Destiny 2 The Edge of Fate makes the game feel perfect for new players

If you've been waiting for the perfect moment to give Destiny 2 a shot, this is it. Bungie is starting a fresh era for the online FPS with an expansion, loads of mechanical overhauls, and plenty of new features. Destiny 2 The Edge of Fate has landed, but that's not all. You've also got a lot of time left for D2 open access, which gives you almost the entire game for free. For veteran players, the shooter is bigger than ever before. For newcomers, there are additions and tweaks that make Destiny 2 a lot more welcoming.

With so much coming to Destiny 2 today, Tuesday July 15, I'm going to start with The Edge of Fate. This expansion is the beginning of the Fate Saga, Bungie's new story arc after The Final Shape. You've got the new destination of Kelper, a story revolving around The Nine, and the new Destiny 2 season release date as well. As someone early in their D2 journey, I can't help but feel like this is the ideal time to get started.

On top of the new premium expansion, Bungie is also overhauling the core Destiny 2 experience. All players will get access to the Portal, a new selection screen that embraces the different PvE and PvP playstyles across the game. You can play Fireteam and Pinnacles Ops, which revolve around cooperative activities of differing lengths. Then there's Crucible Ops, which you can select if you want to fight against other players. Finally, you have Solo Ops, which offer short 10-minute adventures that don't require a fireteam.

The Portal also comes with 50 all-new modifiers, which you can tweak to get your desired activity and challenge - if you're going after a certain reward or currency, you can alter your options to make sure the missions you dive into give you what you need.

Bungie is also introducing the new Armor 3.0 system. The team wants to add new layers to buildcrafting opportunities, which means you can create a Guardian even more in line with how you want to play. You also have access to set bonuses, which provide perks when you equip two or four armor pieces of the same set. This means you can mix and match sets to gain a wide range of perks that'll help make the build of your dreams.

You can also now use armor archetypes, which should make complex builds easier to understand. "Each armor 3.0 drop has a randomly selected armor archetype," Bungie writes. "Each of the six available archetypes are themed around a specific playstyle and determine the two highest stats on each piece of armor. Each piece of armor will also roll with a tertiary (or lowest) stat randomly selected from the remaining four stats."

If you're entirely new to the free Steam game, the ongoing Destiny 2 open access period makes getting started easier than ever. Until Tuesday July 22 you have access to all of the game's currently available expansions, which come with a wide range of activities and rewards. Any currencies, gear, titles, triumphs, and cosmetics you earn during this time are also yours to keep forever, giving you a running start at all the dense systems.

Destiny 2 The Edge of Fate launches on Tuesday July 15 after maintenance, alongside the base game updates.

If you're diving back into Bungie's live service shooter with all these changes, make sure you check out the current Destiny 2 codes and best Destiny 2 settings.

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