Here’s how Destiny 2 will honor Destiny veterans

By the time Destiny 2 launches in September, it will have been three years since the debut of the original Destiny. While Bungie and Activision are surely hoping the sequel will bring in a lot of new people, longtime Destiny players have been clamoring for Destiny 2 to recognize their achievements — and the fact that those folks have been there from the start, man.

Bungie is keeping some of its cards close to the vest in this area, both to preserve a sense of discovery for Destiny players entering Destiny 2 and to ensure they can enjoy subtle “you had to be there” nods to Destiny’s legacy, the studio said today in a blog post. But since a few of the acknowledgments are tied to feats that players can still accomplish in Destiny — for now, anyway — Bungie did reveal some details on how it will pay tribute to its most dedicated fans.

Yup, you guessed it: emblems.

Destiny 2 will memorialize players’ achievements in Destiny with at least seven emblems. Four of them are impossible to get now if you haven’t already obtained them, since they correspond to accomplishments from the game’s first two years of life (September 2014 to September 2016). But you’ve still got a few weeks for the other three.

• Laurel Triumphant: You completed a Moment of Triumph during Destiny’s first year.
• Laurea Prima II: You completed all 10 Moments of Triumph during Destiny’s first year.
• Slayer of Oryx: You owned The Taken King and completed a Moment of Triumph during Destiny’s second year.
• Heard the Call: You owned The Taken King and completed all 8 Moments of Triumph during Destiny’s second year.
• Young Wolf: You owned Rise of Iron and reached Rank 2 in the Age of Triumph record book.
• Saladin’s Pride: You owned Rise of Iron and reached Rank 7 in the Age of Triumph record book.
• Lore Scholar: Your achieved a Grimoire score of over 5,000 in Destiny 1.

Remember how we said “a few weeks” above? While Destiny 2 doesn’t arrive until Sept. 6 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Bungie needs time to prepare to launch the game. To that end, the studio will lock Destiny character data associated with these feats on Aug. 1. (You’ll still be able to play the game beyond then, of course, but if you haven’t earned these emblems by that date, you’ll have lost your chance.)

For those looking to fill out their Age of Triumph record book, Bungie laid out the pre-August dates for a number of relevant activities. Reaching Rank 7 isn’t just tied to the Saladin’s Pride emblem — it also comes with a deal for a unique Age of Triumph T-shirt at the Bungie Store. That offer also expires Aug. 1. You can check out the list of dates, as well as screenshots of the emblems, in Bungie’s blog post.

As for the Crucible, Bungie gave two more important dates: the start dates for the final Iron Banner (Aug. 1) and Trials of Osiris (Aug. 11) events in Destiny. “Our two competitive end game experiences will be going into hibernation before reemerging to spread their beautiful wings in unexpected ways in Destiny 2,” said Bungie.

And in case you play Destiny on Xbox, you might be interested to know that all of the game’s remaining PlayStation-exclusive content will cross over sometime in October. Items from Destiny: The Taken King will make their way to Xbox 360 and Xbox One, while stuff from Destiny: Rise of Iron will only jump to Xbox One. Bungie said it will announce a specific date later.

For more on Destiny 2, check out our hands-on impressions of the Windows PC version. A beta for the game will be available in July on consoles, and in late August on PC.