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"Strikes are the backbone of the Vanguard's response to the Darkness. Each mission is planned for maximum disruption and hindrance of enemy lines. Your Strike service directly impacts our ongoing war with the Darkness. So serve well."
Commander Zavala

Strike is a cooperative mode featured in Destiny. Strikes represent a middle ground in PvE content between Story missions and Raids in terms of length and difficulty, and are optimized for a fireteam of three players. Usually, Strikes are composed of a linear series of enemy encounters which may or may not include a mini-boss, culminating in a battle against one or more bosses supported by additional enemies.[1] Some of the newer strikes feature simple puzzle mechanics that make boss fights more challenging.

As of The Taken King, Strikes have a chance to drop Strike-specific loot that can help gear players up in preparation for Raids. Playing in a Strike playlist continuously increases the chances of better loot on consecutive strikes.

Strike playlists

Higher-level versions of each Strike are available in the Strike playlists. Entering a playlist will launch a random Strike alongside two matchmade players.

Year One

These playlists were available during Year One of Destiny, and incorporated all available base game and expansion Strikes. Playlists at higher levels offered greater rewards.

  • Vanguard Eagle - Level 18
  • Vanguard Viper - Level 20
  • Vanguard Wolf - Level 22
  • Vanguard Tiger - Level 24
  • Vanguard Roc - Level 26, added by The Dark Below
  • Vanguard Dragon - Level 28, added by House of Wolves

Year Two

The Taken King replaces all Year One playlists with the following:

  • Vanguard Legacy - Level 20 required, includes all Year One strikes only, no modifiers
  • Vanguard Strikes - Level 36 required, includes Year Two and select "remixed" Year One strikes, no modifiers
  • Vanguard Heroic Strikes - Light Level 260 required, includes Year Two and select "remixed" Year One strikes strikes, Heroic and one random modifier active
    • The Vanguard Heroic playlist replaces the Weekly Heroic Strike; players are rewarded for the first three strikes completed in this playlist each week across all of a player's characters.

Year Three

Rise of Iron's Strike playlists retain the Vanguard Legacy and Vanguard Strikes, but adds two new playlists and renames Vanguard Strikes to Taken War:

  • Taken War - Completion of The Taken King Campaign required, includes Strikes from Year 2 and 3 Remastered Strikes from Year 1
  • SIVA Crisis - Light Level 320 required, includes Strikes from Year One to Year Three with no modifiers.
  • SIVA Crisis Heroic - Light Level 350 required; includes Strikes from Year One to Year Three; three random Heroic modifiers active per week; replaces Vanguard Heroic.

Year Four

Destiny 2 features two Strike playlists apart from the Nightfall. Vanguard Strikes are unlocked after completing the Story mission Fury and returning to The Farm to speak to Commander Zavala. Heroic Strikes are unlocked after completing the first Strike milestone.

  • Vanguard Strikes - Power Level 140 required, includes all Destiny 2 base game Strikes with no modifiers.
  • Heroic Strikes - Power Level 350 required, includes all Destiny 2, Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris and Destiny 2: Warmind strikes with a weekly rotating elemental singe and daily rotating modifiers.

Year Five

Destiny 2 features four Strike playlists apart from the Nightfall. Legacy Strikes are unlocked after completing the Story mission Fury and returning to The Farm to speak to Commander Zavala, Only for Non-Forsaken Players. Level 30, Level 40, and Level 50 are unlocked after buying Forsaken. Every Playlist has modifiers.

  • Legacy Strikes - Power Level 200 required, includes all Destiny 2, Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris and Destiny 2: Warmind and have daily rotation modifiers
  • Level 30 Strikes - Power Level 300 required, includes all Destiny 2, Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris and Destiny 2: Warmind and have daily rotation modifiers, Disappears after Power Level 440
  • Level 40 Strikes - Power Level 400 required, includes all Destiny 2, Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris,Destiny 2: Warmind and Destiny 2: Forsaken and have daily rotation modifiers, Disappears after Power Level 540
  • Level 50 Strikes - Power Level 500 required, includes all Destiny 2, Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris,Destiny 2: Warmind and Destiny 2: Forsaken and have daily rotation modifiers

Year Six

As of Shadowkeep, there is now only one Strike playlist apart from Nightfalls. This playlist incorporates all Strikes available to the player.

  • Vanguard Strikes - Power Level 750 required, with a weekly rotating elemental singe and daily rotating modifiers.

