Introduction

After configuring the game options (subtitles and screen boundaries) the game will throw up the class select screen. Time to create your first Guardian. One thing to keep in mind is that each class has two sub-classes that can be swapped between to allow for different strategies in battle (the first sub-class is unlocked immediately and the second is opened up when your first guardian reaches level fifteen. Yes, all other guardians made from that point will be able to choose either sub-class right off the bat.

 

For the sake of completeness, included here are the full skill trees of each class for those that want to examine them in detail. For those just wanting to get started, simply pick based on the class select screen information. When you start the game the guardian will start with none of the skills anyway (gaining them instead as their experience increases). Sub-classes can also be swapped between on the fly once the second is unlocked.

 

Classes:

 

TITAN

 

You are an armoured engine of war. Control any battle with strength and strategy.

 

 

Sub-classes and specials:

 

Striker – Smash the ground and dissolve enemies in a maelstrom of arc light.

 

"Hulk smash."

 

Fist of Havoc – The titan will swiftly bring down his fist and deal significant damage to all surroundings within a set area (usually destroying lesser enemies and seriously damaging stronger ones). Can also be very powerful in PvP when engaging in melee with enemies due to the swift nature of the attack. The radius of the attack can normally catch at least one and sometimes up to three enemy players inside.

 

Sub-class abilities:

 

Grenade (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Flashbang grenade: An explosive grenade that disorients the enemies it damages.

* Tier 2 – Pulse grenade: A grenade that periodically damages enemies inside its explosion radius. Generally not too useful as enemies are normally pretty good at dodging out of the area and even if they are caught it tends to end up doing minimal damage.

* Tier 3 – Lightning grenade: A grenade that sticks to any surface, periodically emitting bolts of lightning.

 

Jump (Incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Lift: Jump and then press A (X) again while in the air to activate lift.

* Tier 2 – Increased height: Upgrades lift to travel to greater heights

* Tier 3 – Increased control: Upgrades lift for better directional control while in the air.

* Tier 4 – Catapult: Upgrades lift to provide a strong initial burst of momentum.

 

Special (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Fist of havoc: Smash the ground and dissolve nearby enemies in a maelstrom of arc light.

* Tier 2 – Aftermath: Dist of havoc leaves a damage-dealing field in its wake

* Tier 3 – Death from above: After jumping, fist of havoc can be aimed at enemies below.

* Tier 4 – Shockwave: Fist of havoc unleashes a wave of devastating energy which travels along the ground.

 

Melee (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Storm fist: A punishing melee attack that deals bonus damage

* Tier 2 – Overload: Hits with storm fist have a chance to immediately reset its cool-down.

* Tier 3 – Discharge: Hits with storm fist have a chance to deal area of effect damage around the target.

* Tier 4 – Amplify: Kills with storm fist significantly reduce the cool-down of fist of havoc.

 

Training I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Titan codex I: (Armour + 15%, Recovery + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and toughness.

* Tier 2 – Titan codex II: (Armour + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on speed and toughness.

* Tier 3 – Titan codex III: (Recovery + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and speed.

 

Passive I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Headstrong: Sprinting increases the leap distance of fist of havoc.

* Tier 2 – Aftershocks: Increases the duration of pulse grenade, lightning grenade and aftermath.

* Tier 3 – Transfusion: Kills with storm fist immediately trigger health regeneration.

 

Training II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Titan codex IV: (Armour + 15%, Recovery + 15%, Agility + 5%) Training focused on all attributes.

* Tier 2 – Titan codex V: (Recovery + 30%) Training focused on maximum battle recovery.

* Tier 3 – Titan codex VI: (Armour + 5%, Agility + 25%) Training focused on raw speed.

 

Passive II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Unstoppable: You are harder to kill while using fist of havoc.

* Tier 2 – Shoulder charge: After sprinting for a short time, press RB to unleash a devastating melee attack.

* Tier 3 – Juggernaut: After sprinting for a short time, gain a protective shield.

 

 

Defender – Shape void light into an indestructible shield to protect you and your allies from harm.

 

"Three hundred and sixty degrees of protection, unfortunately it doesn't work when the danger is underfoot."

