No, you will not get The Witch Queen expansion if you only buy Lightfall

As an avid Destiny player and content creator myself, one of the most common questions I‘ve been getting lately is: "If I buy the upcoming Lightfall expansion, do I also get last year‘s critically-acclaimed The Witch Queen expansion included?"

The straightforward answer is no, purchasing Lightfall alone does not automatically grant you access to The Witch Queen as well. But let‘s dive deeper into the details surrounding both expansions, pricing structures, and why The Witch Queen is still very much worth playing.

Lightfall Release Date, Pricing, and What‘s Included

Lightfall, Destiny 2‘s seventh expansion, will launch on February 28th, 2023. The Standard Edition costs $49.99 USD and includes:

• New Legendary campaign
• New destinations – Neomuna and the capital city of Neptune
• New Strand subclass powers
• New Exotics like Quicksilver Storm auto rifle
• Access to Season 20: Season of Defiance

There‘s also the Annual Pass or Deluxe Edition for $99.99 USD which adds:

• Years 6 and 7 seasonal content (through 2024)
• Two new dungeons
• New Exotic sparrow
• Catalysts and ornaments

As we can see, Lightfall itself focuses on the new areas, narrative, gear, and subclasses separate from past expansions.

Why The Witch Queen Remains Essential

Meanwhile, The Witch Queen expansion launched in February 2022 and is widely considered one of Destiny‘s best, improving on previous releases in almost every way. Let‘s quickly recap why it‘s such must-play content:

• The most cohesive, intense story campaign in the series
• Fantastic new weapon crafting system
• Two brand new destinations – Savathûn‘s Throne World and Mars
• Customizable Glaive melee weapons
• Hugely expanded endgame including the Throne World destination

While Bungie weaves connecting narrative threads between expansions, most of the concrete content remains siloed. So missing out on The Witch Queen would leave significant gaps in your Destiny 2 experience even as Lightfall takes things in bold new directions.

How to Get The Witch Queen Alongside Lightfall

If you want to experience Destiny‘s entire continuous adventure, you have a two options:

Purchase The Witch Queen Separately

The Witch Queen Standard Edition can be purchased alone for $39.99 or $49.99 for the Deluxe Edition which also includes Season Passes 16-19 spanning Year 5. This is still fantastic value considering how much you get.

Wait for Future Discounts/Bundles

While concrete details aren‘t available yet, we can reasonably expect attractive Destiny 2 bundles similar to past major expansions. Potentially packaging previous expansions like The Witch Queen alongside new Lightfall purchases. As release approaches, retailers will announce offers so stay tuned!

For now however, The Witch Queen remains separate requiring individual purchase to access alongside the upcoming Lightfall.

Expansion Comparison Table

For simplicity, let‘s break down a quick overview of everything covered in a data table:

While both are fantastic value, hopefully the differences and details covered make the breakdown clearer surrounding what is and isn‘t included depending on which version you decide to pick up!

The Road Ahead for Destiny 2

As a hardcore player myself, I can confidently say the Destiny experience keeps getting better, building upon years of refinements and content. While bitter-sweet to say goodbye to previous expansions moving into the DCV (Destiny Content Vault), it allows Bungie to keep innovating without ballooning storage footprints.

Lightfall marks the beginning of the final arc of Destiny‘s overarching Light and Darkness saga which The Witch Queen directly sets the stage for. I‘m thrilled to see where it takes us next and already eagerly awaiting 2024‘s conclusive The Final Shape chapter after Lightfall!

For newcomers, many past campaigns now have free taster versions so it‘s never too late to dive in. But at this point, The Witch Queen and Lightfall will be the essential cornerstones carrying Destiny 2 boldly beyond its 10th anniversary.

Eyes up, Guardians – our epic sci-fi adventure continues! Let me know down in the comments what excites you most about Destiny‘s future and I‘ll see you starside.