The Tower is one of the most important locations in Destiny. It serves as a base of operations and it is the place worth coming back to after each long journey. The Tower is considered a safe sanctuary, so you do not have to worry about encountering enemies or hostile players here. Instead, a lot of activities await you here, the most important of which being:

1)Making purchases from merchants – Their offer is very diverse. E.g. you can buy new weapons, armor, emblems, or spaceships.
2)Taking new missions – This refers to both main missions as well as minor jobs received from factions.
3)Storing items that you have no use of at the moment – You can put them in the Vault.
4)Receiving messages – You receive them from Postmaster.
5)Meeting other players – You can check their progress, invite them to your Fireteam or add to your friends list.

If you have troubles with finding your way around the Tower, talk to one of the drones residing there. This will display a map with your position and the important NPC’s marked on it.

The most important mission givers and merchants in the Tower are:
Amanda Holliday – Sells vehicles and spaceship plans (Shipwright).
Arach Jalaal – Sells weapons, armor, and emblems for the Crucible (Dead Orbit).
Arcite 99-40 – Sells vehicles for the Crucible (Crucible Quartermaster) and does Material Exchange.
Banshee-44 – Sells weapons and ammo (Gunsmith).
Cayde-6 – Gives missions and sells items to Hunters (Hunter Vanguard).
Commander Zavala – Gives missions and sells items to Titans (Titan Vanguard).
Eva Levante – Sells emblems (Guardian Outfitter).
Executor Hideo – Sells weapons, armor, and emblems for the Crucible (New Monarchy).
Ikora Rey – Gives missions and sells items to Warlocks (Warlock Vanguard).
Lakshmi-2 – Sells weapons, armor, and emblems for the Crucible (Future War Cult).
Lord Shaxx – Sells armor for the Crucible (Crucible Handler).
Master Rahool – Decodes Encrypted Engram and sells Engrams.
Roni 55-30 – Sells Vanguard weapons and vehicles (Vanguard Quartermaster) and does Material Exchange.
Tess Everis – Deals in special items (Special Orders).
The Speaker – Sells Exotic Armor and emblems (Voice of the Traveler).

The remaining characters in the Tower are:
Kadi 55-30 – You can receive new messages from him (Postmaster).
Xander 99-40 – You can take new Bounties from him. Each one of them has set requirements (e.g. finish a mission without dying). Rewards for scoring Bounties are: experience points, reputation, or honor.