Year Seven

No changes were made to Strike playlists in Beyond Light, except for removing the normal Nightfall Strikes in favor of Nightfall: The Ordeal. It incorporates all Strikes, including from expansions not owned by the player.

  • Vanguard Strikes - Power Level 1050 required, with a weekly rotating elemental singe and daily rotating modifiers.[Note 1]

Year Eight

With the release of The Witch Queen, the Strike playlist now incorporates Battlegrounds and has become the Vanguard Ops playlist.

  • Vanguard Ops - Power Level 1350 required, with a weekly rotating elemental singe and daily rotating modifiers.

Year Nine

With the release of Lightfall, the Vanguard Ops playlist now incorporates PsiOps Battlegrounds and Heist Battlegrounds.

  • Vanguard Ops - Power Level 1600 required, but it is now disabled across the playlist, resulting in fixed difficulty. Weekly rotating elemental surges, threats and daily rotating modifiers.

Nightfall Strikes

Main article: Nightfall

A random Strike is selected each week for the Nightfall Strike, a high-difficulty challenge with the Nightfall and Epic modifiers active in addition to three other randomly-chosen modifiers; after The Taken King is released, the latter three modifiers will be manually selected by Bungie each week instead of randomized. Nightfall Strikes do not include matchmaking, requiring players to fight alone or assemble a fire team of three before starting. Rewards include Legendary and Exotic gear.[2]

List of Strikes

Destiny

Strike Level Location Expansion/Update PlayStation Exclusive Final Boss Strike-Specific Loot
The Devils' Lair 8 Cosmodrome, Earth Base Game No Sepiks Prime None
The Summoning Pits 10 Ocean of Storms, Moon Phogoth, the Untamed Devil's Dawn (Sniper rifle)
Mongrel Ogre's Grasps (Hunter gauntlets)
The Nexus 14 Ishtar Sink, Venus Sekrion, Nexus Mind or Sekrion, Subverted Mind Mark of the Nexus Undone (Titan mark)
Winter's Run Aksor, Archon Priest or Nixis, Hunger of Oryx Stolen Will (Shotgun)
Cerberus Vae III 20 Meridian Bay, Mars Valus Ta'aurc Treads Upon Stars (Scout rifle)
Dust Palace Until September 2015 The Psion Flayers Arc Flayer Mantle (Hunter cloak)
Solar Flayer Mantle (Hunter cloak)
Void Flayer Mantle (Hunter cloak)
Treads Upon Stars (Scout rifle)
The Will of Crota 16 Cosmodrome, Earth The Dark Below No Omnigul, Will of Crota Grasp of Malok (Pulse rifle)
The Undying Mind 20 Meridian Bay, Mars Until September 2015 The Undying Mind Imago Loop (Hand cannon)
Mark of the Undying Mind (Titan mark)
The Shadow Thief 20 Ocean of Storms, Moon House of Wolves No Taniks, the Scarred or Taniks Perfected Cloak of Taniks (Hunter cloak)
Baron's Ambition (Machine gun)
Does Not Bow (Auto rifle)
Fallen S.A.B.E.R. 36 Cosmodrome, Earth The Taken King No S.A.B.E.R.-2 Baron's Ambition (Machine gun)
Devouring Maw (Warlock helmet)
Shield Brothers Dreadnaught, Saturn Valus Mau'ual; Valus Tlu'urn Mau'ual's Maulers (Titan gauntlets)
Treads Upon Stars (Scout rifle)
The Sunless Cell Dreadnaught, Saturn Alak-Hul, the Darkblade Darkblade's Helm (Titan helmet)
Darkblade's Spite (Fusion rifle)
Echo Chamber Ishtar Sink, Venus Until October 2017 Theosyion, the Restorative Mind Imago Loop (Hand cannon)
Theosyion Vibrissae (Warlock gauntlets)
Blighted Chalice 36 Ocean of Storms, Moon April Update No Malok, Pride of Oryx Hood of Malok (Hunter helmet)
Sepiks Perfected 38 Cosmodrome, Earth Rise of Iron No Sepiks Perfected Devil's Dawn (Sniper rifle)
Sepiks Deposed Bond (Warlock bond)
The Abomination Heist Ocean of Storms, Moon Phogoth, the Untamed
The Wretched Eye Plaguelands, Earth Kovik, Splicer Priest; Kovik's Monster Devil's Dawn (Sniper rifle)
Anathema Cannon Mark (Titan mark)
Hood of Malok (Hunter helmet)

