Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin release date, weapons, and story explained

The Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin release date is passed. Now that the dungeon is out, what does it look like, and how did our predictions compare? Season of the Wish got off to a climactic start, with Awoken, Ahamkara spirits, and a tentative bargain between Mara Sov and Riven of a Thousand Voices. While there’s more still to come, arguably the most anticipated feature of the season, the new Warlord’s Ruin dungeon, is now live.

Here, we’re going to outline the basics of the dungeon, from the Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin release date and time, as well as what we know about Bungie’s latest dungeon following their quest beneath the waves in Season of the Deep. There’s a challenging experience ahead of you though. You’ll want to come armed with the best legendary weapons and best exotic weapons the game can offer – it might be worth even checking out the new and returning Season of the Wish weapons to help round out your arsenal.

Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin release time – When did the new dungeon become available to all Guardians?

The new Destiny 2 dungeon, Warlord’s Ruin, released on December 1, 2023. It went live at 6 PM GMT/ 10 AM PT/ 1 PM ET. As with most dungeons, there was no need to worry about waiting on an update. The dungeon unlocked in real time in-game for all players.

Keep in mind that if you want to play it, like previous dungeons, Warlord’s Ruin will require you to own the Lightfall Dungeon Key or the Lightfall Annual Pass. The Lightfall Dungeon Key also unlocks access to the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon, so if you’ve already picked it up, you shouldn’t need to worry about purchasing it again.

If you’re struggling to find a fireteam for the dungeon, don’t forget that with Season 23, Bungie have added the fireteam finder feature, which helps you search for fellow Guardians for more challenging activities.

Where is the Warlord’s Ruin dungeon?

Warlord’s Ruin can be accessed from the EDZ map, through the dungeon symbol now present. It’s set somewhere on Earth – presumably close to the EDZ, and current speculation suggests The Alps, a mountain range running across France, Switzerland, and Italy, as the likeliest culprit for a specific locale.

The EDZ was a top speculation prior to the dungeons release, as was the Dreaming City given the prevelance of Wish Dragons and Ascendant magic in Season 23.

Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin exotic, weapons and armor – What’s up for grabs in the dungeon?

Next let’s get into everyone’s favourite part of any dungeon, the loot. With armor, weapons, and a shiny new exotic, Warlord’s Ruin has plenty of gear worth getting. Here’s a rundown of it all.

The Warlord’s Ruin Buried Bloodline exotic

The exotic for this new dungeon is Buried Bloodline, a Void energy sidearm with a distinctive appearance akin to a crossbow. It’s intrinsic trait, Hungering Quarrel, double-fires tracking bolts which leech health from targets on a hit. Combined with its unique weapon perk Violent Reanimation, which grants Devour on defeating enemies, it’s easily apparent that this weapon is a strong choice for any Void builds out there still building around the Devour effect. The Buried Bloodline exotic catalyst requires you to complete the lengthy quest associated with the dungeon, In The Shadow Of The Mountain.

Warlord’s Ruin weapons and armor

There’s plenty more loot than just the exotic though, with a suite of worthwhile weapons to collect.

• Indebted Kindness, a new rocket archetype Arc sidearm which fires micro-homing rockets instead of bullets. It’s arguably more popular of a sidearm than the exotic itself.
• Vengeful Whisper, a Strand combat bow. It’s pretty average where bows are concerned, especially after being overshadowed by the Wish-Keeper exotic.
• Dragon Cult Sickle, a Strand caster Sword. It’s a solid option for ad-clearing duty, though it certainly wouldn’t make it onto our list for the best Destiny 2 PvE weapons.

Alongside these new guns comes the Dark Age armor set for all Guardians, with one design for each class.

What’s the story behind the Warlord’s Ruin dungeon?

For those curious about the lore behind this dungeon, here’s an overview of the Warlord’s Ruin story. You can unlock all the necessary lore here by picking up Bones of Hefnd throughout the dungeon and completing the associated dungeon quest in full. This can be done at any rate you’re comfortable with – it isn’t dependant on the weekly reset like the seasonal missions are. Item lore tabs, like the Ghost shell you can pick up for the dungeon, also give a lot of insight into this story. Here’s the abridged version.