 

Ward of Dawn – Creates an barrier that is impenetrable to fired shots but can be penetrated by enemies walking into it (who can fire once inside). Several skills can be taken by the titan to augment the power of the ward and provide beneficial effects for allies. Can be quite useful in PvP in control matches when protecting control points or used as temporary cover in a bad situation.

 

Sub-class abilities:

 

Grenade (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Magnetic grenade: A grenade that attaches to enemies and explodes twice.

* Tier 2 – Spike grenade: A grenade that attaches to any surface and emits a torrent of damaging void light.

* Tier 3 – Suppressor grenade: An explosive grenade that prevents enemies from using abilities for a short time.

 

Jump (Incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Lift: Jump and then press A (X) again while in the air to activate lift.

* Tier 2 – Increased height: Upgrades lift to carry you higher.

* Tier 3 – Increased control: Upgrades lift for better directional control while in the air.

* Tier 4 – Catapult: Upgrades lift to provide a strong initial burst of momentum.

 

Special (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Ward of dawn: Shape void light into an indestructible shield to protect you and your allies from harm.

* Tier 2 – Armour of light: While inside ward of dawn you and your allies gain significant damage resistance.

* Tier 3 – Blessing of light: Passing through ward of dawn grants you and your allies a temporary shield.

* Tier 4 – Weapons of light: Passing through ward of dawn grants you and your allies a temporary increase to weapon damage.

 

Melee (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Disintegrate: Killing an enemy with this powerful melee attack creates a force barrier around you which absorbs incoming damage.

* Tier 2 – War machine: While force barrier is active all your weapons reload and ready blindingly fast.

* Tier 3 – Gift of light: While force barrier is active all your melee kills create orbs of light.

* Tier 4 – Unbreakable: Force barrier continually recharges.

 

Training I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Titan codex I: (Armour + 15%, Recovery + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and toughness.

* Tier 2 – Titan codex II: (Armour + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on speed and toughness.

* Tier 3 – Titan codex III: (Recovery + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and speed.

 

Passive I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Bastion: Increases the duration of ward of dawn.

* Tier 2 – Relentless: Increases the strength and duration of force barrier.

* Tier 3 – As ward of dawn takes damage from enemy fire it creates additional orbs of light.

 

Training II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Titan codex IV: (Armour + 15%, Recovery + 15%, Agility + 5%) Training focused on all attributes.

* Tier 2 – Titan codex V: (Recovery + 30%) Training focused on maximum battle recovery.

* Tier 3 – Titan codex VI: (Armour + 5%, Agility + 25%) Training focused on raw speed.

 

Passive II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Untouchable: Reduces the cool-down time of ward of dawn.

* Tier 2 – Iron harvest: Heavy weapon kills have a chance to create orbs of light for your allies.

* Tier 3 – Illuminated: Increases the benefits granted by blessing of light and weapons of light.

 

 

HUNTER

 

You are a master of the frontier. Stalk and kill your enemies with ruthless precision.

 

 

Sub-classes and specials:

 

 

Gunslinger – Summon a flaming pistol which disintegrates enemies with solar light.

 

"Say hello to my little friend."

 

Golden Gun – The hunter holds his/her hand up in the air for a second. A flaming pistol is generated in the hunter's hand that has a time/shot bar. It naturally depletes over time and each shot taken removes a chunk of the bar as well. Normally a hunter can get of a maximum of three powerful shots in optimal conditions. When used efficiently by a player with good accuracy, this can be a devastating surprise to pull on stronger enemies and can occasionally save the hunter from a sticky situation. On the PvP side, the initial activation can be a problem, as you are still vulnerable while summoning the pistol. Once it is summoned however, two quick shots will normally take care of any opposition. Playing in smaller maps or with high enemy density is the best way to make use of this weapon (due to range issues – unless you upgrade the range in the skill tree).

 

Sub-class abilities:

 

Grenade (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Incendiary grenade: An explosive grenade that catches enemies on fire, causing damage over time. Decent AoE and damage and easy to use if you have ever played any shooter with grenades (Think frag grenade from Halo). Can be handy in PvP with decent skill levels.

* Tier 2 – Swarm grenade: A grenade which detonates on impact, releasing multiple drones that seek nearby enemies. While this sounds great, in practice it isn't that useful. The drones don't deal anywhere near as much damage as the other grenade blasts and they can home on enemies that reduce their effect.

