The long-awaited "The Desert Perpetual" raid is now available in Destiny 2, thanks to the Edge of Fate patch. This new challenge started the fierce World First race right away, attracting a lot of Guardians who wanted to test their skills and coordination against its unique features. The battle was tough because the best teams were fighting for the title and bragging rights that come with being the first to beat a new raid in Contest Mode. This article goes over everything from when the raid will be available to the best ways to win and how the community is reacting to this hard new activity.

The Desert Perpetual: Time of Release and Contest Mode Details

The Desert Perpetual raid started on July 19, 2025, at 10 AM PT, 1 PM ET, 6 PM GMT, and 7 PM CEST. The raid was in Contest Mode for the first 48 hours after it started. This higher difficulty level limits how powerful players can be, so Guardians have to rely more on mechanics, coordination, and raw talent than just leveling up to beat enemies. Teams that finished all of the encounters in this 48-hour period got the special Timeline's Blade Raid Emblem.

Players might additionally obtain the Third Unknown raid badge for finishing The Desert Perpetual on any difficulty, in addition to the raid completion emblems. People that watched Twitch might also win prizes. You might get the Power Hues Emblem by viewing any Destiny 2 webcast on July 19 from 6 AM to 6 PM PT. You could also get the Golden Relief symbol by giving a raid streamer a Twitch subscription in the Destiny 2 category from 6 PM PT on July 19 to 10 AM PT on July 29.

Who came in first in the Desert Perpetual World First Race?

Team Nuts won the World First title for The Desert Perpetual raid after a tough race. Milito, Dabs, Enskeria, Silken, mitcH, and Ham made up the victorious fireteam. Their win came after hours of hard raiding, solving problems, and doing everything perfectly under pressure. The community quickly celebrated what they had done.

@GuardianGaming: Team Nuts completely destroyed The Desert Perpetual! That last meeting was complete mayhem, yet they handled it perfectly. What a race! #Destiny2 #WorldFirst

Team Nuts is the first fireteam in the world.

During the raid, Team Nuts showed great collaboration and the capacity to change. What made them stand out was how rapidly they could learn and carry out complicated mechanics, especially in the non-linear parts. Their last assault through the hard boss fight made sure they will be remembered in Destiny 2 history.

How Contest Mode Works

Contest Mode cuts down on damage that comes in and boosts damage that goes out, so every mistake costs a lot. It also turns off several gear effects, which means that teams have to change their loadouts and strategies on the go. This mode makes sure that the World First race really tests a team's knowledge of the raid's mechanics and their ability to work together when things become really tough.

Key Strategies and Loadouts Used by the Winning Teams

The best teams planned well for The Desert Perpetual, but they were also ready to change their plans if they needed to. Because the raid's early encounters weren't in a straight line, teams could pick their own approach, which led to different strategies. At first, many teams focused on clearing the easier encounters to build up their momentum before moving on to the harder ones.

The Best Subclasses and Exotics During the Race

During the race, several subclasses and exotics worked really well. Many people chose prismatic subclasses because they could do a lot of different things and had access to a wide range of skills. Hunters commonly used grapple-based Prismatic builds to move quickly and stay alive. Warlocks liked builds that had great healing or crowd control, whereas Titans liked builds that made them tough and gave them significant damaging options. For exotics, weapons like Outbreak Perfected were always a good choice because they did constant damage, even though they were sometimes disabled. We also put a lot of emphasis on other exotics that could deal a lot of burst damage or be useful, such those that could make Orbs of Power or reload quickly.

How disabled gear and technical problems affected the race

Like many other raid launches, the Desert Perpetual race had its share of technical problems and broken gear. To keep things fair and avoid giving players an unfair advantage, Bungie released a list of goods that will have their effects turned off during Contest Mode. The new exotic scout rifle, Third Iteration, was on this list. It turned out that it was doing a lot more damage than it was supposed to with anti-barrier. The exotic Choir of One also had its reserves unintentionally raised, which made it temporarily unusable. These changes made teams immediately rethink their planned loadouts and come up with new plans, showing how flexible the best players are.

@BungieWatch: The disabled gear in The Desert Perpetual raid race made it harder, but it also showed how skilled these fireteams are at reacting on the fly. Respect! #Destiny2News

Some participants said they had other technical problems in addition to broken gear. Some players reported sound difficulties on the PS5, which could put them at a disadvantage. There were also unexpected problems with the race, like server strain and malfunctions in raids that made dungeons auto-kill players or banners not work. These problems showed how important it was to not only know how to do the raid but also how to deal with unexpected technological problems.