The Dark Age castle of Warlord’s Ruin belonged to a regional Warlord who, following their slaying of an Ahamkara, was visited by a second Warlord who had travelled west from Old Russia. This second Warlord, Naeem, would meet with the bones of the Ahamkara, Hefnd. Because Ahamkara are paracausal beings, even in death Hefnd’s consciousness endured, like an impression onto the fabric of reality. Naeem would make a bargain with Hefnd, asking the Wish Dragon to grant any wish put to him, in return for Naeem taking on the negative side effects of each wish.

Agreeing, Naeem would then win the love and loyalty of surrounding settlements, granting people’s wishes and shielding them from misfortunate consequences in exchange for tribute. In time, Hefnd and Naeem would even become friends. Rumour of Naeem’s power and wealth would soon spread though, until it eventually attracted the attention of the House of Kings. The Kings were one of the earliest Fallen houses to arrive in the Sol System, and they tracked down Naeem, storming her castle with an army. Naeem was killed in the ensuing conflict, but with her dying breath she wished ruin upon the House of Kings, specifically wishing that her “vengeance would follow them into the grave.”

This particular wording is important, because Wish Dragon magic thrives off of manipulation, and specific details are important. In this case, it led to Hefnd playing the long game. Around the end of Season of the Witch, Hefnd saw his opportunity. With the Witness indisposed and large swathes of Taken on Earth leaderless, Hefnd used his presence to lure disparate Taken forces in, corrupting himself and the many bodies of the dead Fallen from the assault on the castle all those centuries ago. This corruption allowed Hefnd to raise the Fallen from the dead as Scorn, alerting the Vanguard. You and your fireteam then fulfil the wish at long last – the Scorn are effectively what the Fallen became once they went “into the grave”, and you, referred to throughout the dungeon as O’ Vengeance Mine, are quite literally Naeem’s vengeance following and eradicating them. The Scorn may all die and Naeem’s bones be left without more sources of nourishment for wishes, but he ultimately managed to grant his friends last request, and bring the Warlord’s ruin down upon the Kings.

What were our predictions for the story of Warlord’s Ruin?

Before the dungeon came out, we suggested a number of different theories on what Warlord’s Ruin would be about. Though we now have a concrete answer, here’s an overview of our ideas in case you’re curious.

It would be about the Warlords of the Dark Age

Our first theory was certainly the closest. We speculated that the story would be about the Warlords of the Dark Age, resurrected Lightbearers who used their powers for selfish means, subjugating others and carving out their own kingdoms. We went as far as to speculate that major players from this era like SIVA, The Iron Lords, or Felwinter might be involved, though these assumptions were ultimately a little off the mark. At least we were right about the dungeon being a Warlord’s castle.

Perhaps it would involve Shaxx specifically

Our second idea involved the jovial leader of the Crucible, Lord Shaxx. He was himself once a Warlord, and given his close ties to key players in Season of the Wish like Mara Sov and the Wish Dragons, we wondered if the castle we’d seen in concept art might even be his former abode. This was further off the mark, which is a bit of a shame, as it would’ve been interesting to have a Shaxx-centric story.

Maybe it’d actually be all about Rasputin

Rasputin, the Warmind AI, has been referred to as a Warlord himself on a few occasions in the lore. This particularly appears in relation to Felwinter, a Guardian he saw as his son. With Rasputin now dead, his many, many Warmind facilities and bunkers lay unguarded. Our third and final theory was furthest off of all, but not without some solid reasoning. And hey, we’ve still got Spire of the Watcher, which gives us a good look already into the Golden Age architecture Rasputin so strongly embodies.

That’s all we’ve got for you on the Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin release time, story speculation, and loot. There’s plenty more going on this season on the long lead up to the Final Shape release date though. If you’re curious about what best Warlock exotics, best Hunter exotics and best Titan exotics you should be aiming to pick up in the coming months, or just want to know what the Destiny 2 Eververse store has to offer, we’ve got you covered.

Destiny 2 Warlord’s Ruin dungeon FAQ

Will there be a raid in Season of the Wish?

There won’t be a raid during Season of the Wish, as the Warlord’s Ruin dungeon is coming out. The devs work on a rotation process where one season gets a raid, the next season a dungeon, the next a raid, and so on.

Can I play dungeons for free in Destiny 2?

Unfortunately, no. All dungeons require their DLC’s Dungeon Key to unlock and play. Ghosts of the Deep requires the same Key as Warlord’s Ruin, Spire of The Watcher requires the Witch Queen Dungeon Key, and even the Shattered Throne requiring the Forsaken Pack to access.