Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
The Guardian Ranks is a new system for players to engage with in Destiny 2. Guardian Ranks works as a sort of tutorial or guidance, giving players direction on what task to do next. Most long-term players will find their Guardian Rank to be quite high, while new players will be starting at the beginning. However, both can work to increase their Guardian Ranks and gain new prestige.
The Guardian Ranks are split into 11 individual ranks. Each rank will have several objectives in it and all must be completed before you can move up to the next rank. Your Guardian Rank will be displayed beside your gamertag whenever you’re in an activity. Credit to Light.gg for access to the Destiny 2 API for some of the later Guardian Ranks listed below.
Note that some objectives reset each season. Anything related to the Season's name, Seasonal Artifact, Commendations, and Power will reset. You will keep a portion of Commendations earned. Categories in bold will reset.
| Guardian Ranks | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 - New Light | ||
| All new players start as a New Light. This first level just explains what Guardian Ranks are for. If you're lost and need guidance on what to do next, Guardian Ranks is your guiding light. | ||
| 2 - Explorer | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Ranking Up | The Vanguard | Complete the New Light quest, A Guardian Rises. |
| 3 - Initiate | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Explore Neptune | First Contact | Complete First Contact mission. |
| Point of Contact | Meet the destination vendor on Neptune. | |
| Explore EDZ | Discover EDZ | Land in Earth's European Dead Zone, otherwise known as the EDZ, and speak with Devrim Kay, located in the belfry of Trostland Church. |
| EDZ Public Events | Complete 3 public events in the EDZ. | |
| Explore Nessus | Explore Nessus | Land on Nessus and meet the eccentric AI, Failsafe, located in the wreckage of the Exodus Black colony ship. |
| Patrols | Complete 1 patrol on Nessus. | |
| Lost Sectors | Complete 2 Lost Sectors on Nessus. | |
| 4 - Scout | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Light Subclasses | Learning Light | Complete the Learning Light quest. |
| Purchase Aspects | Purchase 2 Aspects from Ikora Rey | |
| Purchase Fragments | Purchase 3 Fragments from Ikora Rey. | |
| Light Subclasses | Complete a Light subclass quest from Ikora Rey. | |
| Gunsmith | Meet Banshee-44 | Talk to Banshee-44. |
| Glimmer | Collect Glimmer. | |
| Legendary Shards | Collect 9 Legendary Shards. | |
| Enhancement Cores | Complete Gunsmith bounties to earn Enhancement Cores. | |
| Arming Up | Purchase weapons from Banshee-44. | |
| Gear Modification | Shaders | Apply 3 shaders to your gear. |
| Upgrading Your Ghost | Equip an Economic or Tracking mod on your Ghost. | |
| 5 - Adventurer | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Exotic Quests | Acquire Riskrunner | Complete the Exotic weapon mission, Spark of Hope, to obtain Riskrunner. |
| Masterwork Riskrunner | Once the Riskrunner catalyst has been obtained, open Riskrunner's weapon details and apply the catalyst to the weapon. Upon completing the catalyst objectives, you will be able to upgrade Riskrunner to Masterwork. | |
| Playlists | Acquire Vanguard Bounties | Acquire 4 Vanguard bounties from Commander Zavala. |
| Vanguard Ops | Complete Vanguard Ops. | |
| Complete Vanguard Bounties | Complete 2 Vanguard bounties in Vanguard Ops. | |
| Commendations | Commend 2 other players in Vanguard Ops. | |
| Meet Lord Shaxx | Learn about the Crucible from Lord Shaxx. | |
| Meet Drifter | Learn about Gambit from the Drifter. | |
| Collection | Collect Weapons | Increase the number of Legendary weapons in your collection (9). |
| Collect Armor | Increase the number of Legendary armor pieces in your collection (10). | |
| 6 - Veteran | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Lightfall | First Contact | Complete First Contact mission. |
| Point of Contact | Meet the destination vendor on Neptune. | |
| Seasonal Journey | Season Rank | Increase your Season Rank to 7. |
| Seasonal Challenges | Complete 4 Seasonal Challenges from the current Season. | |
| Seasonal Artifact | Seasonal Artifact | Obtain the current Seasonal Artifact. |
| Seasonal Artifact Perks | Activate perks from your Seasonal Artifact. | |
| Artifact Power Bonus | Increase your Power bonus from the Seasonal Artifact. | |
| Gear Progression | Modify Armor | Equip slot-specific mods on armor. |
| Armor Energy | Increase the energy level of a piece of armor by 2. | |
| Masterwork Weapons | Increase the Masterwork level of a weapon by 2. | |
| Enhancement Materials | Acquire Enhancement Prisms. | |
| Power | Soft Cap | Increase your Power to the soft cap. |
| Vendor Challenges | Complete weekly vendor challenges to acquire powerful rewards. | |
