Destiny 2 players are still in Season of the Seraph, but the release of Season of Defiance (season 20) is closing in. The game’s 20th season will release alongside Lightfall, and combined, they’ll bring a litany of changes to Destiny 2‘s systems.
Lightfall will bring the in-game loadout system, allowing players to change gear and builds on a whim, and the expansion will also bring a thorough overhaul to buildcrafting in Destiny 2. This means mods such as Charged With Light and Elemental Well as we know them will end, but the new system is bound to have some remnants of these Combat Style mods. The addition of Guardian Ranks will also make it easier for players to unlock mods, instead of having to visit Ada-1 daily to see what she has in stock.
Related: These are the 20 best weapons to farm and craft before Lightfall in Destiny 2
Season of Defiance itself is also making long-requested improvements to the seasonal model, in addition to bringing its own story, missions, and activity (or activities). Here’s when you can dive into season 20 and Lightfall to see everything they have to offer.
Season of Defiance (season 20) start date and time in Destiny 2
Season of Defiance launches at reset on Feb. 28, alongside the release of Lightfall. Season 20 will kick off at reset as usual, though players will likely experience some queues going in due to the congestion from the Lightfall release. Lightfall maintenance will also start at 11am CT on Feb. 27, 24 hours ahead of the expansion’s release.
Season of Defiance won’t be like the previous seasons, though, and not just because of its theme and storyline. Season 20 will mark the beginning of Bungie’s overhaul to the seasonal model throughout Year Six, starting with Lightfall. This restructuring should reduce the complexity of the systems and players won’t need to step away from seasonal activities if they want seasonal rewards, according to a blog post ahead of Lightfall.
For instance, Umbral Engrams and Umbral Energies will disappear for good, giving way to other systems in their place. Focusing will also only require “Glimmer and a Seasonal Engram,” according to Bungie. Seasonal Engrams will instead be contained to seasonal vendors, based on the blog post, which should prevent players from getting 10 Umbral Engrams in their inventories (and another dozen or so in the Postmaster).
Bungie will also overhaul the rewards at the end of a seasonal activity and the seasonal currency system. As part of the upcoming complexity pass, players won’t need to wade through several different arcane currencies to obtain seasonal rewards. Bungie will improve the rewards for seasonal activities and players can also receive keys that will “allow you to extract better rewards from the chest at the end of a seasonal activity,” according to the blog post. Those keys can drop from seasonal activity completions as well, which means players don’t need to run public events or ritual activities once their currency ends.
Season of Defiance, however, is just the first batch of changes, and Bungie will take feedback on the new systems to season 21 and beyond.
