Destiny – A Guardian Rises

The following is an excerpt from the Official Destiny Digital Guide:

A Guardian Rises

Level 1 Story / Cosmodrome, Old Russia, Earth

Enemy Race: Fallen

Rewards: XP Bonus

Mission Unlocked: Restoration

Objective: Enter the Wall

The adventure begins at the Cosmodrome in Old Russia, as a Ghost wakes a Guardian—You. This Ghost is your companion for the duration of this journey. You have been gone for a long time, so it is up to the Ghost to guide you—providing light wherever necessary. Follow the path of wreckage into the wall ahead, clicking the Left Stick to sprint. As you move into the darkness, your Ghost lights the way.

Objective: Find a Weapon

Location: The Breach

Stick to the walkway until you can see Fallen in the distance.

Objective: Grab the Rifle

Follow the Ghost around the corner to find your first weapon, a low level auto rifle. This is placed in your Primary Weapon slot. Fallen swarm the areas ahead, so proceed with a little more caution.

Objective: Fight through the Wall

The Level-1 Fallen Dregs are relatively easy kills, but it’s still important to keep moving and kill them quickly. Follow the objective markers around the next corners, as Fallen Dregs drop into your path. Use your new rifle to mow them down. Press the Melee button to perform a melee attack on enemies that get too close. One drops nearly on top of you, creating a great opportunity to use this move.

Melee Attack

You can take down these Dregs relatively easily with a quick melee attack. Press the Melee button when you’re next to an enemy to perform a class-specific, close combat move. Keep this in mind throughout your adventures. As you level up your Guardian, the melee attack remains very effective against many foes.

The destroyed wall ahead offers little cover as you dispose of the Fallen in the next room. A Level-1 Fallen Vandal joins the fight. He is a bit tougher to take down, but a few rounds from your weapon will eliminate the creature.

Reloading and Dropped Ammo

Press the Reload button to keep your weapon loaded any time you get an opportunity. Get into the habit of reloading, and once you have Special and Heavy Weapons, keep them topped off, too. Enemies often drop ammo when they die. These ammo packs come in three colors: white fills your Primary Weapon, Green is Special ammo, and Purple reloads your Heavy Weapon. Keep an eye out for these lying around, and don’t worry about hogging them, as each player has his or her own private loot stream.

A chest sits on the right side of the path ahead, just across the bridge. Collect the loot inside. Chests always give you Glimmer and, in some cases, include a piece of equipment. This time, you get your first Special Weapon. The type of weapon you get can fundamentally change the way you fight. The Hunter’s sniper rifle enables you to fight from far away, while the Warlock’s shotgun allows powerful close-combat tactics.

Weapon Types for the Classes

The different types of weapons in Destiny are not specific to one class or another. Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks can use any armament they desire. You should base the types of guns you equip on your play style, your role in a group, how your specialization and equipment are set up, and the mission objective.

Trip mines crisscross the corridor around the next corner. Crouch and move underneath them as more Dregs pop in ahead. This is a good time to try out your new Special Weapon. Avoid more trip mines as you weave around the columns, eliminating the remaining Fallen.

Crouch

The Crouch button puts your character into a lower stance, allowing you to duck under the trip mines in this corridor. This position is also good for ducking behind low cover. Press the button while running to perform a slide maneuver.

Approach the big, open room ahead cautiously, as several Vandals and Dregs drop into the arena. You don’t need to conserve your ammo too much, but you can take out each one with a melee attack or two, depending on your class. Dodge from side to side to avoid their slow projectiles as you take down each one. Once the room is clear, exit through the door on the right.

Incoming

Many of your foes have a grenade ability, so be aware of incoming explosives. A grenade icon appears onscreen when one is thrown in your vicinity. Quickly move out of the area to avoid taking damage.

Following the hallway through another door leads back to the outdoors in The Divide. As you step outside, drop ships enter from the left, dropping Fallen from three Fallen Ships.

Objective: Fight through the Fallen

Location: The Divide

The Fallen wait on the other side of the structure ahead, which is accessible around the left or right sides. Pick off as many as you can from a distance, using cover to avoid their attacks. You can use a few small interiors to recoup health if things get overwhelming. More Fallen, including Shanks, join the fight as you make your way to the far-left corner. These enemies continually drop in as you clear them out, so it’s possible to do some grinding to increase your level. Fight your way into the next building.

