Destiny 2 Content Vault explained, including everything vaulted so far
Destiny 2 is a funny old game, isn't it? It's been around since 2017, and while five (soon to be six with The Final Shape in June 2024) big expansions have bolted on the likes of Finishers, subclasses, campaigns, and goodness knows what else to Bungie's sci-fi loot shooter, there's a lot that's gone, too.
That's thanks to the Destiny Content Vault, an initiative Bungie rolled out ahead of Beyond Light in 2020. The idea is relatively simple: To stop the Destiny install size getting too bloated, and keep players returning to worthwhile activities.
In practice, it's a little more complex. Take Forsaken, for example, the game's 2018 expansion (and one of the best). While some aspects of Forsaken, including The Last Wish raid, the Dreaming City location, and the Shattered Throne Dungeon remain in place, the campaign itself is gone. In fact, so is Destiny 2's base campaign that arrived in 2017, and that can make it tough for players to catch up.
So, in the interests of covering what's still in the game, and what's been removed at the time of writing, here's a whistlestop tour of the Destiny 2 Content Vault.
Everything vaulted in Destiny 2
To set expectations right off the bat, pretty much anything seasonal that launched prior to Lightfall in 2023 is vaulted.
That means content, including storylines, seasonal quests, and activities like Menagerie from Season of Opulence (gone, but never forgotten) aren't accessible. Whether you paid for the season passes or not, you won't be able to go back, and while Destiny 2 has had some duds when it comes to seasonal activities, there are a few I miss (Ketchcrash being a big one).
Locations
Click to enlargeSeveral locations have also been wiped off the map, which Bungie explains away narratively as having been consumed by the Darkness, at least for the time being.
As a result, the following Destinations are no longer accessible:
- Io
- Mercury
- Mars
- The Tangled Shore
- Leviathan
Technically, the New Pacific Arcology is also gone since we can't visit Titan anymore, but you can see it in Deep Dives and a Gambit map. You can also go and see Sloane and Ahsa from the H.E.L.M as of Season of the Deep.
Speaking of the H.E.L.M, the Vanguard's orbital base of operations acts as a social space of sorts alongside the Tower, but the following are no longer available:
- The Farm in the EDZ
- The Third Spire from Trials of Osiris
- The Tribute Hall on the Leviathan
Campaigns
Click to enlargeLooking to start from the beginning in Destiny 2? Sadly, it's not as simple as that (is anything, really?). That's because Bungie has removed the following from the game:
- The Red War base game campaign
- Curse of Osiris
- Warmind
- Forsaken campaign
While very few will shed tears over losing the game's weakest expansions in Curse of Osiris and Warmind, The Red War and Forsaken are pretty much 'required reading' for many of the game's recurring characters.
Exotic Missions
Click to enlargeThree Exotic Missions have been removed from Destiny 2, and don't seem likely to come back anytime soon:
- The Whisper (Whisper of the Worm)
- Zero Hour (Outbreak Perfected)
- Harbinger (Hawkmoon)
While you can now buy the Whisper of the Worm Sniper Rifle and the Outbreak Perfected Pulse Rifle from the Monument to Lost Lights kiosk in the Tower, you'll need to visit Xur for Hawkmoon - with a fresh roll each week.
Harbinger is expected to return as part of The Final Shape, though.
Crucible & Gambit content
Click to enlargeDestiny 2's long-suffering PvP community is always looking for fresh maps, but the Crucible has seen its array of maps cut down, sadly. The following have all been removed:
- Emperor's Respite
- Legion's Gulch
- Firebase Echo
- Equinox
- Solitude
- Retribution
- Gambler's Ruin
As for Gambit, it's been trimmed down in terms of modes (Gambit Prime, we hardly knew ye) but only the Kell's Grave map is outright removed at the time of writing.
Raids
Click to enlargeThe 'Crown Jewel' of Destiny 2 PvE content, Raids aren't immune to being vaulted. Three have been removed so far.
- Leviathan
- Eater of Worlds (Raid Lair)
- Spire of Stars (Raid Lair)
- Scourge of the Past
- Crown of Sorrow
Everything that's returned from the Content Vault
Bungie giveth and Bungie taketh away, and there's plenty that's returned in Destiny 2 since the Content Vault debuted in 2020.
Here's a rundown of what's returned from the dead, not unlike our Guardians.
Cosmodrome
Click to enlargeDestiny 1's first location, the Cosmodrome, has returned in Destiny 2 - mostly. It's not quite the same as you may remember it, since it's slightly smaller.
Still, it did bring back the following Cosmodrome Strikes:
- The Disgraced
- The Devil's Lair
- Fallen S.A.B.E.R.
Don't let the new name fool you - The Disgraced is a slightly revised version of The Will of Crota from The Dark Below, Destiny 1's first smaller expansion.
Exotic Rotator
Click to enlargeOne of the best recent additions to the Destiny 2 weekly reset rotation has been the Exotic Mission Rotator, which cycles between three missions with Exotic rewards for players who don't have them yet. The following switch each Tuesday:
- Presage (Dead Man's Tale)
- Vox Obscura (Dead Messenger)
- Operation: Seraph's Shield (Revision Zero)
Crucible & Gambit
Click to enlargeThe following PvP maps have returned in Destiny 2:
- Eternity
- Vostok
- Twilight Gap
- Exodus Blue
- Meltdown
- The Cauldron
- Cathedral of Dusk
- The Anomaly
- Rusted Lands
As for Gambit, you can expect the Cathedral of Scars map to return in The Final Shape.
Raids & Dungeons
Click to enlargePvE players have been spoilt in recent months, with a trio of excellent Raids returning from Destiny 1 (including the series' debut Raid, and my favourite, Vault of Glass).
- Vault of Glass
- King's Fall
- Crota's End
One Dungeon has returned to the rotation, too: Prophecy. You may also be pleased to know that Shattered Throne no longer leaves the game depending on how strong the curse is in The Dreaming City.
Is Bungie still vaulting Destiny 2 content?
Click to enlargeGood news, Guardians. As of August 2022's Destiny 2 Showcase, Bungie confirmed that it no longer plans to vault expansion content from Lightfall onward (but seasonal content will still go away).
"It was always tough having to say goodbye to previous campaigns when they moved into the Destiny Content Vault," the developer's blog post reads.
"Even if you didn’t play them often yourselves, it made it more difficult to get your friends caught up on what happened with the major yearly beats in Destiny 2."
Phew, that's everything you need to know about the Destiny Content Vault so far. If you're not too exhausted, why not check out our Destiny 2 homepage or our interview with the Bungie team about Warlord's Ruin, or what the last ten years of Destiny means to them.
