xur exotic shard upgrade

Dark Below Changes [GUIDE]

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This article can also be found at Bungie.net

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New Legendary Gear

You can view all of this new Legendary gear in the middle of this article.

  • Existing Legendary gear on display in the Tower will be replaced
  • New Legendary gear will feature higher Attack and Defense values
  • Legendary items will still require Ascendant Materials for upgrades
  • This new, more powerful gear will be available to all players of Destiny
  • Legendary gear will not be as powerful as new Raid gear or Exotics

[divider]New Rank Commendations

  • In addition to Crucible or Vanguard Marks, purchasing new Legendary items will require a Crucible or Vanguard Commendation
  • Commendations are received in Reputation Reward Packages delivered by the Postmaster upon reaching a new Reputation Level

[divider]Exotic Talent Changes

  • As part of the December 1st Destiny Update, Exotic Armor and Weapons no longer require Ascendant Materials for upgrades
  • The final power node of all Exotic Gear will require an Exotic Shard
  • This new material is obtained by one of the following means:
    • Purchased from Xûr for 7 Strange Coins
    • Dismantling unwanted Exotics

[divider]New Exotic Upgrading

xur exotic shard

  • Exotic Gear in The Dark Below will have higher Attack and Defense values than current Exotic Gear. For players and their current caches of Exotics, a path will exist to bring them forward into The Dark Below.
  • Starting December 9th, Xûr will offer players the opportunity to upgrade Exotics to the higher Attack and Defense values
  • Upgrading an Exotic in this way will require an Exotic Shard
  • The upgrade will reset the progression invested into the item
  • Each week, Xûr will possess a selection of upgrades for existing Exotics in his inventory

[divider]Crucible (PvP) Changes

Crucible
Trials of Osiris emblem in the middle
  • Expansion I will include two new exclusive competitive playlists – Inferno and Hardcore (and Trials of Osiris)
  • New Crucible arenas (Pantheon, Skyshock, and The Cauldron) will be featured in map rotation
  • Playlists available in the Director will change week over week
  • Experiences will alternate between 12 and 6 player engagements
  • Map rotation will alternate between focusing solely on new expansion arenas and including original launch maps in the mix

[divider]Heroics and Nightfall (PvE) Changes

  • With the Light level increase to 32, Heroics and Nightfalls will be increased by 2 Light levels to keep up with new content, level increases, and gear items

[divider]New Raid: Crota’s End

  • The new Raid, Crota’s End, will unlock on December 9th
  • Players at Light level 30 can lead a Fireteam immediately upon release
  • Raid loot in Crota’s End will drop at a higher rate
  • New Raid gear will contain a wider variety of potential perks
  • Weapons and Gear from Crota’s End will not require Ascendant materials for upgrades
  • Radiant Shards and Radiant Energy acquired in the Raid will be used to upgrade new Raid gear
  • Unwanted weapons and gear from Crota’s End will dismantle into Radiant materials
  • Primary weapons will only drop in the hard version of Crota’s End, released sometime in January