Destiny 2 Season 23 release date and latest news on Season of the Wish

August 2024 · 13 minute read

When is the Destiny 2 Season 23 release date? With the news of layoffs and the future of Destiny looking unsteady, eyes have turned to Destiny 2 Season 23 to usher The Final Shape in with a bang. Whether it will deliver remains to be seen, but Season 22: Season of the Witch is one of the best updates to date, setting a high bar for the final ever Season, Destiny 2 Season of the Wish. If you’re as excited as we are after the ending to Season of the Witch, then you’re in the right place to learn everything you need to know about the next Season and all the changes it’s set to bring.

Destiny 2 is fast approaching its last Season after many, many years, as the Destiny 2 The Final Shape release date looms, preceding the introduction of the Destiny 2 Episodes format. That means Bungie has one more chance to wow us with seasonal content, and the surprise announcement of Season of the Wish after an in-game mystery has started things off on the right foot. So, grab the best Destiny 2 weapons or best Destiny 2 PvP weapons for one last rodeo in one of the best FPS games, at least before we see some major changes.

Destiny 2 Season 23 release date

The Destiny 2 Season 23 release date is Tuesday, November 28, 2023, at 9am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CEST, based on the in-game battle pass timer for the current Season and official confirmation from Bungie.

With all but confirmed delays to The Final Shape’s release date schedule, Destiny 2 Season 23 is on course to be one of, if not the longest Season in the history of the game. Instead of the typical three month cadence players have become accustomed to, S23: Season of the Wish could last upwards of seven to eight months.

The only other time this has happened was during Season of the Lost (oddly another Awoken themed Season), which was extended to a staggering 182 days after The Witch Queen was delayed by five months. However, during this extended Season, Bungie released the well-received 30th Anniversary Pack celebrating the history of the studio with unique new activities and gear to collect. This helped plug the gap in what would otherwise have been a significant content-drought.

Season 23 likely won’t have this benefit, unfortunately, as this unconfirmed delay to The Final Shape appears to be rather last minute in the midst of layoffs across Bungie. As a result, we’re curious as to how, if at all, this gap could be filled to keep players engaged until the next expansion. After all, player engagement has been cited as the issue behind the current turmoil. In fact, the Destiny 2 player count has hit an all-time low, despite Season 22 being one of the best Seasons to date, painting a daunting picture for Season of the Wish and beyond.

Nevertheless, Bungie promises an “unforgettable” Destiny 2 DLC in The Final Shape, and Season 23 will be key in bringing this about. We can only hope that players will stick around, whether The Final Shape is delayed and Season of the Wish is extended or not.

Destiny 2 Season 23 dungeon release time

The Destiny 2 Season 23 dungeon will be released on Friday, December 1, 2023, at 9am PST / 12pm EST / 5pm GMT / 6pm CEST, just three days after the launch of Season of the Wish.

Once it’s live, players will be able to group up and take on the mysterious new Season of the Wish dungeon. Read on below for more details on what this new dungeon is all about.

With the Power level cap not being increased with each Season anymore, the dungeons (like raids) can be released much earlier, as players don’t have to grind new, higher level gear. This means you’ve got three days to sort out any builds before diving into the daunting new dungeon – especially if you’re looking to be the first team to beat it. 

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Destiny 2 Season 23 story

After the surprise Season of the Witch ending, involving completing the last Imbaru Engine puzzle and unlocking an important new cutscene, we know that Destiny 2 Season 23: Season of the Wish is all about a new Ahamkara – a hidden spawn of Riven, no less.

With the reveal of the final 15th wish for the Last Wish raid after over five years of hunting, we’ve finally resolved this mystery, leading to the threat of a new-born Ahamkara. This delivers on the Ahamkara egg plot that has been sat in storage for around two years now (though all credit goes to our favorite villain Savathun for springing this on us now of all times).

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Nevertheless, this means that the Season of the Wish story is set to delve more into the Ahamkara wish dragons. Given the title, it’s possible that we’ll make use of the Ahamkara’s wish-granting powers ourselves to find a way into the Traveler or to setup our way of defeating the Witness in The Final Shape. After all, Ahamkara magic is second to none, though it doesn’t always pan out the way you’d hope, so proceed with caution.

