much according to Bungie's notes.

Thorn is finally getting a catalyst in Season 23, and Bungie says that once it has been unlocked, the Exotic hand cannon will get buffs to range and stability that will help increase its effectiveness in PvP. Bungie is also tweaking the catalyst while also tweaking it to be "more fun to use" in PvE, as picking up a Remnant will allow the magazine to be loaded with up to 40 rounds. Other quick Exotic changes include:

Vex Mythoclast

• Increased damage to red bar combatants by 10%
• Increased damage to bosses by 25%
• Increased damage to champions by 200% when in the linear fusion rifle mode

Revision Zero

• Increased damage versus Champions by 100%

Edge of Intent (Warlock)

• Changed the effect of the healing turret projectiles to grant cures and provide restoration
• Increased the AoE radius to eight meters to benefit more nearby allies
• Increased its magazine size from four to five

Edge of Intent (Titan)

• Passing through the bubble now grants bonus reload speed, handling, and a small amount of stacking bonus damage in addition to the overshield
• Reduced the health of the bubble from 8,000 to 2,400 to account for the increased uptime and improved effects

Edge of Intent (Hunter)

• Lighting Seeker now jolts targets on impact
• Reduced the direct hit damage of Lightning Seeker to account for the free ammo granted

Salvation's Grip

• Placed a speed limit on the detonation when damaging Stasis crystals

Winterbite

• Increased the detonation damage of the large projectile by 25%.
• The self-damage blast radius has been halved, and the self-damage has been reduced.

Vault upgrade

One of the biggest gripes of Destiny 2 is that whenever you needed to retrieve something from your vault, you'd need to drop down to social hubs of the Tower, Neomuna, or the Enclave to dig through your arsenal. In Season 22, players will will be able to access their personal vault while they're in orbit--and without needing to use a third-party app--making the process of having the right gear for an activity much more seamless.

Events

Each Destiny 2 season this year has been anchored by one of the big events that run for three weeks. For Season 23, you can expect The Dawning to return, a festive celebration of snowball fights and gift-giving with a Destiny 2 spin. If The Dawning follows the same template as previous events like Solstice and Festival of the Lost, expect it to have its own microtransactions event pass that offers extra DLC.

Season of the Wish power cap

Bungie hasn't commented yet on if the power cap will be raised next season, as it has remained constant for the last two seasons now. The benefit to this has been that players have been able to pursue the power cap at a more leisurely place, hunting down the limited number of Pinnacle Engrams available every week.

Season of the Wish raid

Currently, we're not expecting any new or reprised raids for Season of the Wish. If Bungie does decide to bring one of its older endgame PvE activities back for this season, then there's a good chance that Rise of Iron's Wrath of the Machine could be next. But until Bungie confirms it, don't expect a new reprised raid in Season 23.