In comparison to the previous two expansions of Destiny 2, Forsaken features a "full campaign", four new multiplayer "strike" missions (one of which was a PS4 timed-exclusive), four new Crucible maps (including one PS4 timed-exclusive), and a new mode which combines elements of Player versus Environment (PvE) with Player versus Player (PvP). A new competitive Crucible mode was added, called "Breakthrough"—two teams of four fight to attempt to capture a central point called a "Breaker"; the first team that captures the Breaker can then hack the opposing team's vault, all while the opposing team defends their vault from being hacked.
The expansion introduces a new faction of enemies, the Scorn—undead Fallen corrupted by Dark Ether that have become their own race. Scorn enemies do not take cover and have the most aggressive artificial intelligence in the game. In addition, a more liberal sense to mission layout and player choice has been taken, with the initial six Barons being able to be taken out in any order the player chooses. The Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City, both located in the Reef, serve as new playable environments in Forsaken; the latter environment is accessible after completing the main campaign of the expansion and completing a post-campaign mission. At the Dreaming City's Blind Well, players can use special charges of Light to summon Scorn, Hive, or Taken enemies for public battles, each ending with a boss. All participants in Blind Well battles receive rewards. The charges of Light correspond to three difficulty levels; an optional, yet highly difficult, fourth level can be triggered at the end of the third tier of difficulty. A new raid mission, "Last Wish", was opened on September 14, 2018; unlike previous raids, there is no Prestige version. Bungie claimed that the raid had more bosses than any previous raid (including from the original game); the first completion of the raid triggered a three-week curse cycle in the Dreaming City, opening up new activities and missions for players to participate in, including a 3-player raid-like activity called a dungeon. "The Shattered Throne", the game's first-ever dungeon, was made available on September 28, 2018; the activity was initially only available every three weeks when the Dreaming City's curse was at full strength until the release of Shadowkeep in October 2019, which made the dungeon fully playable anytime. A new weapon type, a Combat Bow, was also added in the expansion. The EXP level cap was raised to 50 and the Power level cap was raised to 600.[1][2]
Each of the three character classes feature three new supers for each of their subclasses, which are tied to a brand new third subclass branch. For Hunters, the new super for Gunslingers is "Blade Barrage", focusing on throwing a volley of flaming knives; "Spectral Blades" for Nightstalkers, allowing players to turn invisible and see through walls and attack with Void daggers; and "Whirlwind Guard" for Arcstriders, which allows players to block and reflect projectiles by spinning their Arc Staff. For Warlocks, the new super for Voidwalkers is "Nova Warp", allowing players to teleport around the battlefield and unleash a Void explosion; "Chaos Reach" for Stormcallers, which unleashes a beam of Arc energy that can be turned off at any time to conserve Super energy; and "Well of Radiance" for Dawnblades, allowing players to create a healing and empowering aura for players to stand in. Finally, for Titans, the new super for Strikers is "Thundercrash", allowing players to launch into the air and slam onto the ground; "Burning Maul" for Sunbreakers, where players wield a large flaming hammer that can unleash flaming tornadoes; and "Banner Shield" for Sentinels, allowing players to use their Sentinel Shield to unleash a protective barrier that players can also shoot their weapons through. Each new subclass branch, along with their new supers, can be unlocked by obtaining an item called a "Seed of Light", in which three are available for each character; the first Seed of Light is obtainable through playing the campaign of Forsaken, while the other two can be obtained by playing through high-level, endgame activities.
The new mode that combines PvE and PvP is called Gambit, a best-of-three rounds mode featuring a new character called the Drifter as its non-player character (NPC). A 24-hour free trial of the mode was made available to all players on September 1, 2018, three days prior to the launch of Forsaken. In this mode, two teams of four players compete against each other by defeating PvE enemies. Enemies, when defeated, drop motes which players can pick up and deposit in a bank in the center of the arena. Depositing 5, 10, or 15 motes sends small, medium, or large enemy blockers, respectively, to the opposing team's arena and locks their bank; the opposing team must defeat the blockers in order to reactivate their bank. Every 25 motes deposited opens a portal where one team member can invade the other team's arena. Motes are permanently lost if a player is defeated by a PvE enemy or an invading member of the opposing team. After depositing 75 motes, a boss called a Primeval spawns in the middle of the arena; if a team member is defeated by an invading member of the opposing team, the Primeval regains health. The first team that defeats their Primeval wins the round. Gambit also features a progressive-based ranking system similar to the Crucible's Valor and Glory ranks called "Infamy"; however, each progression rank is separated into three tiers, with each rank requiring more Infamy points.[2]