* Tier 3 – Tripmine Grenade: An explosive grenade that sticks to surfaces and detonates when enemies pass through its laser trigger. This is quite useful in the regular missions as it can protect you from exploding enemies or bottleneck certain areas. In PvP, the laser is quite visible making this a bit useless.

 

Jump (Incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Double jump: Jump a second time after leaving the ground.

* Tier 2 – Better control: Upgrades double jump for better directional control while in the air

* Tier 3 – Triple jump: Upgrades double jump with a third jump

* Tier 4 – Higher jump: Upgrades double jump for even greater height

 

Special (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Golden Gun: Summon a flaming pistol which disintegrates enemies with solar light.

* Tier 2 – Deadeye: Significantly increases the accuracy of golden gun.

* Tier 3 – Combustion: Killing enemies with golden gun causes them to explode

* Tier 4 – Gunfighter: Reduces the cool-down of golden gun allowing it to be used more often.

 

Ranged Melee (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Throwing knife: Throw a knife from a distance. Similar to the knife in CoD except it does damage instead of an instant kill.

* Tier 2 – Circle of life: Killing an enemy with throwing knife while golden gun is active extends the duration of golden gun.

* Tier 3 – Incendiary blade: (Armour – 10%) Throwing knife catches enemies on fire, dealing additional damage over time.

* Tier 4 – Knife juggler: (Armour – 10%) Precision kills with throwing knife immediately resets its cool-down.

 

Training I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Path forgotten: (Armour + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on toughness and speed.

* Tier 2 – Path forbidden: (Recovery + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and speed.

* Tier 3 – Path unknown: (Recovery + 15%, Armour + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and toughness.

 

Passive I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Scavenger: Picking up ammo reduces the cool-down of your grenade and throwing knife. Very useful, especially on missions.

* Tier 2 – Keyhole: Golden gun overpenetrates and can damage multiple targets. Good for builds focusing around golden gun, makes it more useful in PVP.

* Tier 3 – Gunslinger's trance: Precision kills increase weapon stability. Stacks up to three times. Works great with chain of woe to increase reload speed as well.

 

Training II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Way of the drifter: (Armour + 5%, Recovery + 5%, Agility + 5%) Training focused on all attributes.

* Tier 2 – Way of the fearless: (Armour + 25%. Agility – 5%) Training focused on toughness at all costs.

* Tier 3 – Way of the nomad: (Armour – 5%, Recovery + 25%) Training focused on maximum battle recovery.

 

Passive II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Chain of woe: Precision kills increase weapon reload speed. Stacks up to three times. Works well with gunslinger's trance.

* Tier 2 – Over the horizon: (Recovery + 5%) Increases the range of golden gun.

* Tier 3 – Gambler's dagger: Gain an additional throwing knife.

 

 

Bladedancer – Charge your blade with arc light and consume your foes with lightning.

 

"Slice to meet you."

 

Arc Blade – The hunter instantly charges his/her weapon with light and the view changes to third person, allowing you to see nearby surroundings better. The hunter will also move slightly faster as well and the melee animation will turn into a slash. For several seconds after activation the hunter will pulse with energy and deal huge damage with melee attacks. Against other guardians in PvP, this is nearly always a one hit kill (kill-streaks of three or more are quite possible with sufficient skill).

 

Sub-class abilities:

 

Grenade (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Flux grenade: An explosive grenade which deals additional damage when attached to enemies. Exactly like plasma grenades in halo, except it can home towards targets slightly in missions. Sticking it to an enemy in PvP is pretty much a guaranteed kill.

* Tier 2 – Skip grenade: A grenade which splits on impact, creating multiple projectiles which seek enemies. While this sounds great, in practice it isn't that useful. The shards don't deal anywhere near as much damage as the other grenade blasts and they can home on enemies that reduce their effect.

* Tier 3 – Arcbolt grenade: A grenade that chains bolts of lightning to nearby enemies. Good for dealing with groups of enemies in missions but otherwise not as useful as the flux grenade.

 

Jump (Incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Double jump: Jump a second time after leaving the ground.

* Tier 2 – Higher jump: Upgrades double jump for even greater height.

* Tier 3 – Better control: Upgrades double jump for better directional control while in the air.