In the very brief Destiny 2 Season 23 teaser trailer, it’s clear we’ll be going back to the Wish Wall in the Last Wish raid, likely to use the 15th wish. Given the connection of the new Ahamkara to Riven, there’s a lot of narrative potential, especially with Savathun and Mara Sov in the mix, both of which have a history with the Ahamkara. However, this does mean we’ve got some experts on the matter, which will no doubt come in handy as we look to perfectly craft a wish that won’t be thrown back in our faces later down the line.

Outside of this focus on Ahamkara and the Dreaming City, Season of the Wish could pay homage to the Forsaken expanion, with references to Cayde and how much Crow has moved on from Uldren Sov. After all, Forsaken was the starting point for this intriguing Ahamkara story, and we have an egg of Riven.

Unfortunately, we’re unlikely to see any resolution to Savathun’s return or the looming threat Xivu Arath quite yet, as these storylines are largely on-hold until The Final Shape and the Episodes which begin afterwards. With no other Hive threats, a Season focusing on the Scorn, the Ahamkara, and finally finding a path into the Traveler makes the most sense.

No matter what path the weekly story ends up taking, Bungie can’t afford to miss the mark ahead of The Final Shape.

Destiny 2 Season 23 release date: The Season of the Wish promotional art, depicting an Ahamkara emerging from a portal behind three Guardians.

Destiny 2 Season 23 news

We can expect Destiny 2 Season 23 to include elements of the widely praised Season of the Witch, including a more dynamic Seasonal activity akin to Savathun’s Spire, while continuing the new upgrade structure not tied to weekly progression.

As for other content, two brand-new armor sets, an arsenal of new Legendary weapons, and at least one Exotic weapon will be arriving in Season 23, so long as Bungie sticks to the traditional battle pass structure. From the Season of the Wish promotional art, we can see that at least one set of armor and weapons is very much Awoken in style, with sleek curves and gold inlays.

Destiny 2 Season 23: An image of the Dragon's Breath rocket launcher against a hazy blue background.

From a Destiny 2 blog post, we know that the D1 Dragon’s Breath Exotic rocket launcher will be returning in the Season 23 pass, though it’s not clear whether this is in addition to a brand-new Exotic weapon or not. However, since it’s been completely reworked, it’s almost like a new Exotic anyhow. It’s Burn the World perk caused enemies to take Scorch damage to the target and nearby enemies periodically after building fuel charges, gained by no firing the weapon for a short period. On the other hand, High Octane causes Ignitions to instantly refill the rocket with two fuel charges, as well as reloading the weapon when at full fuel stacks. Lastly, there is an Exotic Catalyst quest for the Dragon’s Breath which adds the Pyromancer perk, passively regenerating fuel faster and causing defeated enemies to spawn Firesprites.

Most exciting, however, is that Season 23 will also be adding a new dungeon. While players will unfortunately have to buy this content separately from the Season (through the Lightfall Dungeon Key), it’s always one of the standout new content additions. Given the theme of the dungeons are typically based around the narrative and setting for the current Season, you would expect the Season of the Wish dungeon to be based in the Dreaming City. However, although the main story focuses on this location, we already have a Dreaming City dungeon in the game. This suggests that the new Destiny 2 Season 23 dungeon could break tradition. With that said, we, and many in the community, think it would be great if the Season 23 dungeon took us to Europa or Neomuna instead to expand on these areas before we take the plunge into the heart of the Traveler.

Destiny 2 Season 23 release date: An image of a work-in-progress design for the Fireteam Finder LFG system, with several cards for different modes.

Destiny 2 Season 23 changes and updates

So far, these are the following changes, updates, and new features coming in Destiny 2 Season 23:

Perhaps the most important new addition in D2 Season 23 is the release of the in-game Fireteam Finder LFG system at long last. Players have been requesting this feature for years and Bungie has been working on it for nearly as long. After a handful of delays, it’s finally going to be added. This means you’ll be able to group up for content much easier and much quicker since you won’t have to venture out into different websites and apps. Thankfully, it’s perfect timing to put it to the test as well given a new dungeon is on the way.

