Much like any looter shooter out there, Destiny 2 players are obsessed with the appearance of their guardians. It is not only about wreaking havoc on your enemies, you have to look good while doing it too. And Destiny very much delivers on that end owing to its amazing gear designs.
However, what lies underneath that armor matters too. Sadly for most of us, we blast through the character creation at the start only to end up with a horrible-looking Guardian for the rest of the game. So the question is, can you change your appearance in Destiny 2?
The only way to change or customize your character’s appearance in Destiny 2 is when you are starting a new character. There are a bunch of options to choose from like face, body type, etc. You CAN NOT change the appearance after the character is created.
After that, you can only customize the appearance of your armor like shaders and ornaments through the Appearance Subscreen in the Character Screen menu.
Character Creation and Appearance
When you commence Destiny 2, you will have to choose a Guardian Class initially. After that, you will be presented with a slew of character appearance options which includes:
- Body – This will include the race and gender of your character. Each race will have a masculine and feminine body type. The races are:
- Human
- Awoken
- Exo
- Face – This option will have premade presets for the faces so do not expect full customization. There will be some color options for the skin, lips, and eyes too.
- Face Presets
- Skin Color
- Lip Color
- Eye Color
- Hair – A dozen or so hair presets are available to choose from only. And hair color of your liking.
- Hair Presets
- Hair Color
- Marking – These are tattoos or face paint that might denote some tribal affiliation but it’s only aesthetics nothing of significance.
- Marking Presets
- Mark Color
The character creation tool in Destiny 2 isn’t that robust. There are only the 4 options seen above to work with and nothing more. Do not go in hoping that you could tweak each aspect of your look like you want or have seen in some RPGs.
It is very simple and straightforward. The only reason behind its simplicity is that your appearance will generally be hidden behind the armor you have on.
However, this appearance customization option is only at the start. But what if you want to change the look later down the line?
Related: Do Armor Mods Stack in Destiny 2?
Can You Change Your Appearance In Destiny 2?
Unfortunately, Destiny 2 won’t allow you to change your character’s appearance once it is finalized at the start. There are no options in the middle of the game that will fulfill requirements later on. So be extra vigilant when creating your character at the start as you will be stuck with your choices.
Luckily, your ugly mug can be permanently concealed behind your head armor piece. There is an option in the Gameplay tab of Settings where you can toggle the Helmet on or off. Keep it on if you can’t stand the look of your Guardian.
New Character
However, if you are dreading your selections too much then you can always start a new character and choose the right look. You can do this by going into the Gameplay section of Settings and selecting the Change Character option. Destiny 2 provides three slots for characters in total so just simply create a new one.
One important thing to note here is that you will lose all your progress on your current character. You will begin the journey from the start and will have to go through all the paces again. All the items not stored in the Vault will not available to the new character. And any subclasses that you have unlocked will also be gone.
To somewhat counter this, you can equip your current character with throwaway basic gear and store all your favorite Exotics and Legendary pieces in the Vault. Move to the new character and use the stored items to update the new one.
We recommend sticking to the character you already have, as the trouble of doing everything all over again is too much of a hassle. We hope Bungie one day adds this much-needed option.
Related: Can you Solo Dungeons in Destiny 2?
Other Appearance
All is not lost, as the major component of the appearance of your character is the gear you have on. The developers have constantly added new and exciting looks to the armor which you can get in the game. Just slap on the armor set that tickles your fancy and let the headpiece cover your unappealing face.
The game does allow you to fiddle with the appearance of a lot of other things in the game. These includes:
- Weapon Skins and Ornaments
- Armor
- Armor Transmog/Synthesis – This will allow you to transfer the look of one armor to another so you can continue looking like you want.
- Emblem
- Sparrow Skins
- Ship Skins
- Emotes
- Finishers
Other than the Weapon Skins, all of these customizations can be accessed from the Appearance Subscreen in the Character Screen menu of Destiny 2.
It is quite shameful that such a basic feature is missing from a game where looks matter so much to the community. Just try to make the right look the first time otherwise your choices will haunt you forever. We do not recommend going for a new character as it is too much of an annoyance for a face that will be covered by your gear.