Destiny 2 Season of the Chosen introduces new Battlegrounds mode

Destiny 2
(Image credit: Bungie)

Destiny 2 Season of the Chosen begins next week, introducing a new strike and a new mode, as well as bringing back content from the original game.

Destiny 2 Season of the Chosen, the game's 13th season of content, begins on February 9 and is due to run until May 11, 2021. The new update introduces Battlegrounds, a matchmade activity for three players who'll be facing off for some ritual combat. You'll also be able to drop back into the Devil's Lair and Fallen S.A.B.E.R strikes, which are arriving in Destiny 2 after their initial appearance in the original Destiny. And if you're keen for something brand new, the Proving Grounds strike will unlock later in the season. You can get a closer look at all of the new modes in the trailer below.

Elsewhere, you'll be able to pick up plenty of new gear, with season pass owners getting instant access to the Praefectus armor set and Ticuu's Divination, an Exotic bow that charges up a bunch of seeking arrows that can take out several targets at once. On top of that, there are more than two dozen other Exotic, legendary, and ritual weapons to dig up, some returning Forsaken and Shadowkeep guns among them.

Narratively, the new Season brings Emperor Calus back into the fray through his daughter Empress Caiatl, who's come seeking an alliance. Diplomacy seems to be a tricky business within the world of Destiny 2, however, and it looks as though negotiations probably won't be going particularly smoothly. 

Destiny 2 Season 13

(Image credit: Bungie)

The full roadmap for the Season of the Chosen confirms some other goodies and events coming in the months ahead. Launch day will bring the Behemoth and Hailstone Battlegrounds – the first two in a series of Battlegrounds variants due in February – as well as the two returning Strikes and new Stasis Aspect quests. Another Battlegrounds update will follow on February 16, with the fourth and seemingly final one to come on February 23 alongside the first Iron Banner of the season. 

The new Proving Grounds Strike won't arrive until March 23 for season pass owners, or March 30 for all players. To round things out, another cycle of the Guardian Games event is planned for late April and will carry the season into early May, with more to come in the lead-up to Season 14. One tantalizing addition not on the roadmap is the new Exotic quest tied to the iconic weapons manufacturer Tex Mechanica, the maker of The Last Word and Chaperone. We don't know what this quest will get us or when it will arrive, but anything Tex Mechanica is bound to be awesome, so it can't come soon enough. 

Jumping back into Bungie's phenomenon? Here are some Destiny 2 tips to get you back up to speed. 

Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.