Destiny 2 Joker's Wild: Gambit Prime, The Reckoning, and everything you need to know

Destiny 2 Joker's Wild is the second DLC in the game's three-part annual pass, and it's all about the Drifter, Gambit's mysterious ringleader. Joker's Wild delves into the Drifter's past and his ties to the Nine, and it greatly expands the world of Gambit with new activities and rewards. So, we've put together a roundup of everything included in the DLC. 

Before that, here's a quick reminder: where Destiny 2 Joker's Wild is a paid DLC, Destiny 2 Season of the Drifter is a free seasonal update which overlaps with Joker's Wild. In other words, you have to pay for Joker's Wild, but everyone gets the Season of the Drifter. 

Gambit Prime will crank the PvPvE mode to 11 

Gambit Prime is the "new Gambit experience" Bungie has been teasing for months, and it looks to be a doozy. It's a more hardcore version of Gambit with different rules and rewards. It's a four-player mode where matches are one round, Primevals are much stronger, and you can siphon Motes of Light from the enemy team. Gambit Prime will also feature new maps, with additional maps arriving every week through April. Gambit Prime private matches will also be added on April 2.

Gambit Prime roles are firmly defined and supported by armor  

The biggest difference between Gambit and Gambit Prime is that Prime has clearly defined roles. You don't queue for these roles, but by equipping specific armor sets with unique Gambit Prime perks - which you can learn more about here - players can specialize in one of four roles: 

  •  Reaper, a PvE expert who focuses on killing groups of enemies and big targets  
  •  Collector, a mobile player who cleans up enemies while grabbing and banking Motes of Light 
  •  Sentry, a defensive specialist who defends the Mote bank from invaders and Taken blockers 
  •  Invader, a PvP enthusiast who invades the enemy team to steal and siphon their motes  

Here's how to get Gambit Prime armor

Gambit Prime weapons look snazzy 

On top of role-defining armor sets, Gambit Prime will introduce a new suite of weapons to chase. We've already seen the Spare Rations hand cannon, Sole Survivor sniper rifle, and Doomsday grenade launcher, and there also seems to be a Gambit Prime gun for every weapon type. These weapons don't have Gambit Prime-specific perks, but they can roll with some new weapon perks like Multikill Clip and Overflow. 

Gambit Prime is the key to The Reckoning 

Gambit Prime isn't the only new activity coming in Joker's Wild. By completing Gambit Prime, you'll gain access to The Reckoning, a new four-player pinnacle PvE activity. The Reckoning is set in the realm of the Nine inside the Drifter's planet-sized cargo, and pits Gambit Prime teams against unending enemies in a timed horde mode. The Reckoning will be split into escalating tiers, with tier one arriving on March 5, tier two on March 8, and tier 3 on March 15. On top of the aforementioned role-defining Gambit Prime armor, The Reckoning can also dish out Gambit Prime weapons.

Once you complete Gambit Prime and unlock The Reckoning, you'll be able to play queue up either mode independently. You won't have to play a match of Gambit Prime every time you want to play The Reckoning. 

Here's a full guide to Destiny 2 The Reckoning

The Destiny 2 Thorn Exotic quest is coming on March 12 

Thorn is back, and it's a doozy. It's got the same piercing, poisonous rounds you remember, and a new Exotic park called Soul Devourer on top. Here's how to grab the Destiny 2 Thorn for yourself. 

A new Allegiance quest is also coming March 12 

This two-part quest asks you side with the Drifter or the Vanguard, and it comes with all kinds of story implications. Everyone and their dog has a hand in it - the Drifter, Aunor, the emissary of the Nine. Your choice will affect the story and content you experience in the future, so choose wisely. 

If you want to ally with the Drifter, check out our guide to the Destiny 2 Drifter Allegiance quest. For you Vanguard-minded types, hit up we've got a guide on the Destiny 2 Vanguard Allegiance quest

Destiny 2 Xur Bounties, now called Invitations of the Nine, are coming March 15 

The Drifter is the focus of Joker's Wild, but so is his relationship with the Nine. So as you can imagine, ol' Xur, a merchant of the Nine, is a key character in all this. On March 15, Xur will offer players an "Invitation of the Nine" which turns into a bounty called "Into the Unknown." This will be the first of nine weekly bounties which will reward "new lore and powerful rewards."  

Here's how to complete the current Destiny 2 Invitations of the Nine

Power Surge bounties will shoot you to 640 Power 

To ensure annual pass owners are ready to play the new content in Joker's Wild, Bungie will offer a set of Power Surge bounties which reward a set of blue-grade 640 Power gear. These will be available from the Drifter, and judging from the bounty we saw in the ViDoc, they won't be too hard to complete.  

Austin Wood

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.