As the long 6-month wait for The Final Shape reaches its halfway point, the Guardian Games have returned to Destiny 2. This is the fifth time the Guardian classes have competed against each other and this year’s event – nicknamed Guardian Games All-Stars – is set to be the biggest and best one yet. With more fleshed-out Guardian Games playlists, a new Medal and Contender Card type, a new Memento to earn, and an entirely new vehicle class available to all players for free, there’s plenty to sink your teeth into as you celebrate class conflict this March.
Here’s everything you need to know about Guardian Games All-Stars, the 2024 version of Guardian Games in Destiny 2.
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Guardian Games All-Stars 2024 Start and End Dates
First things first, when does Guardian Games 2024 start and when does it end? Guardian Games All-Stars begins in Destiny 2 on March 5th and will last 3 weeks until March 26th. During that period, any player, including those who are completely F2P, can experience all of the trials and tribulations that the Guardian Games bring.
Like like with every event in Destiny 2, Guardian Games All-Stars has bought an impressive batch of new cosmetics to purchase with Silver and Bright Dust in the Eververse Store. The main items, as always, are the flashy new Universal Armor Ornaments for each class which, this year, are themed after wrestling personas based on each of the classes’ animal icons (lion for Titans, snake for Hunters, and eagle for Warlocks). There are also some new Sparrows, Ghosts, Emotes and everything else you would expect… alongside a few other goodies we’ll discuss later.
Zavala has also been rooting through the Tower’s broom cupboard because the Tower has been dolled up for the celebrations. Between the bright, vibrant colours of the class banners and the magnificent display of the podium, just standing around the Tower will certainly bring out your competitive spirit this year.
Eververse Guardian Games 2024 Armour
How to Start Guardian Games All-Stars 2024
As for how to start the Guardian Games All-Stars questline in Destiny 2, you simply need to log in at any point during the 3 weeks that the event is available and then go speak to Eva Levante in the Tower.
She’s responsible for giving you this year’s version of the Guardian Games Class Item, which all players must equip if they want to participate in the event and earn medallions for their team. Once you’ve replaced your class item with the Allstar variant that Eva gives you, she’ll offer you the Best in Class quest. This is the introductory questline for Guardian Games All-Stars and will give all players a bit of guidance on what activities to focus on and how to donate medals to the podium.
Completing the preliminary steps of the quest will allow you to return to Eva and claim your Medallion Case, an important key item used to store your vast amount of medals during the event. She’ll also give you one free copy of this year’s new Guardian Games weapon, the Hullabloo Heavy Grenade Launcher, but we’ll discuss that in more detail later.
Hunters vs Warlocks vs Titans
Best of the Best: Guardian Games Activities and Rewards
Medallions and Contender Cards
The main driver of Guardian Games, and the way that you contribute to the ongoing bout of playful class warfare, is through Medallions and Contender Cards. Medallions are the core resource in Guardian Games and they’re what you insert into the podium at the Tower. There are five varieties of Medal – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and the newly introduced Diamond – which will give you various rewards when banking them at the podium, with rarer Medallions giving better rewards on average.
Some Medallions, like Bronze and Silver, will drop randomly from completing playlist and Guardian Games activities while you’re wearing the Allstar Class Item. Meanwhile, the Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Medallions will only drop from completing special Contender Cards, premium bounties offered by Eva.
The Podium of Champions
Contender Cards come in three varieties: regular Contender Cards, Platinum Cards, and Diamond Cards. Ordinary Contender Cards cost 1000 Glimmer to purchase and will give you Gold Medallions for completing objectives in Strikes, Crucible, Gambit, or Seasonal Content. On the other hand, Platinum Cards will run you 1500 Glimmer and are geared more towards endgame activities without matchmaking like Trials, Nightfalls (which can also be completed in the Competitive Nightfall playlist), Dungeons, Raids, and Legendary Lost Sectors. These will give you Platinum Medallions per completion.
New for Guardian Games 2024 are Diamond Cards. There is only one Diamond Card available and it’s intended for endgame PvE. This is a harder, more restrictive version of the Raid Platinum Card where you’re asked to complete all encounters in a Raid while every member of the fireteam is in the same class. As a reward, these cards drop Diamond Medallions, the rarest and highest-value Medallions in the game.
As for what trading in your Medallions can get you, the main rewards to keep an eye out for are the three Guardian Games exclusive weapons. The Title Void SMG and Taraxipos Strand Scout Rifle have both returned with new rolls. Meanwhile, a brand new weapon for Guardian Games All-Stars is the Hullabaloo Arc Heavy Wave Frame Grenade Launcher, a powerful add-clearing tool which can roll with both Chain Reaction and Voltshot.
Hullabaloo Wave Frame Heavy Grenade Launcher
Recreational and Competitive Guardian Games Playlists
Alongside the Medallions and Contender Cards, Guardian Games 2024 has four unique playlists for you to participate in if you want to engage with the festivities. On the Tower map, you’ll find four specially curated playlists at the top for each of Destiny 2’s core modes.
