With a higher Light level, PvE content, and new gear coming in Spring, here’s how to make the most of the current Taken King landscape.
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Calcified Fragments
Anyone hunting for those pesky Calcified Fragments on the Dreadnaught will know it’s difficult to remember which ones you have already found. Luckily there’s a tool to track these per character.
Visit bungie.net/en/Legend/Advisors and scroll halfway down for the list of fragments you have.
See how and where to get to each of these with destinyghosthunter.net/ghosts (45 required for Touch of Malice).
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Save Engrams
With the Taken King’s Infusion system, once you hit level 40 you can be raid ready in minutes.
You’re going to want to save 1 or 2 legendary engrams for each slot; this means having your first account save their engrams in the vault for Head, Arms, Chest, Legs and Class Item. As soon as your brand new character hits level 40, he can trade these in and immediately get some low LL Legendary armour.
You’re going to want to save high LL rare or legendary armour from other characters to infuse; this allows you to infuse into legendary armour on any character, regardless of class, to immediately boost Light.
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Community
Never experienced a raid before or hesitant to delve into LFG to find some teammates for Trials of Osiris? There are whole communities devoted to helping new or old players get involved in the end game content currently available in Destiny.
/r/DestinySherpa – These Guardians will lead you and your fireteam into the depths of the Raids, both new and old, to experience some of the hardest PvE activities Destiny has to offer. They will guide you through them, step by step, in a friendly and fun environment so you get to experience everything the raid has to offer, and hopefully make some fireteam buddies along the way.
/r/CrucibleSherpa – Ever wondered what it’s like to be on the giving end of the turmoil from some of the best PvP players in Destiny, rather than on the receiving end? CrucibleSherpa has some of the finest and most experienced PvP players available to guide you through 3v3 sweats, Trials of Osiris and all aspects of the Crucible. They can talk you through improvements and tips on your loadout, stat distribution, sniping, pushing, teamwork, callouts and everything you need to improve your own game and maybe reach a Lighthouse or two along the way.
DestinyLFG.net – This is a great resource for finding any players for any activity in Destiny. Looking for a quick pick up group to power your way through a raid, or through this week’s nightfall or Trials of Osiris? Look up and hook up with guardians instantly looking for the same activity. We have a mobile app, auto-grouping, instant chat and a lite version for slower devices.
the100.io – This is a community creator for forming friends, finding regular raid or fireteam groups, and learning things along the way. There are many communities out there looking to bring new or old players into the fold, and joining some of the most active ones can give you a whole new friends list of like-minded players in your timezone.
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Item Management
There are a number of great sites and mobile apps to help you with moving your gear, or whole loadouts around from character to character, or from the vault to your character on the fly:
- Destiny Item Manager (DIM) (Chrome add-on)
- Ishtar Commander (For android) or (for iOS)
- Ishtar Academy (Android)
- Tower Ghost (Multiple Platforms)
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Take the Campaign Slow
This is mainly just a tip for new players getting involved in Destiny for the first time, or for player’s creating a new character who may not have done this the first time around.
Destiny started with a very lackluster story, an opener to a universe that is only really now expanding. To fully enjoy the story as it stands, it is best to view and play it in the way it was presented to those who have been here from the start. Enjoy playing the Vault of Glass raid before venturing into the House of Wolves storyline, and enjoy taking down Crota in The Dark Below’s raid before facing his vengeful father, Oryx, in King’s Fall.
You will also get all of the associated XP from completing these missions if you haven’t played them before, and enjoy the unique, but under levelled, weapons and armour that these previous activities provide. If your first venture into Destiny was through purchasing the legendary edition, you would have undoubtedly received the Spark of Light lvl 25 boost. Although this puts you in a position to start TTK missions, you can go back and re-live the Destiny year 1 story and tackle the missions at their hardest difficulty for bonus XP.
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Tracker
While it’s not recommended for more casual gametypes, Trials of Osiris is great way to get a picture of what you’re up against. Use these resources to check your progress week by week and critique what you are doing right or wrong.
DestinyTrialsReport – Type in a member of the fireteam you are about to face against in Trials and it will give you the fireteam members they played with in their last game; invariably the same fireteam you are about to play, but it’s worth noting sometimes it gives the wrong teammates so just double check this. It will give you their stats, current loadouts and previous games stats. You can then adjust your playstyle, strategy and play with the knowledge of their supers and perks before the game has started.
Guardian.gg – This is the site DestinyTrialsReport uses to pull its stats, but it’s also a great resource for checking your own stats. It provides an ELO ranking system, and you can check your progress in every game type. This also provides an in-depth look at your individual opponents if you were looking them up before sweats.
DestinyTracker – For all your Destiny stats needs, PvE or PvP alike, this is the 1-stop shop for every statistic this side of the Dreadnaught. Track your crucible improvements, your best Trials of Osiris weeks, your PvE kills and Raid completions and just about everything else.
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Farming
Every engram that drops has the potential to raise your light level, roll different perks, or be that ‘god-roll’ that everyone wants. When it comes to Armour and Exotic engrams, there are efficient ways to make the most out of each.