| Trials | Trials Introduction | Talk to Saint-14 to learn about Trials of Osiris. |
| 7 - Elite | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Lightfall | Lightfall Campaign | Complete the Lightfall campaign. |
| Earn the Respect of Nimbus | Increase your vendor reputation with Nimbus to 3 in Neomuna. | |
| Weekly Campaign Missions | Complete the weekly Lightfall campaign mission in Neomuna. | |
| Seasonal Journey | Season Rank | Increase your Season Rank to 15. |
| Seasonal Challenges | Complete 8 Seasonal Challenges from the current Season. | |
| Ritual Table Reputation | Increase your reputation level with the seasonal vendor. | |
| Major Arcana Cards | Acquire Seasonal bonuses from Seasonal Challenges. | |
| Ex Diris | Defeat targets with the Exotic Grenade Launcher Ex Diris. | |
| Seasonal Playlist Rewards | Increase your reputation with the Vanguard Ops, Crucible, or Gambit vendors to 4. | |
| Seasonal Artifact | Seasonal Artifact Perks | Activate 5 perks from your Seasonal Artifact. |
| Artifact Power Bonus | Increase your Power bonus from the Seasonal Artifact to 5. | |
| Nightfall | Threats and Surges | Complete 3 Nightfalls while using a subclass that matches the current surge. |
| Platinum Rewards | Complete Nightfalls and earn 2 Platinum rewards. | |
| Champions | Unstoppable Champions | Stun 6 Unstoppable Champions. |
| Barrier Champions | Stun 6 Barrier Champions. | |
| Overload Champions | Stun 6 Overload Champions. | |
| Commendations | Liked | Increase your commendation score to 200. |
| 8 - Justiciar | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Lightfall | Lightfall - Legendary Part 1 | Complete the first four Lightfall campaign missions on Legendary difficulty. |
| Lightfall - Legendary Part 2 | Complete the last four Lightfall campaign missions on Legendary difficulty. | |
| Deep Contacts | Claim 6 reputation rewards from Nimbus. | |
| Weekly Campaign Missions | Complete 3 weekly campaign missions from the Lightfall campaign on Legend difficulty and acquire a team score of 100k. | |
| Seasonal Journey | Seasonal Ranks | Acquire 30 Seasonal ranks. |
| Ritual Table Reputation | Increase your reputation level with the seasonal vendor. | |
| Seasonal Challenges | Complete Seasonal Challenges. | |
| Major Arcana Cards | Acquire Seasonal bonuses from Seasonal Challenges. | |
| Power | Powerful Cap | Increase your Power to the powerful cap. |
| Pinnacle Rewards | Earn pinnacle rewars from Gambit, Nightfall, or Crucible weekly challenges. | |
| Seasonal Artifact | Seasonal Artifact Perks | Activate 10 perks from your Seasonal Artifact. |
| Artifact Power Bonus | Increase your Power bonus from the Seasonal Artifact to 8. | |
| Lost Sectors | Solo Legend Lost Sectors | Complete 5 Legend Lost sectors solo. |
| Collections | Exotic Arsenal | Increase the number of Exotic weapons in your collection to 10. |
| Exotic Armorer | Collect 10 Exotic armor pieces. | |
| Titles | Claim a Title | |
| Commendations | Appreciated | Acquire a commendation score of 477. |
| 9 - Vanquisher | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Seasonal Journey | Seasonal Ranks | Acquire 50 Seasonal ranks. |
| Seasonal Challenges | Complete 15 Seasonal Challenges. | |
| Ritual Table Reputation | Increase your reputation with the seasonal vendor. | |
| Nightfall | Legend Difficulty | Complete a Nightfall on Legend difficulty. |
| Legendary Platinum Rewards | Complete a Nightfall on Legend with Platinum rewards. | |
| Legend Score | Complete a Nightfall on Legend with a score of 115,000 or better. | |
| Seasonal Artifact | Seasonal Artifact Perks | Activate 12 perks from your Seasonal Artifact. |
| Artifact Power Bonus | Increase your Power bonus from the Seasonal Artifact to 12. | |
| Lost Sectors | Flawless, Solo, & Legendary | Complete a Legend Lost Sector solo without dying. |
| Endgame | Root of Nightmares | Complete the Root of Nightmares raid. |
| Crota's End | Complete the Crota's End raid. | |
| Ghosts of the Deep | Complete the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon. | |
| Spire of the Watcher | Complete the Spire of the Watcher dungeon. | |
| Commendations | Respected | Increase your commendation score to 910 or higher. |
| Collection | Exotic Armor | Collect 15 Exotic armor pieces. |
| Exotic Weapons | Collect 15 Exotic weapons. | |
| Titles | Claim 2 Titles. | |
| 10 - Exemplar | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Seasonal Journey | Seasonal Ranks | Acquire 75 Seasonal ranks. |
| Seasonal Challenges | Complete 25 Seasonal Challenges. | |
| Ritual Table Reputation | Increase your reputation with the seasonal vendor. | |
| Seasonal Difficulty | Complete the current seasonal activity or Exotic quest on the highest difficulty. | |
| Power | Pinnacle Cap | Increase your Power to the pinnacle cap. |
| Raids | Last Wish | Complete the Last Wish raid. |
| Garden of Salvation | Complete the Garden of Salvation raid. | |
| Deep Stone Crypt | Complete the Deep Stone Crypt raid. | |