The Recreational and Competitive playlists are both PvE-aligned activities for different skill levels, with the former essentially being Vanguard Ops with boosted ability regen and the latter being a similarly altered version of the weekly Nightfall. During both of these modes, performing certain tasks will earn you Accolades similar to those found in regular Strikes and Nightfalls, with more Accolades resulting in more points which results in better rewards. Both the Recreational and Competitive playlists can be matched either randomly or with fellow members of your chosen class.
For those who want to stick to PvP, Supremacy has returned as a mainstay for the duration of Guardian Games. Supremacy is Destiny’s Kill Confirmed where defeating a target will drop a crest that must be picked up to obtain obtains. Just like last year, you can decide to matchmaking randomly or do Class matchmaking. Additionally, new for this year, there’s also a Gambit: Class vs Class playlist where you can team up with other Guardians of the same class against an opposing team in Gambit matches.
Guardian Games Playlists
Finally, on the topic of the Guardian Games playlists, Zavala and Shaxx will each have a unique weekly quest for the duration of Guardian Games All-Stars. Zavala will give you the Shooting to Score quest which asks you to get a Platinum Rank in the Competitive playlist (which is 17,500 points). Similarly, Shaxx will give you the Vying for Supremacy quest which asks you to get a Platinum Rank by earning by playing Supremacy matches, with wins and performance dictating how many points you get.
Based on how many points you get in either of these quests, special Scoring Torches inside the Tower will become available behind the podium. In total, there are eight Scoring Torches – four for PvE and four for PvP – which each correspond to a different rank. Reaching said rank in that mode will allow you to obtain the rewards from its associated Scoring Torch, usually drowning you in Guardian Games weapons and upgrade materials. So, for example, if I get a Gold score in Strikes and a Platinum score in Supremacy, I can light 3 Torches on the PvE side and all 4 Torches on the PvP side. These Torches reset each week, allowing you to earn the reward again.
Who Are You Supporting?
Focus Activity Standings
Another new feature for Guardian Games 2024 in Destiny 2 is the Focus Activity Standings. Above the four featured playlists in the Tower is a small icon which will reveal the current Focus Activity Standings.
Every few hours, one of the Guardian Games playlists will become the Focus Activity, which is denoted by the small white lines underneath that playlist. During those two hours, the three classes will compete against each other to earn the most points. Points are earned by simply playing the Focus Activity. As such, if Supremacy is the Focus Activity, playing Supremacy as a Warlock will award you Warlock points. After the Focus Activity period ends, there will be a few hours of break time before the next one begins.
There are three reward tiers available during each Focus Activity instance, all of which are tied to specific scores. If your class is able to reach these score levels, you will be awarded a reward package associated with that threshold. Furthermore, whichever class manages to get the most points during this time will receive an additional reward package called the winner’s reward package. In essence, play in the Focus Activity playlist, earn points for your team, and get rewards for your efforts. Free loot is free loot, after all.
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- Focus Activity vs Non-Focus Activity
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The Skimmer: Destiny’s Hoverboard
Of course, the most exciting addition to Guardian Games in 2024 – and the reason most of you are probably playing – is the introduction of a new vehicle class. Skimmers are essentially hoverboards that Guardians can use to coast around the map in style, replacing the sleek and efficient Sparrows with a more stylish, if a bit unwieldy, mode of transport.
The Allstar Vector is an Exotic Skimmer and the first one available for free to all players. Once you complete Best in Class, the introductory Guardian Games 2024 quest, Eva will also give you the Drop In quest. Accepting this will instantly give you a Common rarity version of the Allstar Vector that you can use during the event: this version of the Skimmer will vanish at the end of the games, though.
The only way to permanently unlock the Allstar Vector is to complete Drop In, which has three objectives in total. To claim the Skimmer, you only need to complete one of the following objectives:
- Get a Medallion Score of 1,200
- Earn a top 10% score in the Nightfall Competitive Playlist
- Open your Focus Activity winner’s packages 3 times.
New Vehicle Class, Skimmers
Once you complete one of those objectives, the Common rarity Allstar Vector in your inventory will become the Exotic Allstar Vector, the first Skimmer to join the game and the first available for completely free. If you’d like to know the best way to get the Allstar Vector, then check out our guide on how to quickly acquire it. There is a second Skimmer available in the Eververse that is themed after the iconic Gjallarhorn called the Winged Wolf but you’ll need to shell out 2,500 Silver if you want that (along with a similarly themed Ship and Ghost).
As for how the Skimmer controls, they are very different to Sparrows and afford a lot more mobility at the cost of being harder to control. You can also jump using the Skimmer and even grind special rails out in the world. Skimmers are certainly the flashier of the currently available ground vehicles in Destiny 2 and, while you can expect more to filter into Eververse and the game over the next few months, the first one all players can obtain is in Guardian Games 2024.
