Destiny 2 Raid start time, date, entry requirements and Desert Perpetual World First race

Destiny 2 fans are counting down to the release of the Desert Perpetual Raid.

The brand new Desert Perpetual Raid is available to owners of the recently released Edge of Fate expansion for Destiny 2.

While the expansion launched earlier this week for PlayStation, Xbox and PC, the Raid itself has a July 19 release date and a 6pm BST UK start time. The Raid will initially launch in Contest mode (the game's hardest difficulty) for the first 48 hours as part of the World First race (more on that further down the page).

Needless to say, players who want to enter the Raid will have to meet one or two requirements to play along.

In addition to owning a copy of Edge of Fate, players will need to finish expansion's new campaign in order to access the Raid.

With a required Power Level of 100, Bungie actually recommends finishing the Edge of Fate campaign on Legendary difficulty in order to be ready for the Raid.

Bungie explains more: "In the July 7 TWID, we mentioned that completing The Edge of Fate campaign in Legendary difficulty will get you ready for the raid.

"That remains true, as the required Power Level to participate in The Desert Perpetual is 100. Of course, you can finish the campaign in regular difficulty and grind to get to that number; it's your choice!"

Fans can also compete to become the World's First to finish the Raid, something that will earn the winning team a wrestling-style championship belt.

The Desert Perpetual World First Race begins at 6pm BST UK time when the Raid itself goes live. As previously mentioned, the first 48 hours revolve around the race, which means the Raid will only be available on the hardest difficulty.

Bungie also confirms that Fireteams don't need to return to orbit to finish the race, and the first team to finish every encounter and loot the final chest will be declared the winner.

Of course, Bungie will first need to verify the winning team scored the victory without cheating.

"We don't want to make everyone wait around while we dig into this data, but if we do find that any cheating or violations have occurred, we reserve the right to disqualify a team and crown the next fireteam in line World First, even after an announcement," Bungie adds.

The Raid will revert to Normal difficulty after 48 hours or once a completion has been recorded.