Destiny 2 Double Feature: Heresy Act II and Guardian Games Drop March 11
The stars are aligning for Destiny 2 players next week as Bungie prepares to launch not one but two major content drops on March 11, 2025. The latest This Week in Destiny (TWID) update revealed extensive details about both Heresy Act II and the annual Guardian Games event, giving Guardians plenty to look forward to.
Court of Blades: Compete for the Mantle of the Taken King
Heresy Act II introduces the Court of Blades, a new activity where Guardians will battle through escalating arenas to prove their worth as potential heirs to the Taken throne.
The expansion brings five new weapons from the Heretical Arsenal, including a Strand Glaive and Bow featuring the Sword Logic perk. Speaking of Sword Logic, PvP players will see its damage bonus reduced from 20% to 15% in standard combat, while it gets a buff against Supers (increasing from 35% to 50%).
Trace Rifles Get Their Moment
The new Artifact in Act II puts Trace Rifles in the spotlight with perks like Overload Trace Rifles and Beam Medic. Here's what players can expect from the new perks:
| Perk Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Overload Trace Rifles | Uninterrupted fire causes the beam to stun combatants, delaying ability energy regeneration. Strong against Overload Champions. |
| Beam Medic | Rapid Trace Rifle final blows heal you and nearby allies. Powerful combatants increase the healing amount. |
| Elemental Siphon | Rapid final blows with Kinetic weapons or weapons matching your Super create matching elemental pickups. |
| Harsh Refraction | Trace Rifles do more damage to targets affected by matching elemental debuffs. |
| Limit Break | Casting a Super while critically wounded or with a matching elemental buff grants increased Super damage. |
What's Coming in Guardian Games 2025?
The annual class competition returns on March 11, 2025, with a fresh twist. This year's Guardian Games introduces Rushdown, a boss rush activity featuring encounters against familiar foes from campaigns and missions.
Players can test their mettle across three difficulty tiers: Warm-up, Standard, and Expert. As always, the event centers around class competition through medallion collection, with class standings visible through Guardian glows and Tower decorations.
New Rewards Worth Chasing
The headline reward for Guardian Games is Keraunios, a new Arc Trace Rifle that promises potent perk combinations. Guardians can also earn new armor ornament sets available for Silver or Bright Dust.
Completionists will want to tackle the Event Card challenges to earn "The Champ" title, while dedicated players can unlock a physical Guardian Games Jersey through Bungie Rewards by completing the Gold Triumph.
Rushdown Roulette: Content Creators Compete
A special Guardian Games Rushdown Roulette event will feature content creators competing in class-based teams with random challenge modifiers. Weekly winners receive prizes and can share Bungie Store items with their communities, adding another layer of excitement to the class competition.
Crucible Changes Address Player Pain Points
PvP enthusiasts have several quality-of-life improvements coming in Act II:
- Fixes for Redrix's Estoc Competitive Pulse Rifle reward distribution
- Handling reduction for Redrix's Estoc (from 79 to 74)
- Adjustments to Lightweight Pulse Rifles (slight damage reduction)
- Solo vs. Fireteam Loss Forgiveness in Trials and Competitive playlists
- Changes to Void Hunter smoke effects and On the Prowl aspect to make them less oppressive in Crucible
For Trials of Osiris players, this weekend features Keen Thistle, a Solar Aggressive Sniper Rifle, as the featured weapon.
Important Dates and Reminders
Mark your calendars for these upcoming Destiny 2 events:
- March 9, 2025: Daylight Saving Time begins, changing reset time from 9 AM PT to 10 AM PT
- March 9, 2025: Emerald City Comic Con Destiny 2 Fan Meetup (11:15-12:00 Pacific)
- March 11, 2025: Heresy Act II launches
- March 11, 2025: Guardian Games begins
- March 11, 2025: Moments of Triumph Bungie Store Sale ends at reset
Bungie also reminds players about the upcoming account linking policy change that will remove the option to unlink accounts (except Twitch) once linked to a Bungie ID.
Looking Ahead: Act III Teases
While the focus is on next week's launches, Bungie couldn't resist teasing some Act III content, including:
- Rite of the Nine event with Explorer and Ultimatum modes in three classic dungeons
- Sunless Cell Strike returning from the original Destiny
- Heavy Metal PvP mode featuring combat in Brigs and Drakes
And for fashion-conscious Guardians, a preview of the new Wormgod Caress Exotic armor ornament with Warrior Monk inspiration is coming in Codename: Frontiers.
With so much content dropping next week, Guardians might want to clear their schedules. Whether you're looking to claim the Taken throne in Court of Blades or lead your class to victory in Guardian Games, March 11 promises to be a banner day for Destiny 2.