Back in 2023, Destiny 2 was deep into its Season of the Witch, an era that saw the introduction of the mysterious Deck of Whispers and the dark rituals of Savathûn's Spire. Fast forward to 2026, and while the planets have shifted and new threats loom, the structure of Seasonal Challenges remains a blueprint for how Guardians power up their Season Pass and earn that sweet Bright Dust. Looking back at the very first week from that season offers a time capsule of smart design—and plenty of tips that still apply to today's grind.

Each season dumps ten weekly challenges onto players, and Season of the Witch kicked things off with seven objectives that demanded time, patience, and a bit of buildcrafting. The rewards then were massive bundles of XP, Bright Dust, and sometimes exclusive cosmetics. Now, in the current era, the numbers have been tweaked but the rhythm is the same: hit the weekly challenges, grab the triumphs, and level up fast.

The first step was always Acolyte's Ascent I, which simply asked the guardian to finish Week 1 of The Bladed Path quest. That questline dropped immediately after completing the introductory seasonal mission—back then, players could launch it right from the H.E.L.M. if they missed it. The beauty of this challenge lay in its handholding; it nudged everyone into the new Savathûn's Spire activity and the Altars of Summoning without ever feeling like a grind. Even in 2026, the philosophy of using the first challenge as a tutorial remains a staple.

Then came Adept Arcana, a task that sent players hunting for Opaque Cards. These cards fell from seasonal activities and ritual playlists alike, and decrypting five Major Arcana cards at the Lectern of Divination unlocked a short questline for each. The loop was beautifully repetitive: farm Savathûn's Spire for cards, visit the H.E.L.M. to uncover their properties, then jump into an activity to complete the attached task. Today's players will recognize this deckbuilding mechanic as a precursor to later seasons' artifact customizations—only back then, it was all about the Deck of Whispers.

Opening chests formed the core of Witch's Spoils, a challenge that required dozens of seasonal activity completions unless a guardian had a stockpile of Witch's Keys. These keys dropped from the Season Pass and rarely from ritual content, and each key dramatically boosted progress. On average, players needed to open around 15–20 chests across Savathûn's Spire and Altars of Summoning. Looking back, it was a clever way to incentivize holding onto resources—something the modern Destiny economy still rewards heavily.

The real meat of the week was Master Conjurer. This two-part challenge first demanded the collection of five Hive Offerings—feeble, robust, or powerful, it didn't matter—and then tasked fireteams with completing 20 Altars of Summoning encounters. The genius twist: tougher offerings made encounters harder but granted much more progress. A powerful offering could slash the required number of encounters in half, while robust offerings struck a sweet spot for matchmade groups. Today's seasonal activities still use that risk–reward levers, and seasoned guardians know that chasing the hardest difficulty is often the most time-efficient route.

Then there were the ritual playlist grinders. Taking All Challenges was a straightforward task: complete weekly Pinnacle Gear challenges in Vanguard Ops, Crucible, and Gambit. But Season of the Witch introduced a tiered system, linking the three playlists so that a guardian could play any mix of nine games—no more being forced into a specific subclass element for Vanguard Ops. That small change made the challenge feel like a natural part of leveling up rather than a chore. By 2026, this flexibility has become the norm, but it's nice to remember when it felt revolutionary.

If one challenge swallowed playtime, it was Round and Round We Go, requiring the generation of 1,000 Orbs of Power in playlists. That's a mind-boggling number, but the trick was to lean into roaming Supers and ability-focused builds. A melee build with Heavy Handed could pump out 80+ orbs in a single Battleground, and Power Preservation on a Super turned every kill into a shower of small orbs. Gambit and Vanguard Ops were the farm zones of choice, and many guardians discovered the joy of orb generation builds there that they'd carry into future seasons.

Finally, Precision Calibration closed out the week with 200 precision kills using scout rifles, sniper rifles, or linear fusion rifles. The challenge gave bonus progress against other guardians, but most players simply paired this with the Altars of Summoning grind, equipping an exotic scout like Dead Man's Tale or Polaris Lance and popping heads endlessly. That same loop—stack challenges, then farm a seasonal activity—is a lesson that every new light learns eventually.

So why look back at a 2023 season? Because the DNA of those early Seasonal Challenges is still alive and kicking. The numbers have changed, the activities have new names, but the flow remains: complete the main quest, decrypt some macguffins, and generate a mountain of orbs. Guardians in 2026 can still follow this old roadmap and find it eerily familiar—and just as rewarding.