The Destiny franchise has a checkered past with in-game storytelling. When Destiny originally launched, it lacked an impactful story and left fans more confused than satisfied. However, as the series progressed, so too did the stories and missions. Now, with Bungie getting ready to unfold a dark new narrative in Destiny 2: Forsaken, we’re going to take a look back and highlight 15 of the best missions in Destiny history.
15 Lost to Light
Starting off in Destiny: The Taken King, the mission Lost to Light tasked players with recovering a shard of crystal that once held Crota’s soul. Players return to the Moon to find the crystal empty, and the mission “concludes” when the players defeat the Ogre guarding the crystal. The real fun starts when the “Mission Complete” screen appears, only to be taken away when Oryx summons a horde of Taken. Nothing like this ever happened before or has happened Destiny 2 since. Players that already put down their controllers were in trouble, as players needed to run as fast as they could to escape the waves of Taken.
While the mission at first glance was nothing out of the ordinary, this trick alone made it one of the best missions in Destiny. When Lost to Light was the Daily Heroic Story mission, players also discovered a secret exit that triggered a timed quest to unlock the exotic sniper rifle, Black Spindle. Hopefully, with Heroic Story Missions coming back in Forsaken, more missions will feature these secret missions.
14 Queen’s Ransom
In the campaign finale of the Destiny: House of Wolves, Guardians took to Venus to take down the Kell of Kells, Skolas. Per Mara Sov’s request, the Guardians work alongside Petra Venj to capture Skolas alive. What sets this mission apart is how Skolas uses Vex technology to pull members of the House of Wolves through time to fight against the Guardians.
The Vex are incredibly powerful, but even they were outsmarted by the Kell of Kells. Combined with some jumping puzzles straight out of Vault of Glass, this mission is incredibly fun and interesting from a lore standpoint. How much would the world of Destiny change if Skolas completed his plan and used Vex tech to win the Battle of Twilight Gap? Hopefully, there will be more interesting quests like this in the Dreaming City when Guardians team up with Petra Venj once again.
13 Last Rites
Last Rites is one of the only stealth missions that Destiny has to offer, and it is certainly one of the best. Players must carefully navigate through Crota’s fortress using a stealth drive without making noise or getting too close to an enemy, making this mission incredibly stressful.
The stealth drive grants invisibility, but the invisibility runs out in Crota’s main chamber and the Taken begin their assault. Eris Morn, of all people, actually uses her power to pull the Guardian from the Ascendant Plane, a move that shocked many fans that doubted Eris’ true power. While Eris likely won’t be the new Hunter Vanguard, hopefully she will make a return in Destiny 2 soon.
12 The Iron Tomb
In the finale of Destiny: Rise of Iron’s campaign, Guardians must assault the SIVA replication chamber to finish what the original Iron Lords could not. The Guardians must stop the production of SIVA.
What starts off as a simple mission is quickly turned on its head when players reach the Replication Chamber to find that SIVA has taken over the Iron Lords’ bodies. To put an end to SIVA, players must finish off the Remnants of Felwinter, Jolder, and Gheleon – three of the most famous Iron Lords in Destiny lore.
To make the fight even, players are given free reign with the flaming iron axe, a fitting end to these three Iron Lords. Once the mission is complete, the players are officially inducted into the Iron Lords and are given the Young Wolf’s Howl exotic sword. With Forsaken bringing new exotic quests, hopefully some will be tied to interesting story missions like this.
11 1AU
Destiny 2’s 1AU is perhaps one of the most unique and visually-stunning missions in Destiny history. Players board The Almighty, the Cabal superweapon pointed at The Sun, and destroy the weapon’s core. While the objective of the mission is simple, the visuals during this entire mission set it apart from most Destiny missions. There are few Destiny moments as breathtaking as walking out onto the outer deck of the Almighty, seeing the Sun up close, and then realizing that it is dishing out constant damage due to proximity.
After players destroy the superweapon’s core, they must once again brave the immense solar damage to run to their ship waiting at the end of the runway, backlit by the Sun. There is nothing quite like experiencing this mission for the first time, though players experienced it many more times during the Solstice of Heroes armor grind.
10 Homecoming
Also from Destiny 2, Homecoming is the first taste of Destiny 2 that most players had, and it is one of the game’s most impactful missions. Homecoming was an incredibly dark start to the Destiny 2 experience, which many fans loved.
Bungie went out of their way to create this tone of hopelessness and loss. They introduced Dominus Ghaul and the Red Legion and showed that they were a true force to be reckoned with. While the game did not carry this tone throughout, and did Bungie fall back into this tone during the subsequent DLCs, it seems that Bungie is embracing the darker tone for Forsaken. Hopefully this tone shift will create a story that fans can rally behind once again.
9 The Taken King Subclass Missions
Destiny 2: The Taken King introduced three new subclasses that changed the way players played Destiny. Hunters received the Shadowshot Tether ability, Titans harnessed the Hammer of Sol, and Warlocks learned their Stormtrance. These three new subclasses all had tailor-made missions that allowed players to learn these subclasses in a short amount of time.
While it was fun to just run around and spam the new supers, the missions also gave players some insight as to what it meant to be that specific class. Titans learned of the Sunbreak order, who were all but erased from the City’s archives by Zavala. Warlocks learned of the balance between light and dark, peace and chaos. Hunters learned what it meant to take on another Hunter’s cloak. With Forsaken adding nine new subclass trees, hopefully there will be some interesting missions tied to them so players can test the true power of their new abilities.
8 The Sword of Crota
Crota, Son of Oryx, was known for one thing: his sword. Crota killed countless foes with his blade, including Eris Morn’s original fireteam. This mission tasks Guardians with tracking down the Sword of Crota and destroying it for good. While not a very long mission, this was the first real time that players could wield the sword relic, one of the most unique weapons in Destiny. This mission is essentially an excuse for Guardians to use the sword to cut down a ton of Hive before it fades from existence.
7 King of the Mountain
King of the Mountain is the opening mission to Destiny: Rise of Iron, and Guardians are tasked with reclaiming the Iron Temple at Felwinter Peak. This mission is notable for its scenery first and foremost; Felwinter Peak is one of the most beautiful locations Bungie has crafted for the Destiny franchise. It also marks the return of the first strike boss players ever faced: Sepiks Prime. This mission set the stakes for the SIVA Crisis, as Guardians learned quickly that SIVA could essentially keep rebuilding foes as long as it was in Fallen hands.
6 Chosen
In the conclusion of Destiny 2’s campaign, Guardians fight to retake the City from the Red Legion. Players battle through the city, up through the skyrises, and onto Ghaul’s ship for one final encounter with the Light thief. Much like Homecoming, this mission featured parts where other players would be dropped into a stranger's instance to fight alongside them as they push through the Red Legion barriers. This made the mission feel more like a true siege where every player is working together to reclaim the City.
The boss fight against Ghaul was fun, though with a full fireteam he is easily defeated. However, this is the first time someone has physically stolen the Light from the Traveler, which could have some major lore implications in the future. The campaign wraps up with the Traveler reawakening, destroying Ghaul, and potentially teasing The Darkness – an enemy only mentioned in the lore. Whatever the future of Destiny holds, hopefully it will contain those mysterious pyramid ships.