Tony Hawk in Destiny?
Guardian Games 2024 Gameplay Loop
So, what is the general gameplay loop of Guardian Games 2024 looking like in Destiny 2?
- Pick up Contender Cards and bounties from Eva related to the activity you want to do. This applies to both Guardian Games playlists and endgame content like Trials or Raids.
- Participate in those activities and complete the random objectives on your Contender Cards to gain Medallions, with Platinum and Diamond Cards awarding higher value Medallions.
- Return to the Tower and insert your collected Medallions into the podium for rewards and contributions towards your class’ point total.
- Rinse and repeat for the duration of the event.
At the same time, you will also have the PvE and PvP Scoring Torches to keep track of as part of the Shooting to Score and Vying for Supremacy quests :
- Play Supremacy matches to earn points towards the Crucible Scoring Torches and earn high scores in Competitive Nightfalls to earn points towards the Strike Scoring Torches.
- At each threshold – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum – the appropriate Scoring Torch will unlock at the Tower which, when interacted with, will give you varying rewards depending on the rank.
- At the end of the week when reset hits, your Scoring Torches will reset, allowing you to get the rewards from them again in the following week.
- Rinse and repeat the process until the end of the event.
Class Supremacy
Guardian Games Memento
Alongside the usual suite of rewards you’ll obtain from depositing Medallions, Guardian Games 2024 is introducing another new event-exclusive Memento. To the uninformed, Mementos are consumables which usually drop from endgame activities like Nightfalls or Trials of Osiris. You can then slot these Mementos onto crafted weapons to give them unique vanity options such as a special title, kill tracker and, most importantly, a distinct shader.
The Games Memento has a chance to drop whenever you deposit Gold or Platinum Medallions into the podium, with Platinum Medallions likely having a higher drop rate. However, if you want a guaranteed way of getting the Games Memento, you’ll need to obtain Diamond Medallions, which have a 100% drop rate for the Memento will drop when you bank them. Unlike previous events, Eva will hold onto any duplicate Games Memento you obtain, meaning that you won’t have to juggle them in your Post Master: just remember to pick them up from Eva before the event ends and they disappear.
As for what the Games Memento looks like, it will give any weapon it’s applied to an animated glossy red coating alongside some vibrant blue accents and rich gold etching. While perhaps not as thematic as the gothic, leathery black Lost Memento or the chilly Dawning Memento, the Games Memento is sure to look incredible on plenty of weapons and give your arsenal that premium feel.
Guardian Games Memento
Seasonal Event Card
Lastly, as always, no Destiny 2 event is complete without its associated Event Card. The Guardian Games Allstars Event Card is available to all players and allows Guardians to earn additional event weapon drops, exclusive cosmetics, upgrade materials, and more.
The Guardian Games 2024 version of the Event Card has a total of 16 Event Challenges to conquer, all of which award anything from a new Emblem to a Gold Medallion. These triumphs are available for free to all players on the base version of the Event Card. If you are able to best every challenge Guardian Games All-Stars throws at you, you’ll be walking away with:
- New Guardian Games-themed Legendary Emblem
- Prizewinner Legendary Shader
- Two copies of the new Hullabaloo Heavy Grenade Launcher
- One copy of The Title SMG and Taraxipos Scout Rifle
- 9 Enhancement Cores, 3 Enhancement Prisms, 1 Ascendant Shard and 1 Ascendant Alloy
- 4 Gold Medallions and 4 Platinum Medallions
In addition, the 16 Event Challenges in the Event Card are tied to the Champ Title, the Guardian Games exclusive seal. If you haven’t already unlocked Champ, completing all 16 challenges will unlock it for you, whereas Guardians who have already conquered the Games in previous years can Gild their Champ Title by completing several other objectives.
Guardian Games All Stars Event Card
Upgraded Event Card
If some Silver is burning a hole in your pocket and you want to give a little back to the Games, you can purchase the Upgraded Event Card for 1000 Silver (or about $10). While the upgraded track won’t give you any new challenges to complete, it will allow you to claim special Event Tickets from each of the already available Event Challenges. You can then redeem those tickets for exclusive cosmetics not available anywhere else.
Upon purchasing the Event Card, you’ll instantly obtain The Topredo Exotic Sparrow, The Perfect Putt Exotic Emote, and the Fighting Colors Legendary Shader. As for what’s available to purchase with Event Tickets, we have:
- Capped Shell Exotic Ghost (7 Tickets)
- Fouette Turn Legendary Emote (5 Tickets)
- Proud Sigil Transmat Effect (2 Tickets)
- Titled Projection Ghost Projection (1 Ticket)
Festivities in Full Swing
That was everything you needed to know about Guardian Games 2024, also known as Guardian Games All-Stars, in Destiny 2. Just a reminder that the celebrations last from March 5th to March 26th so be sure to claim your Skimmer before then. Have a great Guardian Games, Guardians!