* Tier 4 – Blink: A short distance teleport that replaces double jump.

 

Special (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Arc Blade: Charge your blade with arc light and consume your foes with lightning.

* Tier 2 – Showstopper: Press RT during arc blade to damage nearby enemies.

* Tier 3 – Razor's edge: Press RT during arc blade to unleash a destructive wave of energy that travels along the ground.

* Tier 4 – Vanish: Press RT during arc blade to disappear from sight

 

Ranged Melee (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Blink strike: A powerful melee attack with extended range. Similar to the increased reach perk in CoD.

* Tier 2 – Backstab: Hitting an enemy from behind with blink strike causes significantly more damage (keep in mind it doesn't affect your normal melee attack).

* Tier 3 – Escape artist: Hitting an enemy with blink strike grants brief invisibility. Can be useful in PvP.

* Tier 4 – Fast twitch: Reduces the cool-down of blink strike.

 

Training I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Path forgotten: (Armour + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on toughness and speed.

* Tier 2 – Path forbidden: (Recovery + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and speed.

* Tier 3 – Path unknown: (Recovery + 15%, Armour + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and toughness.

 

Passive I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Fleet footed: Increases maximum sprint speed and extends slide distance.

* Tier 2 – Quick draw: Weapons ready immediately.

* Tier 3 – Shadowjack: Increases the duration of invisibility effects. This can be fun when combined with invisibility skills in PvP. Does depend on play style and skill level though.

 

Training II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Way of the drifter: (Armour + 5%, Recovery + 5%, Agility + 5%) Training focused on all attributes.

* Tier 2 – Way of the fearless: (Armour + 25%. Agility – 5%) Training focused on toughness at all costs.

* Tier 3 – Way of the nomad: (Armour – 5%, Recovery + 25%) Training focused on maximum battle recovery.

 

Passive II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Encore: Killing an enemy with arc blade extends its duration.

* Tier 2 – Stalker: Gain invisibility after crouching in place for a short time.

* Tier 3 – Hungering blade: Kills with arc blade and blink strike immediately regenerate health. Makes melee attacks very powerful if you want to focus on that play style.

 

 

WARLOCK

 

The universe bends to your will. Manipulate its energies to annihilate your foes.

 

 

Sub-classes and specials:

 

Voidwalker – Hurl an explosive bolt of void light at the enemy, disintegrating those caught in the blast.

 

"What's the name of this song… Explosivo."

 

Nova Bomb – A very direct super ability, the Warlock quickly draws his/ her arm back and releases a blast of void energy towards the enemy. This will one shot enemy players in PvP and can be expanded to three bursts in a line as well as expanding the radius of the attack. This is useful for clearing out control points or damaging bosses at range. Overall very useful for aggressive warlock players.

 

Sub-class abilities:

 

Grenade (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Vortex grenade: A grenade that creates a vortex which continually damages enemies trapped inside.

* Tier 2 – Scatter grenade: A grenade that splits into many sub-munitions and covers a large area with explosions.

* Tier 3 – Axion bolt: a bolt of void light which forks into smaller bolts on impact which seek towards enemies.

 

Jump (Incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Glide: Jump and then press A (X) again while in the air to activate glide.

* Tier 2 – Focused control: Upgrades glide for better directional control while in the air.

* Tier 3 – Focused burst: Upgrades glide to provide an initial boost of speed.

* Tier 4 – Blink: A short distance teleport which replaces glide.

 

Special (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Nova bomb: Hurl an explosive bolt of void light at the enemy, disintegrating those caught within its blast.

* Tier 2 – Vortex: Nova bomb creates a vortex which continually damages enemies trapped inside.

* Tier 3 – Shatter: Nova bomb splits into three projectiles.

* Tier 4 – Lance: Nova bomb travels further and faster.

 

Melee (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Energy drain: A powerful melee attack which drains energy from enemies and uses it to reduce the cool-down of your grenade.

* Tier 2 – Surge: Damaging an enemy with energy drain increases weapon and movement speed.

* Tier 3 – Life steal: Killing an enemy with energy drain immediately restores a significant portion of your health.

* Tier 4 – Soul rip: Killing an enemy with energy drain reduces the cool-down on nova bomb.

 

Training I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Arcane wisdom: (Recovery + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and speed.

