Destiny 2 Heavy Metal Guide

Destiny 2: Heavy Metal Event Complete Guide

Master Tanks vs Brigs Combat and Earn Exclusive Rewards

Destiny 2 Heavy Metal Event Guide

Discover everything you need to know about Heavy Metal in Destiny 2, including which challenges are required to complete to gain unlimited rewards.

The brand new heavy metal event is underway, bringing with it an interesting PvP mode of tanks versus briggs. There’s also a combat sparrow that fires shotgun rounds and missiles. It matches your subclass and is a much-needed overhaul to the events menu and progression system.

Gone are normal and upgraded event cards. Say hello to the new event menu, where everything shown is 100% free and earnable. Since things are so new and a little obfuscated, let me explain the event, the XP needed and earned throughout, and the optimal way towards its rewards.

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How Heavy Metal Event Works

To start, you’ll head to Lord Shaxx in the Tower to progress the Path of Demolition quest. This will take you step by step through the new event menu and game mode. So, I highly recommend you take the time to read and follow the prompts.

🚗 Heavy Metal Game Mode

Teams Setup

Teams of three tanks versus a team of three Brigs in a match of supremacy.

Victory Condition

To win, you’ll need to earn 50 points. One point is earned upon an enemy defeat.

Coin System

Picking up the coin they drop is worth an additional point. Leader drops gold coin worth two points.

Health & Ammo

Coins replenish a chunk of your health and refresh your secondary weapons’ ammo.

Vehicle Controls and Combat

🎯 Combat Mechanics TANKS

As one of these monstrous vehicles, you have a primary fire that has travel time, so you’ll have to lead your shots. A secondary fire with tracking, but is limited to one shot per life unless you pick up a coin, and a dodge on a moderate cool down.

Strategic Tips

  • Stick together so that you are never in a 1v2 scenario
  • Pick up those coins to give both you and an advantage and deny your enemy the benefit
  • Picking up an ally coin applies the same effects
  • Try to optimize who picks up the coins
  • If you see your ally’s health to be fairly low, maybe let them grab it so they can stay in the fight
Important: The keybinds are found on the event menu’s main page. However, you might also have to go into your keybind settings in the vehicle section to tweak or add the dodge.
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New Event Menu System

Now, the event menu is your one-stop shop for all things heavy metal. The first tab gives you an overview of the events activity, the rank rewards track, daily and weekly challenges, event currencies, and any duration information.

Event Progression

🏆 Event XP Sources and Requirements

Match Completions

188 XP (Win or Lose)

Daily Challenges

500 XP Each

Weekly Challenges

2,250 XP Each

Path of Demolition

812 XP Per Character

Rank Requirements: Each rank requires earning 1,000 event XP. By just playing heavy metal matches and ignoring all those extra XP sources, it’ll take roughly 80 games.

Event Currencies

💰 Currency System TOKENS

For currencies, you have two that are used for all events. R-roll tokens and event tokens. R-roll tokens allow you to roll a daily challenge. This could be one that you’ve already completed.

Token Usage Tips

  • R-roll tokens can reroll completed challenges for extra attempts
  • Event tokens only come from daily and weekly challenge completion
  • Event tokens have limited availability – spend wisely
  • Event tokens expire at the end of the event – use them before you lose them
Event tokens expire at the end of the event. Throughout the event, you’ll earn 253 tokens plus those from any daily challenges you rerolled. The exotic cipher is the most universally rare and important item from the store.

Daily and Weekly Challenges

Daily Challenges

Daily challenges are refreshed at the daily reset, are limited to three per day per account, and offer XP and event tokens.

Weekly Challenges

Weekly challenges refresh on the Tuesday weekly reset, and are limited to one per week per account. It grants a much larger amount of XP and tokens, along with some bright dust.

Event Title and Triumphs

For the title of the event, the triumphs are fairly straightforward. There is a decent chunk of skill involved, so any of these triumphs might take you quite a while. However, the quicker you can complete them, the better, as the title’s gilding triumphs don’t unlock until you have the base title.

Base Title Triumphs

Vehicle Compactor

Defeat target vehicles (150 total defeats required)

Kill Streak

Defeat multiple targets without dying (20 times)

The Undefeated

Simply win 10 games

I Get What I Want

Complete the Event Track in the Event Home (reach rank 15)

Gilding Triumphs

Progress isn’t carried forward for gilding triumphs, so complete base title first! These unlock after you have the base title.
Leader Hunter

Defeat the enemy’s leader 20 times (hunt down that glowing enemy)

Top Performer

Become a leader 10 times

Gold Collector

Collect 20 leader coins

Secondary Specialist

Defeat 25 targets with a secondary weapon

Combat Sparrow Griffin

The main reward for this event is the Combat Sparrow Griffin. So, is it any good? Honestly, it’s fun, but not a must-have. You are quite vulnerable while in it, and the primary fire is like a shotgun, so it has a lot of spread and a limited range.

Combat Sparrow Features

⚡ Subclass-Based Alt Fire Effects

Strand

Suspends enemies

Stasis

Freezes targets

Arc

Blinds enemies

Solar

Scorches targets

Void

Applies volatile

Recommendation: Stasis seems like the go-to option. Its damage and survivability are a bit lackluster. Keep in mind, it’ll probably be unique to just this event for some time.
If you dislike FOMO, get it while you can. But just like the skimmer, Bungie will eventually add other versions to the game elsewhere.
Since this is a brand new event in the system, there are some bugs and a lack of information. This event lasts only a week, but you have until the Edge of Fate releases to earn the rewards pin from the Bungie store.