Exotic Engrams – Xur sells 3 of Coins, and using this item before killing an Ultra tier boss or before completing a Crucible match offers a chance at an Exotic engram drop.
Opening these engrams at different Light Levels yields different results; while at 300-310 LL they have a chance of being either 290 or 310 LL, and if your character is >311 LL then they are guaranteed to be at 310 LL for your character.
Legendary/Rare Engrams – Try to be 300+ when opening these. Check them 1 at a time as you open them and equip them if they are higher than your current piece of gear before you continue onto the next one.
Legendary engrams are worth double-checking before deleting them, as they can be infused to higher light levels, and may have very desirable perks, stats, or weapon rolls depending on the type of engram. Pay close attention to the perk nodes, and whether they are useful to your character and your playstyle. One person’s preferences and playstyle may differ substantially with your own, it’s sometimes worth testing things out for yourself!
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Optimal Loadout
Most items at ~170 LL are still a viable option in all Vanilla, The Dark Below and House of Wolves PvE content; they are also viable options in all non-LL enabled PvP playlists (that’s everything other than Trials of Osiris and Iron Banner).
This means you can jump into the Vault of Glass raid with your trusty Gjallarhorn equipped, join a skirmish game using any weapon (yes, that means you too Thorn), or use your favourite year 1 legendary raid weapons to replay some of the older content without them feeling underpowered.
Trying to use these in end-game PvP, or the new King’s fall raid, will, however, drop your light level significantly and will affect the damage you deal and the damage you receive. Year 1 exotic weapons and armour are still available via Legacy Engrams from Xur, or by completing End-game year 1 activities like The Prison of Elders and The Vault of Glass and Crota’s End Raids. E.g. Your first Prison of Elders completion gives a guaranteed year 1 Exotic.
You don’t have to wait and rely on RNG to randomly drop weapons to have an easy to use or effective weapon in the Crucible or the Raids. Some are available immediately to either purchase or earn through completing some of the Taken King’s quests.
Here are a selection of some of the best below:
Hung Jury SR4 – Available to buy from the Dead Orbit faction leader, (get it before it disappears!), this scout rifle comes with Triple Tap, Hand Laid Stock and Firefly. It’s excellent for both PvP and PvE.
1000 Yard Stare – Available to buy from the Vanguard Quartermaster this version is excellent for PvE. It comes with Triple Tap, Perfect Balance and Mulligan for maximum DPS and ammo efficiency. It also has a good scope selection. This sniper rifle can also be earned through ‘The Taken War: Earth’ quest; Last Resort, Skip Rounds/Rifled Barrel, & Firefly.
Conspiracy Theory-D – Earned through ‘The Taken War’ quest, this is an exceptional PvP shotgun, providing maximum range straight off the bat. It comes with Rangefinder, Rifled Barrel and Performance Bonus.
Havoc Pigeon – Available to buy from the Crucible Quartermaster, this is a fun to use Sidearm in PVP; it comes with Crowd Control, Feeding Frenzy and Hand Loaded.
Righteous VII – Available to buy from the New Monarchy leader, this Auto Rifle comes with Perfect Balance, Rifled Barrel and Glass Half Full. It’s an easy to use auto rifle for PvP if that’s your choice, and fun to use in PvE.
Gunsmith – Although the perks change on the weapons available from the Gunsmith, he has some excellent guns to choose from, especially if the perk selection for that week is good. Guns of note include Cocytus SR4 Scout, Suros DIS-42 Pulse. He’s also got Exotic Quests: The First Curse at Rank 5 + Tlaloc, Ace of Spades and Fabian Strategy at Rank 3.
Strikes – Check out this guide to see the unique Legendary gear that exclusives drops from PvE Strikes.
Exotic Quests – Read our guides for No Time To Explain, Chaperone, Sleeper Simulant and Black Spindle – these are all great weapons.
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Burned Out?
We know new content is coming, and waiting for that really sucks, but don’t stress yourself out. Come back when Bungie brings some new goodies in, or when you just want to play with your friends. Create your own challenges when playing with friends; drop your light level and play the Vault of Glass as it’s supposed to be played, or grab a fireteam and take the Khvostov for a spin.
Most of us have “beaten the game” and it’s perfectly fine to put Destiny down until there is new content. That’s not Bungie “lying” or “breaking promises”, it’s how we would act any any other game we play. If you’re tired of “the grind” then stop! Grinding is a choice and when the game isn’t fun, it’s time to stop. You can still have fun in Destiny without choosing to grind. – th3groveman
Ultimately, the Tower is where we hang our hats in. And like a home, when things are bad, there’s always a way to make them better again.
But when things are flourishing – ah to know that feeling – well, you just might find you’ll never want to leave.
There’s no doubt that burnout is curable, because Destiny should be, at its heart, a social experience. We can learn to love it for what it offers: a stellar multiplayer shooter that connects people. But in the end, we have a responsibility to fight those tendencies that entangle us in an experience we aren’t happy with. Which is why, if you feel yourself burning out on Destiny, take a step back and re-evaluate. You will be glad you did, regardless of where it leads.
Destiny will continue to evolve over time, and we look forward to its growth. More SRL is an easy place to start!