* Tier 2 – Arcane spirit: (Recovery + 15%, Armour + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and toughness.

* Tier 3 – Arcane force: (Armour + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on toughness and speed.

 

Passive I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Annihilate: Increases the size of explosions created by nova bomb and grenades.

* Tier 2 – Angry magic: Nova bomb tracks enemies.

* Tier 3 – The hunger: Increases the duration of the energy drain effect.

 

Training II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Ancestral order: (Armour + 5%, Recovery + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on all attributes.

* Tier 2 – Chaos order: (Agility + 30%) Training focused on raw speed.

* Tier 3 – Divine order: (Armour + 25%, Recovery + 5%) Training focused on toughness at all costs.

 

Passive II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Vortex mastery: Increases the range of axion bolt seekers and the duration of the vortex effects of nova bomb and vortex grenade.

* Tier 2 – Bloom: enemies killed by any of your abilities explode.

* Tier 3 – Embrace the void: Damaging enemies with nova bomb or any grenade triggers the energy drain effect.

 

 

Sunsinger – Fill yourself with solar light, dramatically increasing the effectiveness of all your abilities.

 

"Blinded by the light…"

 

Radiance – No, not the dota version of radiance. And no you can't give it to a pet bear. It reduces the cooldowns of your active abilities (grenade and melee) and can give you a temporary health buff in PvP. This makes the ability very common to see in PvP but more as a support role instead of the Nova Blast (as it doesn't directly kill, instead enhancing your cababilities).

 

Sub-class abilities:

 

Grenade (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Solar grenade: a grenade that creates a flare of solar light which continually damages enemies trapped inside.

* Tier 2 – Firebolt grenade: A grenade that unleashes bolts of solar light at nearby enemies.

* Tier 3 – Fusion grenade: An explosive grenade that causes bonus damage when attached to its target.

 

Jump (Incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Glide: Jump and then press A (X) again while in the air to activate glide.

* Tier 2 – Focused control: Upgrades glide for better directional control while in the air.

* Tier 3 – Focused burst: Upgrades glide to provide an initial boost of speed.

* Tier 4 – Balanced glide: Upgrades glide to provide bonuses to both speed and control.

 

Special (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Radiance: Fill yourself with solar light, dramatically increasing the effectiveness of all your abilities.

* Tier 2 – Song of flame: While active, radiance reduces all cool-downs for nearby allies.

* Tier 3 – Radiant skin: While active, radiance reduces incoming damage.

* Tier 4 – Fireborn: Radiance can now be activated from beyond the grave. Doing so returns you to life.

 

Melee (incremental upgrades)

 

* Tier 1 – Scorch: A powerful melee attack that ignites enemies, causing damage over time.

* Tier 2 – Flame shield: Damaging an enemy with scorch reduces incoming damage for a short time.

* Tier 3 – Solar wind: Hitting an enemy with scorch knocks them back.

* Tier 4 – Brimstone: Killing enemies with scorch causes them to explode.

 

Training I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Arcane wisdom: (Recovery + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and speed.

* Tier 2 – Arcane spirit: (Recovery + 15%, Armour + 15%) Training focused on battle recovery and toughness.

* Tier 3 – Arcane force: (Armour + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on toughness and speed.

 

Passive I (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Radiant will: increases the duration of radiance.

* Tier 2 – Viking funeral: Enemies you ignite burn longer and take more damage.

* Tier 3 – Sunburst: Killing an enemy with scorch has a chance to generate an orb of light.

 

Training II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Ancestral order: (Armour + 5%, Recovery + 15%, Agility + 15%) Training focused on all attributes.

* Tier 2 – Chaos order: (Agility + 30%) Training focused on raw speed.

* Tier 3 – Divine order: (Armour + 25%, Recovery + 5%) Training focused on toughness at all costs.

 

Passive II (Only one can be selected at a time)

 

* Tier 1 – Touch of flame: All grenades ignite enemies, causing damage over time.

* Tier 2 – Angel of light: Aiming your weapon while in the air will hold you in place for a short time.

* Tier 3 – Gift of the sun: Gain an additional grenade.

 

Wow, after all that info it's time to create the visual appearance of your new guardian. Select the looks you like and continue onwards to enter the world of Destiny.

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