What To Do After The Black Garden In Destiny

Destiny 2 Shadowkeep raid: Everything we know about the Garden of Salvation

(Image credit: Bungie)

The Destiny 2: Shadowkeep raid is now available, and it's one of the prettiest raids yet. Set in the Vex Black Garden, the Garden of Salvation raid uses a mix of foliage and machinery to craft ethereal environments that are as gorgeous as they are hazardous. This Vex-themed raid is larger and more difficult than recent raids like Crown of Sorrow, but its unique loot is oh so worth it. Here's a quick roundup of all the essential Destiny 2: Shadowkeep raid facts.

What is the Garden of Salvation?

The Garden of Salvation is a six-player end-game activity set in the Black Garden, the birthplace of the Vex. Players visited the Black Garden in the main story of the original Destiny, but only for a (rather boring) story mission. The Garden of Salvation features multiple encounters which help flesh out our understanding of both the Black Garden and the Vex, not to mention the curious doppelganger in Shadowkeep's campaign. That said, plenty of questions remain, and those will likely be answered throughout the Season of the Undying.

What's the Destiny 2 Shadowkeep raid release date?

The Garden of Salvation was released on Saturday, October 5. It was cleared for the first time in just over six hours. Obviously, the day-one Contest modifier has since expired, so you'll be at full Power when you raid.

Watch the Garden of Salvation raid trailer

Ahead of the raid's release, Bungie released a short trailer showing off the many Vex baddies you'll face in the Garden of Salvation. The environments are lovely, there are void lasers flippin' everywhere, and the armor is gorgeous. It's a great watch if you want to check out the raid without spoiling too much.

What's the recommended Power level for the Destiny 2 Shadowkeep raid?

The Garden of Salvation is sitting pretty at 940 Power. Thanks to the new Power scaling rules introduced in Shadowkeep, you can still find success even if you're well below that level, but you should still aim to be as high as possible. The higher your Power, the less trouble you'll have. To play it safe, aim for 930 Power at a minimum before raiding.

What's the new Shadowkeep raid Exotic?

The Divinity Destiny 2 Exotic trace rifle is the new raid Exotic, and unlike the likes of Tarrabah and Anarchy, it's a quest Exotic rather than a random drop. You can start the Divinity quest without ever touching the raid, but to finish it, you'll need to solve seven puzzles - because it's always sevens with Bungie - inside the Garden of Salvation.

The quest is a bit fiddly, but it's good fun, and totally worth it. Divinity is one of the strongest raid Exotics yet, as its unique weakening ability not only makes enemies more vulnerable, but it also stacks with other buffs and debuffs. Thanks to the intermittent bursts of damage it deals, it's also a powerful weapon in its own right. Divinity will undoubtedly become a staple of six-player fireteam loadouts in the future, and it's incredibly satisfying to use.

What does the Destiny 2 Shadowkeep raid armor look like?

The Garden of Salvation drops raid-exclusive armor mods as well as armor with special mod slots just for them. Here's a look at the new raid armor sets.

If this armor looks familiar, that's because it uses some models from an old Eververse-exclusive set as a base, but the neon detailing and general Vex-ification definitely make it stand out. Especially once you put a nice shader on it, this armor really pops.

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature.