Learn about Guardian Ranks & how to rank up in Destiny 2

Guardian Ranks are a fairly recent addition to Destiny 2, a system by which a Guardian's experience is shown for all to see. Destiny 2 has been around for quite a few years now, and many new systems have been added for players to show off their prowess.

Here's our rundown of Guardian Ranks, how to increase yours, and how changes work each season.

What are Guardian Ranks and how to rank up?

Destiny 2 Guardian Ranks is a new personal ranking system introduced alongside Lightfall that represents the player's skill and experience level. Overall, it can be a good indication of how knowledgeable a Guardian is about the game.

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New players will start from rank one, but veteran players will start at rank five. Each rank has a series of challenges, not unlike the seasonal challenges (but generally more involved). To rank up in Destiny 2, you'll need to complete all of the challenges in a particular rank, then head to the Tower to be promoted to the next.

The ranks go up to 11, and nothing short of a colossal effort will get you to the top rank - as you will need to take on the toughest challenges on the highest difficulties.

What is the seasonal reset?

When the Guardian Ranks system was introduced in Destiny 2, it was announced that every player's rank would be reset each season. This had some players a bit confused, as it seemed as though the point of the system was to denote high-skill players, and taking that away each season would just force more grinding.

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However, while Guardian Ranks do reset each season, now that Season of the Deep is here, we know how it works - and it is not as bad as many Guardians feared. First and foremost, while your rank may reduce to five at the beginning of the season, it will not appear that way to others.

The rank that appears beside your username while in-game shows your highest achieved rank. In fact, the Guardian Ranks page also shows this rank, even if your rank is lower. This means that high-level players get to complete the new set of Guardian Rank challenges while still showing up at the rank they had achieved previously.

Unfortunately, it does mean that reaching a higher rank than before will involve completing all of the preceding challenges and climbing the ranks again, but this is not likely to be much of an issue for anyone aiming for ranks nine, ten, or eleven.

Are there rewards for Guardian Ranks in Destiny 2?

There are no traditional rewards for achieving Guardian Ranks, as you do not get any fancy or powerful gear from ranking up. For most players, there is little to be gained from Guardian Ranks outside of making a number go up.

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New players just starting the game will unlock some fundamental features while making their way through the first few Guardian Ranks, such as the weapon and armor mod systems, or the ability to unlock titles.

More experienced players won't have to go through this, but they will need to rank up a bit in order to unlock more loadout slots. All that said, if you are hoping for a shiny new gun or some high-stat armor, there isn't anything like that at the top of the Guardian Ranks, just the prestige of the accomplishment.