Bungie will forever be known as the developer who gave the world Halo, but for the past seven years, they have put all their focus into Destiny, an FPS MMO which has had a troubled history. Even with all of its issues, Destiny maintains a hardcore fanbase filled with players who log in at least once a week, and they do this because they love the gameplay, the lore, and the characters who fill the world.
In Destiny, players assume the role of a Guardian, a resurrected Lightbearer who can wield Arc, Void, and Solar energy. However, the world is actually filled with hundreds of Guardians, all of whom are powerful. With that being said, there are certain Guardians in the game and the lore who stand above the rest in terms of strength, and this list will attempt to rank the strongest of them all.
Updated on May 6, 2023, by George Voutiritsas: From a narrative and gameplay perspective, Lightfall may not be the best Destiny expansion that Bungie has ever released, but it has set up the end of the Light and Darkness Saga pretty well. Lightfall may have its issues, but certain characters have gotten more involved in major events. Most of these characters are in fact Guardians, and they all possess a great deal of power because of their connection to the Light. Some of the most powerful Destiny characters are in fact Guardians, and some like Saint-14, Saladin, and Osiris are considered legends because of their strength. That being said, Destiny's lore is quite vast, and there are a number of characters considered the strongest guardians in Destiny.
22 Asher Mir
- Appears In: Destiny 2, Lightfall
In order for Bungie to bring in new locations like Neomuna, other locations needed to be vaulted. Io was one of them, but there was a logical explanation given for its disappearance. The moon was taken by The Witness, and Asher Mir was presumed to be dead. During Season of Defiance's Avalon Exotic quest, it was revealed that Asher integrated himself into the Vex Network. He managed to extract all the Vex's data about the Witness and the Veil, but doing so cost him his life. He is now a permanent part of the Vex Network, so he may reappear during Season of the Deep.
Asher was the local vendor, and he is a Warlock who cared for Eris Morn after she escaped from the Hellmouth. He studied the Hive and the Taken, but the Vex were the main focus of his research, which is why he explored the Pyramidion. After a terrifying encounter, Asher's right arm was replaced with a Vex's arm, which slowly poisons him, and his Ghost was augmented with Vex aesthetics.
21 Shaw Han
- Appears In: Destiny 2: Beyond Light
Shaw Han is considered a very skilled Hunter, which is why the Vanguard appointed him to be their representative in the Cosmodrome. Shaw's fireteam was attacked by a Hive sect commanded by Navôta, Eir Spawn. He was the only survivor.
Of all the NPCs, only Shaw possesses armor that players can acquire, and it shows what he has accomplished. The armor indicates that Shaw helped to hold off the Hive on Mars and that he has helped Failsafe on Nesus. His boots also prove that he has survived the Last Wish raid in the Dreaming City.
20 Crow
- Appears In: Destiny, The Taken King, Destiny 2: Forsaken, Shadowkeep, The Witch Queen & Lightfall
Uldren Sov was the Prince of the Awoken, and he has become one of Destiny's most unforgettable characters. He fought against Oryx's fleet when the Hive God invaded Sol, and when his sister "died," he did everything he could to bring her back. Unfortunately, he was corrupted and fooled by Riven.
He will forever be remembered as the man who killed Cayde-6, and many fans were shocked when a Ghost revived him as a Guardian. As Crow, he is a Hunter who works as a scout for the Vanguard, and he saved Osiris from a Hive Knight on the Moon. Since regaining the memories of his past life, Crow has struggled with his identity, which has created the best character arc in Destiny.
19 Sloane
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- Appears In: Destiny 2
- Rank: Deputy Commander of the Vanguard
Destiny 2 has a massive file size, and it is the reason why Bungie vaulted destinations like Titan, and in doing so, they killed off a relatively high-ranking guardian. Sloane was a Titan, and she was resurrected a long time ago. In fact, she helped build the walls of the Last City.
Sloane rose through the ranks of the Vanguard until she became Deputy Commander, which means that she could have become the Titan Vanguard if Zavala died or stepped down. She fought the Hive when they first appeared in the Sol system, and she fought at Twilight Gap. She secured Titan for the Vanguard, and when the Pyramid came, she took on a Hive army by herself.