Destiny 2

Strike Power Level at Release Location Expansion/Update PlayStation Exclusive Expansion Locked Final Boss Nightfall-Specific Loot Availability
The Arms Dealer 200 European Dead Zone, Earth Base Game No No Bracus Zahn Tilt Fuse (Exotic Sparrow) Reworked
Savathûn's Song New Pacific Arcology, Titan Savathûn's Song Duty Bound (Legendary kinetic auto rifle) Vaulted
Exodus Crash Arcadian Valley, Nessus Thaviks, the Depraved Impact Velocity (Exotic Sparrow) Reworked
The Inverted Spire Protheon, Modular Mind Trichromatica (Exotic Ghost shell) Available
The Pyramidion Echo Mesa, Io Brakion, Genesis Mind Silicon Neuroma (Legendary kinetic sniper rifle) Vaulted
Lake of Shadows European Dead Zone, Earth Until Fall 2018 Grask, the Consumed The Militia's Birthright (Legendary kinetic grenade launcher) Reworked
Tree of Probabilities 230 Fields of Glass, Mercury Curse of Osiris No Yes Valus Thuun D.F.A. (Legendary kinetic hand cannon) Vaulted
A Garden World Dendron, Root Mind Universal Wavefunction (Exotic Jumpship) Vaulted
Strange Terrain 340 Hellas Basin, Mars Warmind No Yes Nokris, Herald of Xol BrayTech Osprey (Legendary rocket launcher) Vaulted
Will of the Thousands Xol, Will of the Thousands Worm God Incarnation (Legendary Transmat effect) Vaulted
The Insight Terminus 350 Arcadian Valley, Nessus Until Fall 2018 No Kargen, the Technocrat The Long Goodbye (Legendary energy sniper rifle) Available
Broodhold 400 Tangled Shore, Reef Forsaken Until Fall 2019 Yes In Anânh, Brood Queen None Vaulted
Warden of Nothing Prison of Elders, Reef No The Mad Warden Warden's Law (Legendary kinetic hand cannon) Available
The Hollowed Lair Tangled Shore, Reef The Fanatic Mindbender's Ambition (Legendary energy shotgun) Vaulted
The Corrupted 500 Dreaming City, Reef Sedia, The Corrupted Horror's Least (Legendary energy pulse rifle) Available
The Festering Core 750 Echo Mesa, Io Shadowkeep No (Practice Ended) No Baurisk, Envoy of Savathûn None Vaulted
The Scarlet Keep 790 Ocean of Storms, Moon Yes Hashladûn, Daughter of Crota None Available
The Disgraced 1060 Cosmodrome, Earth Beyond Light No Navôta, Eir Spawn None Available
The Glassway 1140 Rathmore Chaos, Europa Yes Belmon, Transcendent Mind None Available
The Devils' Lair 1100 Cosmodrome, Earth Season of the Chosen No Sepiks Prime None Available
Fallen S.A.B.E.R. S.A.B.E.R.-2 None Available
Proving Grounds 1230 Arcadian Valley, Nessus Yes Ignovun, Chosen of Caiatl None Available
The Lightblade 1430 Court of Savathûn, Throne World The Witch Queen Yes Alak-Hul, The Lightblade None Available
Birthplace of the Vile 1510 Heimiks, Warden of the Harvest None Available
The Arms Dealer (Rework) 1600 European Dead Zone, Earth Lightfall No Bracus Zahn None Available
Lake of Shadows (Rework) Gor'ath Gath None Available
HyperNet Current 1730 Neomuna, Neptune Yes Parthenios, Drifting Mind None Available
Liminality Disabled The Pale Heart, The Traveler The Final Shape Yes Kataxiia, Tormentor of the Ahamkara None Available

Rewards

These weapons and armor can be obtained randomly by completing matches of Nightfalls and Opening Vanguard Engrams in Destiny 2. They also can be focused at Zavala at the Tower for the price of a Vanguard Engram,   Legendary Shards, and   Glimmer.

Trivia

  • In-universe, Strike fire teams are named by a random generator. This generator must be periodically reset, or else it will produce bizarre designations such as "Babydog."[3]

List of appearances

Notes

  1. ^ During the initial weeks of Beyond Light's launch, the minimum Power Level was unintentionally set to 1100.

References