Destiny 2 Flashpoints guide: What they are, what you do and what you get

A Flashpoint is a weekly series of Destination Activities in Destiny 2, courtesy of Cayde-6. Basically, they’re things to do at a certain place. Completing Flashpoints, like so many things in Destiny 2, will get you loot.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to find Flashpoints, how to complete them, the achievement and trophy you’ll unlock for completing your first Flashpoint — and we’ll give you a sense of the rewards you might get.

How to find Flashpoints

To unlock Flashpoints, you’ll need to finish Destiny 2’s campaign. Without spoiling anything for those who haven’t, completing the campaign unlocks a lot of content. Flashpoints are just one example.

When you finish the campaign, you’ll have several things to do, including speaking to several non-playable characters in a certain social area. That process will unlock even more things to do in the planets (and, sure, moons and, sure, large space rocks) that you visit during the Destiny 2 campaign. When you’ve finished that, load the Director and select “Destinations,” as we did in the image above. Hold LR/LT (or its PC equivalent), and you’ll load Destiny 2’s Milestones menu. There, you’ll find the Flashpoint of the week.

Bungie/Activision

How to complete Flashpoints fast

In the days after Destiny 2’s release, Flashpoint: EDZ became available. To complete it, you need to perform a series of actions that fill up a progress bar. In Flashpoint: EDZ, you need to “complete public events in the EDZ” on Earth. Making progress is as simple as loading the Director, selecting Earth and looking for Public Events to take part in. Every one of them contributes to your Flashpoint Milestone.

Heroic Public Events — harder, but more rewarding versions of the standard fights — fill up the meter even faster. Be sure to read our Heroic Public Events guide to learn how to trigger all eight types.

How fast can you complete them? Based on our experience, it depends.

Grid View

As you can see in the gallery above, which is a series of screenshots we took between completing Public Events, the percentage increase varies. Here’s what you’ll see:

• Between the first and second screenshot, we completed a Public Event solo. The reward: 15 percent.
• Between the second and third screenshot, we played but did not succeed in fulfilling all of the requirements for a Public Event (again, solo). It ended, and we got a loot chest, but it wasn’t the real ending. The reward: 7 percent.
• Between the third and fourth screenshot, we did the same as the previous screenshot. The reward: 7 percent.
• Between the fourth and fifth screenshot, we completed a Heroic Public Event with other players. The reward: 25 percent.
• Between the fifth and sixth screenshot, we completed another Heroic Public Event with other players. The reward: More than enough to compete Flashpoint: EDZ. (But also probably 25 percent.)

Bungie/Activision

Update Sept. 12, 2017: After Destiny 2’s first big update, patch 1.03, we consulted the Director and discovered a new one: Flashpoint: Nessus, where you need to “complete public events on Nessus.” Nothing surprising about that, since the update coincided with the weekly public event. We also confirmed that the percentage for successfully completing a Heroic Public Event still nudged us 25 percent toward our goal.

Flashpoint loot and rewards

Bungie/Activision

After completing a Flashpoint, return to Cayde-6 in the Tower. Speak to him, and you’ll receive a reward, like we did: a Luminous Planetary Engram.

Flashpoint achievement and trophy

Complete a Flashpoint, and you’ll receive the “In a Flash” achievement or trophy, depending on your Destiny 2 platform of choice. It’s Legendary, just like its loot.