Important Bugs and How to Fix Them

Racers ran into a lot of serious glitches, such as problems with damage counts, ability interactions, and even deaths that weren't planned. Teams who quickly spotted these flaws and came up with ways to work around them had a big edge. Communication among the fireteam became very important since sharing information about problems helped everyone stay on track and avoid problems.

Understanding the non-linear design of The Desert Perpetual

The Desert Perpetual's non-linear design for the first encounters is one of its most important features. When teams enter the raid, they see a central platform where they can determine the order of the first three confrontations. You can make this option by interacting with a Purple Crystal Tower and picking a platform that matches the experience you want. This design option added a new level of strategy to the World First race because teams had to figure out which sequence would work best for their own strengths and weaknesses.

@RaidTheory: The non-linear raid design for The Desert Perpetual changed the game. The World First race got a lot more strategic depth! I like seeing how different people did things. #Destiny2RaidRace

How Non-Linearity Changed the Race Dynamic

Because the structure wasn't linear, there wasn't one "right" path, which led to different teams taking different approaches. Some people chose to deal with what they thought were the simpler problems first to boost their confidence and amass resources. Some people might have put the most mechanically difficult encounters first to get them out of the way. This dynamic led to different strategies and kept viewers guessing which team would win based on the route they took. It also made the game more fun for casual players by letting them try out different encounter orders.

What people in the community said and what they remembered about the race

The Desert Perpetual raid race got the Destiny 2 community excited, and many people watched their favorite teams on Twitch. It was clear that everyone was excited, especially during tense moments and near calls. People talked about strategy, forecasts, and responses to the drama as it unfolded on social media.

@LightbearerLore: Can we discuss about how important that one DPS phase was? I was very nervous watching the last few minutes of The Desert Perpetual race! Congratulations to the people who won! #D2

Memes immediately spread, showing the race's shared problems and successes. The community found humor and friendship in the shared experience, from annoying wipe screens to happy finishing blows. Once again, the raid race brought Destiny 2 players together.

@DestinyCommunity: We just finished another fantastic Destiny 2 Raid Race! The community gathered together, there were a lot of streams, and the competition was tough. This is what Destiny is all about. #Gaming

Twitch Drops and Getting Viewers Involved

Twitch drops, like the Power Hues and Golden Relief emblems, made viewers even more interested. This made fans want to watch streams, which led to a lot more people watching and a shared viewing experience. The fact that viewers may earn in-game incentives just by watching made the event much more exciting.

In the past, where did the Desert Perpetual rank?

The Desert Perpetual raid race is one of many noteworthy World First events in Destiny 2's history. Each raid race has its own set of problems and incidents that add to the game's long history of competition. Some raids have been finished in less than a day, while others have taken a full day or more. The Desert Perpetual was one of the hardest races in recent memory because of how complicated it was, notably its non-linear design and the technical problems that came up at first.

The longest raid races in Destiny 2's past

The Desert Perpetual is one of the hardest races since it lasts a long period and takes a long time to finish a World First. People knew that raids like Last Wish and Garden of Salvation took a long time to clear, sometimes pushing teams to their limits for more than 18 to 24 hours. The Desert Perpetual, with its complicated features and the fact that it wasn't always linear, really challenged the endurance and problem-solving skills of even the most experienced fireteams. This made it a very important part of Destiny 2's raid race history.

Advice for Future Destiny 2 Raid Races

There are a few important things that Guardians who want to compete in future Destiny 2 raid races can learn from The Desert Perpetual's competition. Getting ready is really important, and that includes knowing what gear might be broken and having backup loadouts ready. When you run into new mechanics or bugs that you didn't expect, it's very important for everyone on the fireteam to talk to each other. It is also important to be able to deal with unexpected problems, whether they are mechanical or technical. Finally, working together and being cheerful over the long hours of Contest Mode will considerably improve a team's chances of winning.

Getting Ready for Your Own Raid Race

To get ready for your own raid race, you should learn all of the subclasses, know the many sorts of weaponry, and have a wide range of exotic and legendary weapons. To improve your team's coordination, practice complex mechanics in raids that are already going on. Keep an eye out for any notifications from Bungie before the raid about things that are disabled or problems that are known to exist. Most importantly, put together a solid fireteam with good communication and a shared goal of completing the assignment.