Destiny 2 Season of the Risen - Release date, schedule, weapons, season pass, and more

The Witch Queen is less than two weeks away and while the vast majority of players are interested in what the new campaign and story have to offer, it's ultimately Season 16 that will keep them coming back for more. 

If you're trying to get into Bungie's action MMO with The Witch Queen, you need to know that with every expansion a new season tends to kick off as well. 

Seasons are not inherently tied to expansions, meaning some of its contents are free for all Destiny 2 players and are often a continuation in terms of story. They offer an activity, season pass to chase, and access to a handful of new weapons. Of course, acquiring the premium content will give you access to even more stuff.

Navigating the cumbersome D2 new player experience can be daunting, so we're here to help you out with everything you need to know about Season of the Risen. If you're a veteran, think of this as a sort of checklist to keep at hand. 

Destiny 2 Season of the Risen - Release date

If it wasn't clear by this point, Season 16 will start on the same day The Witch Queen launches, that is 22nd February. You won't necessarily need to finish the campaign to dive deep into the contents Season of the Risen will offer, but keep in mind, as we said, they are usually best experienced if you do so. 

Season of the Risen roadmap

We've yet to hear an official roadmap for Season 16. Barring some exceptions, like Season of the Lost's six-month period, every season in Destiny 2 lasts around 90 days or three months. 

Throughout Season of the Risen you can expect the following events to take place:

• Iron Banner
• Trials of Osiris
• New seasonal activity
• New weekly mission
• Exotic weapon quest (to be confirmed)
• Seasonal events (to be confirmed)

For Season of the Risen, a new raid will launch in March as well. As soon as we get more information, we'll update the article accordingly. 

Season of the Risen exotic weapons

While most of the new exotics are directly linked to The Witch Queen in some shape or form, like the Parasite Worm Launcher or the Osteo Striga SMG, which will only be available by purchasing the Deluxe Edition of the expansion, we have confirmation of one exotic tied to Season 16 -- Grand Overture.

This submachine gun seems to fire auto missiles that work as projectiles, rather than hitscan.

When a new season drops, an exotic weapon can be acquired immediately by purchasing the Season Pass, however, that same gun can be acquired by grinding the free track.

There's also one more exotic tied to a specific activity. It can be a special mission like Presage for Dead Man's Tale or a weekly exotic mission like A Hollow Coronation for Ager's Scepter.

Destiny 2 Season of the Risen season pass- Cost 

The Season of the Risen season pass will most likely cost 1,000 Silver or approx. US$10 depending on your region.

For more information regarding the season pass, check our full breakdown right here.

Season of the Risen sandbox changes

There are a massive of weapon and balance changes coming with Season of the Risen, we suggest you take a look at our early patch notes breakdown to stay up to date.

• Read more: Destiny 2 The Witch Queen power levels revealed
  

Featured image courtesy of Bungie.