Destiny 2: The 7 Best Characters in the Franchise (Red War to Final Shape)

Savathun, the Witch Queen

Introduced In: The Witch Queen (formally), but we encountered her in the seasons leading up to that expansion as well. She was referenced many times before then, too.

Savathun was, essentially, the perfect villain / anti-hero. Well, really it’s hard to pinpoint Savathun’s place in the grand scheme of things, but she’s far from pure evil. It feels like every time we learn something about Savathun, we can expect things to turn out entirely different than they seemed. She’s a master manipulator in its purest form, and I love her for it. While it has sort of become an old trope in Destiny 2 that we always end up working with the villains at some point, Savathun is the best example of the trope working. From the seasons leading up to The Witch Queen where we really got to understand her and her deceitful ways, to fighting her light-infused Hive throughout that campaign, to The Final Shape and beyond, she’s a constant presence that we’ll never really know if we can trust or not (we can’t).

Cayde-6

Introduced In: Destiny 1

Cayde-6 has served many purposes throughout his run in the Destiny franchise. At the simplest level, he served as comic relief. Cayde has always been the more light-hearted, wise-cracking character. For years, he was always in our ear making whatever mission we were on at the time less dull and boring. His death in the Forsaken expansion was the first major death of Destiny 2 that really sticks with me, and it reminded us that no character is safe. Even after his death, though, Cayde remained relevant through his absence. It always felt like something was missing. His “return” in The Final Shape was exactly what we needed to finally get closure of the Light and Dark saga, and while some might call it a cheap storytelling tactic to bring back an old character, I don’t think it would have really felt like the end without Cayde there. I won’t go too in-depth on his role in The Final Shape for sake of spoilers, but without him I doubt the story would have been as memorable as it was.

Commander Zavala

Introduced In: Destiny 1

Commander Zavala is simply the best example of a Guardian in the Destiny franchise, outside of our own character. He’s brave, does whatever he believes is in the Traveler’s best interest, and is a masterful Titan. Of the long-term characters in the Destiny franchise, Zavala is the one that stands out to me as most important. He’s always there to guide us and lend a hand when needed, and the more personal aspects of his story that we’ve learned over the last handful of years have done a lot to move him from a pretty generic character to a very three-dimensional one. Learning the ins-and-outs of Zavala’s backstory and his struggles with maintaining his faith in the Traveler really put the character over the top and made him far more likeable in the end.

Of course, there’s also the fantastic voice actor, Lance Reddick. Reddick died in 2023, and while it’s always going to be weird to hear someone else as Zavala’s voice, the new actor (Keith David) does a great job in carrying on the role that Reddick started.

Crow / Uldren Sov

Introduced In: Destiny 1

Quite the opposite to Cayde, Crow (or Uldren Sov) is a constant reminder of grief as well as redemption. As Uldren Sov, he was the primary villain of the Forsaken expansion after killing Cayde early in that story. After the Guardians finally track down and execute Uldren for his crimes, he ends up being revived by a Guardian-less Ghost. In his new life, Uldren has no memory of his previous one, and therefore does not remember killing Cayde. Eventually, the Guardians end up working with the new Uldren (who calls himself Crow), ultimately forgiving him for Cayde’s death and allowing him to find his own redemption as well. Again, I won’t go all the way into how this story plays out in The Final Shape, but it’s certainly one of my favorite parts of the campaign.

Introduced In: Destiny 1

It took me a long time to really appreciate Ikora’s role in the story. Most of the time, she’s honestly kind of forgettable. She’s always there during the important moments, but she rarely does more than deliver a few voice lines and some early-game quests. However, the last couple of expansions have done a better job portraying her importance. When things get tough (which lately seems to always be the case), Ikora is always there to keep everyone on track. Without her leadership, we’d never make it anywhere. She isn’t the most exciting character, but for being the backbone of the Tower for so long, it’s hard to overlook her. Plus, sometimes she shows up with a Nova Bomb or two to help us out, which is always nice.

Empress Caital

Introduced In: Season of the Chosen (2021)

Who would have thought that one of Calus’s daughters would make for such a good ally to the Guardians. Empress Caital came into play during Season of the Chosen, when she joined us to create a partnership with the Cabal that in some form still exists today. Caital’s entire backstory revolving around her decision to not follow her father’s more violent ways is peak storytelling. As we (the Guardians) have forged alliances with nearly every enemy group, our relationship with the Cabal is arguably the strongest thanks to Caital. Whenever the Cabal show up, we know that Caital will help us solve whatever problems come up every time. She has an inspiring backstory and she’s one of the more badass characters we’ve gotten in years, so it’s always nice when she shows back up.

Mithrax

Introduced In: Season of the Splicer (2021)

Mithrax is similar to Caital in that both serve as our ambassador to other species. Mithrax’s assistance during the Season of the Splicer established a friendship between us and the Fallen which has helped us many times over the years. And while he’s obviously been a lot of help to us, he’s also just a fun and wholesome character. His story of redemption isn’t quite as drawn out as someone like Crow, as he’s more or less just happy to help us when needed and wants the best for his people. Mithrax tends to be featured from time to time, and I’m always thrilled whenever he’s relevant to whatever is going on at the time.