Destiny is a futuristic first-person shooter set in a persistent world. When humans first set foot on Mars they discovered the Traveler, a giant sphere that then allowed mankind to colonize space quickly. Centuries later the Darkness, an enemy of the Traveler, arrived and waged war against it and all of its creations. The Traveler is forced to scarify itself as a measure of protection and what is left of humanity on Earth is forced to live in a city constructed underneath. The Traveler enlists warriors known as Guardians with special abilities as a personal army. These Guardians are guided by Ghosts, artificial intelligence. The player's character is found by such a Ghost (acting as a robot companion in the game) and becomes a Guardian.
At the start the player chooses a class (Titan, Hunter or Warlock - corresponding with the classic Fighter, Rogue and Mage) and then customizes the appearance through race (Human, Awoken or Exo), gender, face, hair and marking. Each class has distinct abilities. The Titan is a fighter with an advanced mech suit, the Hunter is a bounty hunter with a knack for reconnaissance and ranged weapons, and the Warlock is a magical being that uses spells and explosives. Each class has various subclasses (unlocked at level 15) and specific abilities and statistics. None of the weapons in the game are restricted to a single class. The most distinct differences are the grenade types, jump abilities, melee attack and a special ability. The game borrows elements from the MMORPG genre in its design, with the Tower as a main hub zone to interact with NPCs, buy weapons, gear and Ghost upgrades, receive mail, buy and upgrade ships etc. Rewards for completing missions can also usually be collected here. The other major zones are Earth, the Moon, Mars and Venus, with some additional locations. While fighting, movement and jumps are important when confronting enemies. A Guardian can wield up to three main weapons (primary, special and heavy) next to grenades and other abilities. Only one weapon of each type can be equipped, but nine more for each type can be stored in an inventory to swap them.