18 Shiro-4
- Appears In: Destiny: Rise of Iron
Players first encountered Shiro-4 in 2016's Rise of Iron expansion, where he served as an NPC in the Felwinter Peak public space. Shiro is an Exo Hunter. The Vanguard consider him to be a vital part of their operation because of his ability to track and eliminate Fallen threats on Earth and the moon.
Shiro defended The Last City during the infamous Fallen assault known as Six Fronts. It is thanks to him that the 
Outbreak Perfected pulse rifle exists. He was the protégé of Cayde-6, which explains why his combat skills are held in such high regard.
17 Eris Morn
- Appears In: Destiny: The Dark Below, The Taken King, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, and Season of the Haunted.
- Rank: Member of the Hidden
Eris may have lost her Ghost, but she is still a Guardian, and she still serves as one of the Vanguard's Hidden Hunters. The Hidden are deep-infiltration scouts under the command of Ikora Rey. It is their job to gather intelligence on the Darkness and its subordinates.
Eris was part of the unsanctioned fireteam that attempted to kill the Hive Prince, Crota, but every single member died except for her. She managed to survive in the Hellmouth surrounded by Hive for years. In doing so, she learned a great deal about them. She now wields the Darkness power of Stasis, and she is one of only a few Guardians who have seemingly not been corrupted by it.
16 Kabr
- Appears In: Destiny
Kabr the Legionless was a legendary Titan who took part in the Great Ahamkara Hunt, and he was great friends with the Warlock Praedyth and the Hunter Pahanin. Together, they formed a formidable three-person Fireteam. Kabr was strong, but he was obsessed with the Vault of Glass.
He managed to survive being wiped from existence when his Fireteam encountered the Oracles, and he eventually became the sole member to reach the Vault. He lost his Ghost during the encounter, but in an effort to make his death mean something, he forged his Light into the Aegis, a powerful shield capable of changing fate itself.
15 The Drifter
- Appears In: Destiny 2: Forsaken, Beyond Light, and Season of the Plunder.
- Rank: Rogue Lightbearer
The man who runs Gambit has gone by many names over the centuries, but for the time being, he prefers to be called Drifter. He was revived during the Dark Age, which means he is one of the oldest lightbearers. From the very beginning, Drifter was not a fan of the Light. In fact, he kept his powers and Ghost hidden for as long as he could.
During the City Age, he and his crew left the Sol system to search for something greater. They found something old and menacing instead, and Drifter was the only survivor. When he returned to the system, the Nine gifted him an item (the unknown object attached to his ship), and with the help of motes, he can use it to control a small army of Taken.
14 Andal Brask
- Appears In: Destiny Lore
- Rank: Former Hunter Vanguard
For most Destiny fans, Cayde-6 is the only Hunter Vanguard that they know, but there were others. Andal Brask was the Hunter Vanguard before Cayde, and they were very good friends. In fact, Cayde's hood was originally Andal's, and he wore it so he could remember and honor him.
Andal was Ana Bray's mentor, and he fought alongside other Guardians during the battle of Twilight Gap. At the start, Andal was not that serious about his position, to the point that he would leak information to his friends so that they could get the first crack at loot. He eventually took the role seriously, and he was ultimately killed by Taniks, the Scarred.
13 Cayde-6
- Appears In: Destiny, The Taken King, Destiny 2, and Forsaken.
- Rank: Former Hunter Vanguard
Every MMO has at least one character who is beloved by the vast majority of players. In Destiny, that character is without a doubt the Exo known as Cayde-6. The former Hunter Vanguard met his end in the opening mission of the Forsaken expansion, where he showcased his strength by taking on a small army of Skorn alone.
Cayde managed to survive the events of The Great Disaster, which saw thousands of Guardians perish to Crota and the Hive on the moon. When Ghaul stole the Traveler's Light, Cayde took on a large number of Cabal alongside his fire team before eventually getting too injured to move.