Destiny 2 – How Guardian Games 2021 Works

The Guardian Games 2021 is upon us, and this is the 2nd time the Guardian Games has taken place. This year we have a few improvements, some new mechanics and as always some good rewards for a seasonal event. Today I am going to run through how Guardian Games works, to give you all the info you need to know to get started and get those sweet loot rewards as soon as possible.

Before we get into the detail of Guardian Games let me know down in the comments which class you think are going to win the Guardian Games?

What are the Guardian Games 2021?

Guardian Games is a seasonal event, which is going to take place over the next 3 weeks from today April 20th until 11th May 2021. It’s available for all players to take part, so everyone can play including free-to-play players and Guardians who own the DLCs and Seasons.

Guardian Games is a class-based competition – so Titans Vs Hunters Vs Warlocks. The winning team will have bragging rights in the Tower for the next 12 months with a commemorative statue on display for the entire year.

Most Guardians will be able to jump in straight away, however, if you are fairly new to the game then there’s a few things to note.

• Escape the Cosmodrome to unlock the Tower.
• They will unlock a Milestone telling them to speak with Eva Levante in the Tower Courtyard.

Guardian Games Competition Rules

The goal is to earn as many points as possible, and it’s the class with the most points win. Guardians earn medals from completing activities and then turn them into the Tower podium to earn points.

Laurels

Laurels are key to purchasing Bounties, Contender Cards and rewards from Eva Levante (our Seasonal event vendor in the Tower). During the Guardian Games, we have to go out there into the activities and playlists, create and pick up as many laurels as possible and then turn them into Eva in exchange for rewards. Laurels drop in all activities except Gambit and Crucible, where they will drop at the end of matches.

A few things to note about Laurels

• Previous Guardian Games class items (the Cunning Rivalry Cloak, Mighty Rivalry Mark, and Sage Rivalry Bond) will not generate Laurels or progress any Guardian Games bounties.
• Laurels do not drop on the ground in Gambit or Crucible and are instead rewarded directly to players.
• Unrecovered laurels do not go to a player’s Postmaster and must be picked up to count towards their total.

How to get started in Guardian Games

The first thing you want to do is going and speak to Eva Levante and pick up your class item. Each class has a specific Guardian Games class item and you have to be wearing this to generate Laurels, so before you do anything in the games make sure you pick up the new class item and put it. Eva will run you through a few introductory steps in terms of mechanics, run through those steps and once you’re done then you are good to go.

Medals

Medals are a focus on Guardian Games and they can be earned from Triumphs, Contender Cards and activity completions. It’s worth going to the triumphs page and checking out the requirements there, and it’ll give you a to-do list for the next few weeks. Contender Cards can be picked up from Eva in exchange for Laurels and activity completions include strikes, the crucible, gambit and world events.

Medals are going to be stored in the medal case, which you’ll be able to see in your quests tab and will have picked this up from Eva during the tutorial steps. Once you have earned some medals, then turn them into the Tower podium for points for your class to earn points.

• Bronze: 1 Point
• Silver: 2 Points
• Gold: 5 Points
• Platinum: 15 Points

Contender Cards

These can be picked up from Eva and you complete them in exchange for medals. The most valuable Contender Cards are Nightfall, Survival and Trials contender cards, as they will award a platinum medal. Completing strikes, gambit and crucible matches award gold medals.

Completing a Platinum Card will earn you All-Star status and a special reward at the next podium ceremony. Make sure you complete your Platinum Contender Card before the daily reset on Friday if you want to lock in your All-Star status for the weekend.

Rewards

The three exotic Guardian Games ghost shells can be purchased with Laurels from Eva. The Color of Speed Exotic Sparrow can be earned through collecting class points and completing Triumphs.

The Heir Apparent exotic Machine Gun can be acquired through a Quest if players do not already own it, and the Heir Apparent catalyst has a chance to drop from banking Gold or Platinum Medals if players already own the gun. Additionally, there is a new Legendary class item for each class, as well as two emblems and two shaders that players can earn by completing Triumphs.

Tower Podium and Ceremony Event

During Guardian Games, the Towers Guardian Games Podium will change daily to reflect the current status of the leading team. Class flags will update throughout the day to show which team is leading, and there will also be a calendar showing the winner for each day throughout the event.

On the Friday of each week, the Ceremony event will become live in the Tower. Points accumulated by players during the week will determine the winner of each week’s Ceremony event. Players will receive rewards and a glow that is active when in the Tower, which will remain until the next Ceremony event or until Guardian Games ends. Additionally, player’s class items will also change colours to show their current standing after the Ceremony event, being gold, silver, or bronze.

• Third place receives a bronze glow.
• Second place receives a silver glow.
• First place receives a gold glow.
• All-Stars receive a platinum glow.

There will be a special final weekend closing ceremony in the Tower that will be live from May 7 to May 11 to celebrate the winning class.

The Guardian Games Gameplay Loop

Here’s the basic gameplay loop for Guardian Games.

• Get through the introduction quest with Eva and make sure you wear your class item throughout Guardian Games
• Pick up bounties and contender cards from Eva and head out into your favourite activity to earn medals
• Generate and pick up as many Laurels as possible in activities
• Earn medals (ideally as many gold and platinum as possible)
• Turn in medals to the podium in the Tower

Known Issues

• Several Quest items, such as the Medal Case and Contender Cards, will not be removed from player inventories after Guardian Games has ended.
• If the Medal Case is full, Medals earned through claiming Triumphs will be lost.
  Class items acquired from Zavala are awarded at 1250 Power Level instead of at 1300 Power Level, which can be acquired from Eva.
• Players will not be able to deposit Medals if they were acquired in the Tower after players have already deposited Medals of the same rarity. Players can return to Orbit and head back to the Tower to deposit those Medals.
• The Laurel acquisition step of Heir Apparent Exotic Quest only counts laurels picked up off of the ground.
• Non-masterworked Guardian Games ghosts purchased from Eva display a ‘Completed’ objective.
• Certain shaders may erroneously remove the glow from the Eververse Warlock Guardian Games Universal Ornament set.

Let me know what you think about Guardian Games down in the comments. What is your objective from the games – Do you want the Heir Apparent Catalyst, or are you still to pick up the Cabal styled Machine Gun. Let me know down in the comments which team you’re going to be playing for, plus who you think is going to win!

That’s it for this guide on how Guardian Games 2021 works in Destiny 2. For more Destiny 2 content like this check out more on YouTube and subscribe today.