Another great quality-of-life feature on the way is the ability to access your Vault from Orbit. Soon, the days of having to hop back to the Tower or open up the Destiny mobile app will be gone. Well, partly, as the app is still necessary for grabbing items from other character’s inventories. Nevertheless, this will be very, very helpful, particularly in PvP and endgame PvE activities where we’re often changing our equipment.

As for other changes, there are plenty of sandbox changes on the way, including Exotic buffs and nerfs, new weapons added and removed from the loot pool, the Chivalric Fire sword Ritual Weapon, and even a new Thorn Catalyst.

Trials weapons:

Iron Banner weapons:

Nightfall weapons:

The standouts here, aside from the potentially strong new weapons, are the many meta weapons leaving, including The Immortal and The Swarm. Yes, that means you don’t have long left to farm for these weapons before they leave the game for a while, so get back out there Guardian. On the other hand, the popular Riiswalker shotgun is returning to the Iron Banner pool, so you can farm for a better roll or even your first drop if you’re yet to get it.

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To pair with this new loot pool, we’ll also be seeing several new additions to the PvP playlist following the work of the Crucible Strike Team. Firstly, The Citadel, an iconic PvP map set in the Dreaming City, will finally be making a return after it was vaulted with the release of the Beyond Light expansion in November 2020. In even more exciting news, however, Destiny 2 Season 23 brings us one step closer to Sparrow Racing League with the addition of a new Sparrow Control mode. This mode is exactly what you think it will be; as explained by Bungie, “it’s Control, but with Sparrows”. Nevertheless, it sounds like a fun new mode to spice up the PvP scene.

Keeping up the theme of PvP overhauls, D2 Season 23 also brings with it changes to the rewards structure for Trials of Osiris and Competitive. Casual Trials players rejoice as new rewards are being added to the post-game loot stream depending on your card wins, so you won’t have to go Flawless. This includes Trials armor at three wins, and a Trials weapon at five wins.

Likewise, starting in Season 23, all retired Competitive rewards will be available for focusing at Shaxx in the Tower. This means you’ll be able to get your hands on the likes of Rose even if you missed it the first time around.

That’s not all though, as Season of the Wish also starts the process of removing Legendary Shards. To simplify the in-game economy, Bungie has decided to phase out this currency, and this begins with a major change in Season 23. Firstly, vendors will no longer be asking for Legendary Shards. That’s right, Legendary Shards won’t be used to purchase items in Season of the Wish. Instead, vendors like the Gunsmith will use Engrams. Legendary Shards will not be fully removed until The Final Shape.

Season of the Wish will also fix one of the largest complaints when it comes to build-crafting – limited Ghost mod energy. With Ghost mods being so expensive in terms of energy consumption, players generally use the same two or three mods. However, in Season of the Wish, Ghost mods see a large reduction in energy cost, letting you lot more mods into your little helper. This should allow for a more diverse range of upgrades than simply increasing XP gains and attuning your armor drops.

Running Lost Sectors is not the most rewarding activity, despite it being pretty much the only way to get new Exotic gear right now aside from Focusing. That’s why it’s great news that Season of the Wish will be making Lost Sectors slightly more rewarding by introducing additional rewards for completing them solo. Firstly, Gunsmith Engrams will be added as a reward to all difficulties, while Foundry weapons will also drop from Legend and Master difficulty. While this effectively adds more World loot pool drops, which aren’t all that appealing, a few are standout weapons, such as Battle Scar.

These Season 23 Lost Sector rewards are based on the following schedule, repeating after the fourth day:

Well, that’s all the latest news ahead of the Destiny 2 Season 23 release date. While the story and new content is still shrouded in mystery, Season of the Witch has been a stellar return to form, so hopefully S23 can keep the momentum going into the all-important expansion. After all, this is the final Season. So, suit up with the best Destiny 2 Titan build, Destiny 2 Warlock build, and Destiny 2 Hunter build so you’re ready for what’s next.

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