| Vault of Glass | Complete the Vault of Glass raid. | |
| Vow of the Disciple | Complete the Vow of the Disciple raid. | |
| King's Fall | Complete the King's Fall raid. | |
| Root of Nightmares | Complete the Root of Nightmares raid. | |
| Dungeons | Shattered Throne | Complete the Shattered Throne dungeon. |
| Pit of Heresy | Complete the Pit of Heresy dungeon. | |
| Prophecy | Complete the Prophecy dungeon. | |
| Grasp of Avarice | Complete the Grasp of Avarice dungeon. | |
| Duality | Complete the Duality dungeon. | |
| Spire of the Watcher | Complete the Spire of the Watcher dungeon. | |
| Ghosts of the Deep | Complete the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon. | |
| Nightfall | Master Nightfall | Complete a Nightfall on Master difficulty or higher. |
| Nightfall Score | Complete a Nightfall at Master difficult or higher with a score of 180,000 or more. | |
| Grandmaster Nightfall | Complete the featured Nightfall on Grandmaster difficulty. | |
| Lost Sectors | Master Solo Lost Sectors | Complete 5 Master Lost Sectors solo. |
| Darkness | Dark Wielder | Unlock all Darkness subclasses. |
| Stasis Collector | Collect 5 Stasis Fragments. | |
| Strand Collector | Collect 5 Strand Fragments for a single character. | |
| Dark Mastery | Complete a Grandmaster Nightfall with a Darkness subclass equipped. | |
| Collections | Catalyst Collector | Fully Masterwork 25 Exotic weapons using catalysts. |
| Armor Collector | Collect 20 pieces of Exotic armor. | |
| Titles | Claim 5 Titles. | |
| Exotic Weapons | Collect 90 Exotic weapons. | |
| Commendations | Cherished | Achieve a commendation score of 1530. Leadership commendations from difficult activities provide the most progress to your commendation score. |
| Coach | Receive 75 ally and leadership commendations. Leadership commendations provide bonus progress. | |
| 11 - Paragon | ||
| Category | Objective | Description |
| Grandmaster | Conqueror | Complete the Triumphs to acquire the Conqueror Title. |
| Gilded Conqueror | Complete the Triumphs to gild the Conqueror Title. | |
| Endgame | Root of Nightmares Mastery | Complete the most recently released raid on Master difficulty. |
| Solo Spelunker | Complete the most recently released dungeon solo. | |
| Master Spelunker | Complete the most recently released dungeon on Master difficulty. | |
| Lost Sectors | Master Staying Alive | Complete a Master Lost Sector solo without dying. |
| Collections | Titles | Claim 7 Titles. |
| Commendations | Beloved | Achieve a commendation score of 1800. |
| Shepherd | Receive 200 ally and leadership commendations. Leadership commendations provide bonus progress. | |
There are 11 Guardian Ranks to work through in Destiny 2. Unlike other ranks such as Vanguard, Crucible, or Gambit, Guardian Ranks do not level up by simply accruing XP or playing activities. Players must complete specific tasks in order to increase their Guardian Rank.
As seen in the table above, the types of objectives players encounter at each rank will vary. There will also be some hurdles to overcome, specifically surviving Legend and Master Lost Sectors without dying.
You will note that some of the Guardian Rank objectives are presented in-game with different colored boxes. These objectives are limited to the season and will expire when a season ends. Which brings us too…
Each season your Guardian Rank will reset but you will still display your previous highest Guardian Rank. To keep this rank, you must reach it again within the new season.
As mentioned above, some objectives are tied to seasons, which means you’ll lose those objectives and be issued new ones. These typically relate to seasonal activities, Season Pass ranks, Artifiact mods, and other temporary things.
Additionally, you will lose a significant portion of your Commendation score and must earn it back. At the end of Season of Defiance I had 2,112 points and at the start of Season of the Deep I was down to 505. This amounts to a roughly 75 percent reduction in your Commendation score.
One issue players may run into is the Guardian Rank 8 challenge called Pinnacle Rewards. This requires players obtain two Pinnacle rewards from Gambit, Nightfall, or Crucible weekly challenges. Unfortunately, Powerful Gear (Tier 1) rewards (the ones that are Exotic engrams) do not count. This means the only one that counts is the one for earning 200,000 by completing Nightfalls.
As far as I can tell, as of Season of the Deep, this is the only Pinnacle reward in the core playlist. You'll need to complete it on two characters or wait for the weekly reset.
With a firm grasp on the Guardian Ranks system, you’ll be one step closer to maxing it out and showing other players your expertise in Destiny 2. Remember to pay it forward and help out others, which you can do through the new Commendation system. Read more explanations and info for other mechanics on our Destiny 2 strategy guide.