Here's how Destiny 2's Season Pass works

How does the Destiny 2 season pass system work? When Destiny 2: Shadowkeep launches it heralds the beginning of Destiny 2’s third year, but that doesn't mean the content stops. Like previous years, Year Three will have its own seasons and content structure. To keep things fresh there will be new additional items related to seasons, like the new Season Pass and the Seasonal Artifact.

The pass for season 8 comes bundled with your purchase of Shadowkeep, but, from there on, the price for each Destiny 2 season is $10. Essentially, while you don't need to worry about paying more right now, you could stump up the extra cash for the Digital Deluxe Edition which unlocks four seasons of passes for an extra $25 on top of the standard $35 Shadowkeep price.

What can we expect from the first season of Destiny 2 Year Three?

The first season of Destiny 2’s third year is called Season of the Undying. It's included with the content of Shadowkeep and encourages us to try the new activity taking place on the Moon, the Vex Offensive. 

Players participating in this new six-player event will gain access to unique weapons on completion of the activity as well as further seasonal rewards, such as bespoke armour. Then there's the new Seasonal Artifact.

How does the Destiny 2 Seasonal Artifact work?

The Seasonal Artifact is a new item added to Destiny 2 with Season of the Undying. As experience is gained, the artifact levels up to make new mods available and increases your Power Level. 

The number of mods you can unlock is limited, but the Power Level attached is not. This additional Power Level bonus is shared across all characters, so you can boost your overall strength by playing regularly. The boost isn’t permanent, however: it will reset to zero and remove the seasonal mods from your inventory when the season ends.

How the Destiny 2 Season Pass works

As with previous seasons, the new pass gives you access to new content, exotic quests, and activities. It also adds a new 'Season tab' and UI. 

Here players can chronicle which track they're on. That includes those with or without the pass so they can see what unlocks are possible. As you’d expect there’s a lot of juicy content contained in the Season Pass. That's as well as additional boosts to resources and easier progression towards coveted weapons.

For Season of the Undying, Bungie has been pretty specific about what the pass will unlock for players. Season Pass owners get access to a new seasonal activity, the Vex Offensive, which includes:

• Four legendary weapon drops
• Additional weekly and daily bounties
• Additional weekly challenges with powerful rewards
• A weapon quest for an exotic bow, Leviathan’s Breath
• A new exotic hand cannon, Eriana’s Vow (rank 35 of the free track/rank 1 of the premium track)
• Three seasonal Legendary armor sets (one for each class, collect a complete set during the first 25 ranks of the free track, get all at rank 1 on premium, earn higher stat tiers on Vex Offensive)

Here are some more premium-exclusive goodies:

• Three universal ornament armor sets (one for each class)
• An Exotic weapon ornament for Eriana’s Vow
• Two legendary weapon ornaments 
• A new finisher
• An exotic emote 
• An exotic ship

Can I still take part without a Season Pass?

Yes, you absolutely can. While you might not have access to the additional activities, you can still take part in future seasons by upgrading your seasonal artifact and progressing the Seasonal tab as shown above. 

You’ll also be able to access the Moon, participate in two new strikes, play on the two new crucible maps, earn the new seasonal legendary gear, destroy enemies with the new finishing moves, work towards unlocking the new Eriana’s Vow exotic and gain additional resources without having purchased the Season Pass or Shadowkeep.