Using the Tracker

Use the radar in the HUD’s upper-left corner to note ally and enemy locations. Blue circles represent another Guardian or friendly NPCs. Green notes a friendly player who is a member of your Fireteam, and red shows a nearby enemy. A chevron on top of one of these icons signifies that the player is located above or below your position.

A section of the radar lights up red when a foe is present in the corresponding direction, so glance over whenever you get a chance. When the player has an active mission, the direction of your current objective is shown with an arrow around the outside of the radar. Use this to find your way through the expansive worlds. When the arrow is directly above, you’re headed in the correct direction.

First Upgrade

The experience you’ve gained up to this point should get you to Level 2, allowing you to activate your first ability. Access your Character screen, and select the first upgrade in the subclass, which gives you a grenade ability.

Objective: Find the Ship

Location: Dock 13

Move through the Dock 13 hallways, following the objective markers that pop up along the way. Fallen Dregs and a Vandal occupy a room ahead. Reduce the numbers inside by practicing your new grenade ability. Finish them off as you move through the control rooms of Dock 13.

Objective: Clear Out the Fallen

In the final room, a ship rests in the corner, and Fallen are attempting to pick the thing clean. Dregs, Vandals, and Shanks join Rahn, a Devil Captain. Captains have an Arc Shield, so a weapon with Arc damage eliminates his shield more quickly—however, one hit with the sniper rifle also destroys it. Duck into the previous rooms whenever necessary as you deal with the Fallen threat. Once the area is clear, your Ghost gets the ship working.

Mission Summary

After you complete the final objective, summary screens tally up your accomplishments from the mission. Experience, Glimmer, and items you gain from the mission appear on the Mission Summary screen. The Activity Rewards screen shows each player’s stats, along with the Rewards they acquire from the mission. The Accomplishments screen provides information about the progress you make toward Upgrades and Bounties.

Objective: The Vanguard

Location: The Tower, Last City

After the tutorial mission, you are taken to the Tower. Your first destination is the Tower Vanguard. Proceed straight ahead, down the stairs, and into the back room. A mentor for each Class is located around the table. Approach the elite Guardian with the green icon. This signifies that your current objective requires interaction with him or her. Get acquainted with this location, since you have to return to this person often to get your reward. Collect your welcoming gift by selecting the equipment, which completes the objective and earns you experience and Glimmer.

Objective: Equip New Armor

Access your Character screen, highlight your new armor, and select it to equip the new piece. This rewards you with more experience.

Objective: The Gunsmith

Return back out to the Tower Plaza and find the Gunsmith in the plaza’s southeast corner. He gives you a choice of four Primary Weapons.

Objective: Equip New Weapon

Again, access your Character screen, highlight the new weapon and select it to equip it.

Objective: The Shipwright

The Shipwright is located in the Tower Hangar on the south side. Take the stairs in the plaza’s southwest corner. Follow the path to the hangar and find the Shipwright up the left steps. Talk to her to receive the Arcadia Class Jumpship.

Objective: Quit to Orbit

Quit out to Orbit to reach the Director. Here you can travel to the different planets, select Crucible, or other special missions. For now, you can only go to Earth and start from the first mission, Restoration, located in The Divide.

The Director: How to Traverse the Solar System

When your Guardian returns to Orbit, the Director screen appears. From here, you select your next destination, whether it’s back to the Tower or one of the planets. Choosing a planet brings up a map of the corresponding location with the available missions.

Read more Tower strategies from the official guide.

Made for the ultimate Destiny fan, the Destiny Limited Edition Strategy Guide is a beautiful 400-page guide that comes with two exclusive lithographs, a gorgeous premium double-sided dust jacket (featuring a unique cover design on the exterior and additional artwork direct from Bungie on the interior), as well as one of Three Deluxe, Collectible Covers based on the Hunter, Warlock, or Titan. This Limited Edition book is a must-have collectible for Destiny fans.

The Destiny guide is also available as a Signature Series Guide and as a Digital Guide.