Destiny 2 season 19: release date, new dungeon, and big changes

Destiny 2 season 19 is less than a week away and we still know very little about what we'll be up to for the next few months before Lightfall arrives. It seems like Bungie are doing the same thing they did with the Season of Plunder, leaving us on tenterhooks until the very last minute. It's strange, though, because we already know most of the big changes that are coming.

As is pretty usual in the run-up to a content drop, Bungie has been providing details about upcoming changes and reworks in their 'This Week at Bungie' posts, from what's happening to Iron Banner and the Crucible, to new craftable raid weapons, to the in-game economy and removal of destination materials. Here, I'll walk you through everything we currently know about Destiny 2 season 19, whatever it turns out to be called.

Destiny 2 season 19 release date

Though we don't know its official name yet, the Destiny 2 season 19 release date is December 6, when the Season of Plunder finally comes to an end. As it was with this last season, Bungie is keeping very quiet about the story and what we'll be doing, and it's unlikely we'll learn anything more before release unless there are leaks. Many players speculate that the season will centre around the AI Warmind, Rasputin, since we haven't had a Warmind season in quite a long time now. It'd also present a perfect opportunity to rework the Warmind cells mods, but hey, maybe that's just wishful thinking? 

New dungeon

Season 19 also sees a brand new dungeon added to the game, and just like Duality, it's set to arrive on the Friday after launch, December 9. We don't really know anything about it right now, but it should feature some unique and possibly craftable weapons. It may also have an exotic, as with Heartshadow in Duality, but since most other dungeons don't, that's by no means guaranteed. 

The Crucible is getting an overhaul

In a TWAB not so long ago, Bungie outlined the changes it's bringing to the Crucible in season 19, primarily centred around streamlining the playlist structure, and funnelling more players into its less-frequented game modes. Here's what will be available at the Crucible destination in the new season:

• Quickplay 6v6: This playlist includes Clash and Control with skill-based matchmaking
• Weekly Rotator 6v6: Cycles weekly between Momentum Control, Mayhem, Team Scorched, Rift, and Rumble. Uses connection-based matchmaking
• Competitive Division/Freelance 3v3: This playlist randomly picks from Survival, Rift, or Showdown, and uses skill-based matchmaking
• Crucible Labs: In season 19, Labs will be a version of 3v3 Rift with asymmetrical maps. This mode uses connection-based matchmaking and has a 25% reputation booster
• Private match: This will stay as it used to be, letting you play against your friends in specific game modes
• Iron Banner: When Iron Banner is active it will replace the Quickplay node. This mode will use skill-based matchmaking in season 19, and will feature a new mode called Fortress
• Trials of Osiris: When Trials is active it will replace Crucible Labs. As ever, Trials will use its ticket-based matchmaking system

You'll also be able to earn the new 'Glorious' Crucible title by completing triumphs, and focus your Crucible engrams into specific weapons or armour pieces. Here's what you'll be able to focus in season 19: 

• Clutch Extol armor set
• Stars in Shadow (pulse rifle)
• The Keening (sidearm)
• Frozen Orbit (sniper rifle)
• Survivor’s Epitaph (hand cannon)
• Sorrow’s Verse (auto rifle) 
• Crisis Inverted (hand cannon)
• Riptide (fusion rifle)
• Out of Bounds (submachine gun)

New Iron Banner mode and armor sets

The Eruption mode is gone, making way for Fortress in season 19. This is a mode all about capturing and holding territory that sounds pretty reminiscent of Zone Control. Apparently Caiatl is somehow involved in the mode as well, and judging from the released screens, you can summon Cabal turrets. Fortress arrives on January 3, 2023, and will also bring with it some new Iron Banner armor sets that are actually fan favourites back from the time of the Taken King. That wolf head cloak is especially swish. 

Twenty six exotic weapons are getting updated

Similar to last season's buff to Wish Ender and Le Monarque, giving them intrinsic anti-barrier and anti-overload respectively, Bungie are bringing updates to even more exotic weapons in season 19. Some weapons, like Lord of Wolves, are receiving substantial updates, whereas others like Legend of Acrius are only getting minor tweaks. Perhaps most major of all: Divinity's weaken effect is being reduced from 30% to 15%, which will have a significant impact on boss DPS stratgies in most Destiny 2 raids. 

Lots of subclass nerfs and buffs

Some of the subclass nerfs, like Titan storm grenades, could have been anticipated, but there are surprising buffs coming in season 19, too. Here's a shorter summary of the big changes from the TWAB post:

Nerfs

• The healing rate for Restoration is being reduced
• The duration of Radiant is being reduced
• Blade Barrage's number of projectiles is being nerfed
• Storm Grenades roaming duration is decreased

Buffs

• Nova Bomb: Vortex will move faster and pull more stuff in
• Shadowshot: Deadfall will last significantly longer 
• Ballistic Slam, Tempest Strike, Ball Lightning, and Chain Lightning will deal more damage in PvE
• Arc Souls will deal almost double damage now
• Chaos Reach gets a shorter cooldown
• Slow debuff is increased by 10%

You can craft Deep Stone Crypt raid weapons

As with Vow of the Disciple and King's Fall, the Deep Stone Crypt raid is retrospectively getting craftable weapons. While we don't know exactly what perk combos each will receive, here are a few fun ones that Bungie highlighted: 

• Heritage (slug shotgun): Reconstruction + Focused Fury  
• Posterity (hand cannon): Voltshot + Rampage  
• Trustee (scout rifle): Rapid Hit + Incandescent 

All Deep Stone Crypt weapons will also receive the Bray Inheritance origin trait. Since there's no deepsight weapon chest in Deep Stone Crypt, you'll have to purchase a weekly red border from the final boss chest to unlock these, so make sure you save your spoils of conquest.

Say goodbye to these guns

As ever, some guns are leaving Destiny 2 at the end of season 18. Here's what they are:

• Forge's Pledge (Iron Banner pulse rifle)
• Riiswalker (Iron Banner shotgun)
• Aisha's Embrace (Trials of Osiris scout rifle)
• Reed's Regret (Trials of Osiris linear fusion rifle)
• Silicon Neuroma (Nightfall sniper rifle)
• Duty Bound (Nightfall auto rifle)

While you're out of luck for getting the Iron Banner weapons before the end of the season, Duty Bound is the nightfall weapon this week, and you still have this weekend to play Trials of Osiris if you want to grab a Reed's Regret or Aisha's Embrace.

Also Destination Materials

It's been a long time coming, but from season 19 onwards, you'll no longer be able to get Dusklight Shards, Microphasic Datalattice, Helium Filaments, Baryon Boughs, Spinmetal Leaves, or Glacial Starwort from Destiny 2's destinations. Before you panic, Master Rahool will still trade these materials for glimmer in season 19, just at a much reduced rate. 

Now you'll have to give Dark Fragments, Phantasmal Fragments, and Herealways Pieces to Rahool if you want glimmer, or earn it from public events, which are being buffed in terms of how much they give. Heroic public events will earn you between 10,000 and 12,500 glimmer, while regular ones will net 3,300 to 4,645.