History of Mars

Mars is the fourth planet and a long-running destination in Destiny 2. Once the Golden Age metropolis of Freehold, it is now a dust-storm-swept desert dotted with Golden Age ruins.

Overview

Mars appeared in the Warmind expansion (8 May 2018; its Hellas Basin is a different region from Destiny 1's Mars, with Rasputin and the Hunter Ana Bray as primary NPCs) and Forsaken eras, vanished from the game, and returned later altered, covered in temporal rifts showing its Golden Age. Destinypedia places the return in The Witch Queen (2022) and says its removal came with the Witness moving Mars, Io, Titan and Mercury at the end of Season of Arrivals; other sources attribute the removal to the Destiny Content Vault (sources differ, treat as unconfirmed). Season of the Seraph added the Heist Battleground and the Spire of the Watcher dungeon. The Renegades expansion later gave it a new social space at Tharsis Expanse (Destinypedia says its Mars article is not yet updated for Renegades).

How to get there

Select Mars from the Director in orbit. Warmind was the expansion that introduced the Warmind-era Mars; current access requirements should be checked in-game as they have changed over time.

Regions

• Hellas Basin - frozen Warmind-era destination (vaulted with Beyond Light); home to the Braytech Futurescape and Rasputin's core.
• Meridian Bay - the main destination: Freehold, the Rubicon Wastes, the Scablands and the Valley of the Kings.
• The Buried City - sub-region within Freehold, with Freehold Station and Tharsis Junction.
• The Enclave - established by Ikora Rey's Hidden to investigate the Relic left by the Black Fleet.
• Ares Spire - Golden Age Seraph complex, featured in Season of the Seraph.
• Tharsis Expanse - the Renegades-era outpost region.

Vendors and NPCs

Ana Bray (Warmind era), Ikora Rey at the Enclave.

Activities

Strikes, Lost Sectors (Ma'adim Subterrane, Core Terminus), Crucible maps (Blind Watch, Bastion, Skyline), Gambit locations, Escalation Protocol (Warmind), the Spire of the Watcher dungeon and the Mars Heist Battleground.

Lore

Mars was the Golden Age's Freehold; the Collapse reduced it to wasteland and the Cabal, Hive and Vex have all fought over it. Rasputin, the Warmind, controlled orbital weapons from Mars.