Each Destiny 2 player has their preseason ritual, and some want to stack bounties to get an early start when new content drops. Bounty stacking gives you a little boost when a season or expansion begins by giving you some Artifact mods and season pass XP early.
Stacking bounties may seem straightforward, but making the most out of it takes some time and planning. While any bounty works in theory, you need to pick the right ones if you want to maximize your gains.
Here’s a breakdown of how to stack bounties in Destiny 2.
What is bounty stacking in Destiny 2?
In short, bounty stacking is finishing bounties but not turning them in until the next season or expansion. Since the bounties don’t expire after completion, you can hold onto them for a while and save them to open when they grant progress toward a new season.
Different bounties have different XP values, so it’s best to focus on them in a specific order. They take up a slot on your quest tab, so players can only hold 63 bounties and quests at the same time on each character, for around 180 bounties. We recommend always leaving a couple of slots open for new season/expansion quests, though. And, don’t forget to use the extra XP Ghost mod and the Shared Wisdom modifier.
How to stack bounties in Destiny 2
Stacking bounties in Destiny 2 is simple: Don’t turn in bounties once you’ve completed them until the next season. Sure, it’s hard to resist the allure of clicking on them and misclicks do happen, but stocking up on them is usually worth it for the next big update.
Make sure the bounties you’re stacking will not go away the following season. For instance, Bounties from Zavala, Shaxx, and Drifter disappeared with The Final Shape‘s new ritual Pathfinder system.
Bounties take up a slot in your Quests tab, so get rid of your unused quests for maximum room. Let’s face it, you’re probably not going to go after that Corsair Down anyway.
Here’s how to do it:
- Complete bounties before they expire, but don’t turn them in.
- Keep a hoard of completed bounties with you. We recommend a max of 60 so you’ll have some space for new quests.
- Wait for the next season to roll over.
- Equip your Ghost mod for extra XP and, if possible, team up with someone for the Shared Wisdom buff.
- Turn in all bounties from the previous season, which should give you a boost in season pass levels.
- Repeat the process on all your other characters.
If you plan on stocking up on bounties, we recommend picking some up from daily vendors before reset, which will give you two sets of bounties: the one from before reset and the one after it. This helps you catch up quickly and will come in handy if you’re in a rush to stack bounties at the last minute.
Best bounties to stack in Destiny 2
Since different bounties have different values based on their rarity, it’s best to save them in the following order:
- Weekly bounties (12,000 XP each)
- Daily bounties (6,000 XP each)
- Repeatable bounties (3,000 XP each)
If a bounty is related to an activity that happens each week, you can stack more than one of them. For instance, there are six Ascendant Challenges in the Dreaming City, so you can stack one bounty for each Ascendant Challenge. The same principle applies to Europa’s Empire Hunts. On the flip side, Cosmodrome’s weeklies don’t repeat, so you can only have one of each.
The most important challenges to stacks are the weekly ones, and there’s no dearth of them in Destiny 2. The Dreaming City, Moon, Europa, and the Cosmodrome have multiple ones to choose from, with the Dreaming City awarding the most thanks to the Ascendant Challenges. Starhorse also has a few if you’re up for Dares of Eternity.
If you have a clan, Suraya Hawthorne offers multiple different bounties for each ritual activity, though her rework with The Final Shape may change how her bounties function.
Any bounty that may go away with the next expansion—for instance, from seasonal activities, vendors that are up for changes, or content that will be removed from the game—can be risky to have. Since Destiny 2 bounties are so commonplace, you can easily fill those up with daily bounties from other vendors.
Bounties you should avoid stacking
Some bounties have a higher XP value and therefore are prime targets for stacking. Likewise, players should avoid bounties that don’t give out that much XP. Check out if a vendor is receiving a rework with a new season, since that can take away their bounties. This was the case with The Final Shape introducing the ritual Pathfinder system, and Bungie has previously removed bounties from different vendors—such as Lord Saladin’s Iron Banner bounties—with older reworks.
Transmog bounties should also be last on your list if you’re speaking purely about XP values, since you have a few months to complete them all and can use their space to stack other, higher-value ones. If you need the transmog currencies, however, stacking them saves you the trouble of completing them.
Best site to help with stacking bounties in Destiny 2
Guardians can find a multitude of tools to help them stack bounties. Our favorite is destinyrecipes.com, which has an incredible bounty checklist section and one of the best vault-cleaning tools we’ve used. We use this website every new season, and we always come out with a few dozen free vault slots and a bunch of bounties in tow.
