Destiny 2: Season Of Plunder Guides, Season Pass Gear, Exotics

Destiny 2 Season 18--now known as Season of Plunder--has officially begun, adding new missions, weekly activities, and the Arc 3.0 subclass upgrade to the game. The new season pass is in effect from August 23 to December 6, and we've run down everything that you can earn from the new season pass, including the new Exotic weapon you earn when you start Season of Plunder, as well as the new armor that Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks can get from it as the Lightfall expansion draws closer. Preordering that expansion and the upcoming Annual Pass will get you a number of items for use right now, including the Quicksilver Storm Exotic auto rifle.

You should be aware that the Power level cap has increased once again by 10. Additionally, a number of things are reported to be broken. That includes the buff to heavy grenade launchers, which was detailed in the Season 18 patch notes. That turned out to be much stronger than intended, leading to Bungie temporarily disabling almost all heavy grenade launchers just prior to the launch of the King's Fall raid, which is now live.

Season of Plunder storyline

After being defeated in the Beyond Light expansion and frozen by her own Stasis powers, Eramis has broken free of her icy prison. Now loose, Eramis has rallied old pirate lords of Eliksni legend to assist her in recovering lost relics of great power. To stop her, you'll need to assemble a crew and steal those artifacts first as you explore new uncharted regions of the solar system.

Ketchcrash

You're going to need a bigger spaceship.

A new six-player activity, Ketchcrash will let you and your fellow Guardians engage in spaceship-to-spaceship combat as you wreak havoc on Eramis and her pirate crews.

How to play Ketchcrash

In a nutshell, Ketchcrash has multiple defense and attack phases that you'll engage in. For more details, you can check out how to play Ketchcrash in our dedicated guide.

Expedition

Take the fight to the Pirate Lords serving Eramis in Ketchcrash.

Uncover treasure maps, dig for booty, and get it back to your ship all while fending off enemy pirate crews in this new three-player activity.

Map Fragments, Treasure Coordinates, and Treasure Maps

New activities means new loot in Season of Plunder, and if you're looking to get dressed up as a Swashbuckler, you can click through for a breakdown on how to get Map Fragments, Treasure Coordinates, and Treasure Maps.

Weekly mission: Pirate Hideouts

Get ready to shiver some timbers in weekly missions, as you take the fight to Eramis and her Pirate Lords. Defeat them, and you'll earn some great treasure for your efforts.

Arc 3.0

The Arc 3.0 overhaul is here, bringing Stasis-style customization to the Arc subclass. That means tweaks to the way your Supers work, the Aspect/Fragment system to build your subclass in many different ways, and more. Notably, not all Arc 3.0 Fragments are available just yet, but we expect those to be unlocked before long.

Destiny 2 Warlock Arc 3.0 build guide

New weapons

More than 20 new and returning weapons have emerged in Season of the Plunder. A number of these can be crafted, and the same is true for the Bungie 30th Anniversary weapons added last year, giving you plenty of reason to visit the Relic. You can also see the Season of Plunder-themed weapons in the image above.

Destiny 2's New Craftable Taipan-4FR Linear Fusion Rifle Is A Must-Have, Here's How To Get It

King's Fall Raid

Available for free to all players, the King's Fall Raid--the much-beloved activity from the original Destiny's Taken King expansion--has returned in Destiny 2. While it will be fundamentally the same, Bungie has made some tweaks to it, and it even brings a returning Exotic weapon as a reward. If you're attempting the Raid, check out our King's Fall Raid and secret chest guide.

Seasonal challenges

Get ready to bang knuckles with seasonal objectives.

Season of Plunder will offer several optional challenges to complete every week, which in turn will offer various rewards and substantial experience points. You'll be able to pursue these objectives at your own leisure, and there are normally 10 weeks of unique objectives to accomplish throughout a given season. Complete all of them, and you'll be rewarded with a pile of Bright Dust that can be used to purchase some neat cosmetic gear from the Eververse shop. For a look at all of the ones released so far, check out the Season of Plunder challenges guide.

Pirate riddles

As you work your way up the rewards track at the Starchart seasonal vendor, you'll receive Treasure Beacons, which kick off quests to uncover buried treasure. These entail solving pirate riddles, and while they aren't terribly difficult, you may get tripped up on certain steps, so we've put together a guide on how to complete the Cryptic Quatrains riddles.

Season Pass unlocks

If you want to sail the cosmic seas, you're going to need to dress for the occasion.

Seasonal armor can be earned from both the free and premium tiers of the season pass, but the seasonal gear and weapons with the best stats will be found in the paid-for season pass. You can expect higher ratings, an instant unlock for the seasonal Exotic weapon, an ornament to change up its appearance, and more resources with that version of the season pass. If you're interested in what Destiny 2 has to offer in Season 18, you can read the list below that highlights the best gear to earn and see what the new armor sets will look like.

New Exotic armor

Each class has a new piece of Exotic armor to earn by completing Legend Lost Sectors. Both Titans and Warlocks get Arc-themed ones with Point-Contact Cannon Brace and Fallen Sunstar, respectively, while Hunters get Gyrfalcon's Hauberk, which provides buffs when going invisible.

Exotic fusion rifle: Delicate Tomb

This new Arc fusion rifle works differently than most, and it's something you can potentially get your hands on right away. Check out our Delicate Tomb guide for all the details on the gun and its catalyst.

Free season pass