How to Get Legendary Gear in Destiny 2: A Comprehensive Guide
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Legendary gear is the backbone of any Guardian’s arsenal in Destiny 2. These coveted purple items are crucial for tackling challenging content, building powerful loadouts, and progressing your character effectively. Obtaining them is a fundamental part of the Destiny 2 experience, but the sheer variety of ways to acquire them can sometimes feel overwhelming. This article provides a clear and comprehensive guide to help you understand how to get legendary gear, along with answers to many frequently asked questions.
How to Obtain Legendary Gear in Destiny 2
Legendary gear in Destiny 2 can be obtained through various activities and systems. It’s not just about grinding endlessly; understanding the best methods can significantly boost your acquisition rate. Here’s a breakdown of the primary ways to get your hands on this valuable loot:
1. Completing Playlist Activities
One of the most consistent methods to earn legendary gear is by playing core playlists like Vanguard Ops (Strikes), Crucible (PvP), and Gambit. Upon completing these activities, you have a chance to receive legendary armor and weapons as rewards. The difficulty of these activities does not seem to affect the drop rate, meaning you can earn legendary gear from the standard versions of these activities.
2. Legendary Engrams
Legendary engrams are another primary source of legendary gear. These engrams can drop from defeating enemies, completing activities, or even through season pass progression. Decoding them at the Cryptarch in the Tower will reveal a random legendary item. While the content of the engram is random, it is a reliable source of consistent legendary gear.
3. Vendor Rewards
Several vendors throughout Destiny 2 offer legendary gear for purchase or as rewards for rank progression. These include:
* The Vanguard, Crucible, and Gambit vendors: As you play these playlists, you gain reputation which allows you to increase your vendor ranks, leading to legendary engrams and direct purchases of legendary items.
* Faction Vendors: Certain vendors like Lord Saladin during the Iron Banner event, offer powerful legendary items when you level up your rank with them.
* Seasonal Vendors: Each season, a new vendor is introduced associated with the seasonal activity. These vendors also offer unique legendary gear through vendor ranks and seasonal currencies.
4. Dungeons and Raids
Dungeons and raids are endgame activities in Destiny 2 and are a great source of high-stat legendary gear. They often provide specific armor sets unique to the activity itself. Master difficulty dungeons guarantee a piece of high-stat legendary armor from the final boss encounter. Raids similarly provide powerful legendary armor and weapons, as well as exclusive armor sets.
5. Season Pass Rewards
The Destiny 2 season pass provides a structured path for earning legendary gear. As you progress through the seasonal ranks, you will receive numerous legendary engrams, armor, and weapons. Purchasing the premium season pass further increases the amount of loot you can earn, boosting your potential gear acquisitions.
6. Xûr, Agent of the Nine
Xûr, a mysterious vendor who appears on weekends, sells legendary and exotic items for legendary shards. Check his inventory each week to find valuable gear. While his inventory is not consistent, it’s a great source for obtaining strong gear or filling gaps in your collection.
7. Focusing Engrams
Several vendors allow for engram focusing, which allows you to spend resources to obtain targeted gear. This allows for a more predictable system than just relying on the random legendary engrams. This system requires playing activities to earn the required vendor currencies, but it allows you to target specific armor rolls and weapons.
8. World Drops
Legendary gear also has a chance to drop from general world events, completing patrols and public events, especially heroic ones. While not a consistent method, it supplements your overall loot acquisition and provides an extra chance for drops.
9. Dismantling Gear
While not directly obtaining, dismantling unwanted legendary items will provide legendary shards, which are necessary to purchase items from Xur and upgrade existing gear. Dismantling duplicate exotics will also provide legendary shards. This is an important step in maintaining a good flow of this essential resource for acquiring items and upgrading gear.
10. Iron Banner
The Iron Banner event provides unique, limited time legendary gear sets. By participating in the Iron Banner playlist and ranking up your reputation, you can earn themed armor and weapons not found anywhere else.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Legendary Gear in Destiny 2
1. Where do you get the highest-stat legendary armor in Destiny 2?
The highest-stat legendary armor primarily comes from Master difficulty dungeons and specific endgame activities like Grandmaster Nightfalls. These activities often have increased drop rates for high-stat armor. Specific raid armor also has a chance to roll with higher stats than general drops.
2. Does legendary armor matter in Destiny 2?
Yes, legendary armor is crucial for your character’s stats and build. Each piece of armor has specific stats (mobility, resilience, recovery, discipline, intellect, and strength), and the distribution of those stats significantly impacts your gameplay. Building effective builds requires a focus on armor with ideal stat combinations.
3. Can you get legendary gear from just playing any activity?
Yes, legendary engrams and gear can drop from almost any activity in Destiny 2, including patrols, strikes, PvP, and campaign missions. However, certain activities, like end-game content, have higher drop rates and exclusive armor sets.
4. What does dismantling an exotic give you?
Dismantling an exotic gives you six legendary shards, and a small amount of glimmer. This is a useful way to convert unwanted exotics into resources that can be used elsewhere.
5. Is legendary or extraordinary gear better?
In Destiny 2, “extraordinary” gear doesn’t exist. Legendary gear is the second-highest tier, below exotic, and is essential for endgame activities. If you are referencing a different game, for example, Hogwarts Legacy, legendary gear is better due to higher stats.
6. Is it worth playing the Destiny 2 campaign on Legendary?
Playing the Destiny 2 campaign on Legendary difficulty provides better rewards, especially on your first run, including high-stat legendary gear, making the challenging playthrough more rewarding.
7. How many legendary shards do you get for dismantling legendaries?
Dismantling legendary weapons gives you three legendary shards, while dismantling legendary armor gives you four legendary shards.
8. Are you guaranteed a legendary at rank 20?
No. In Destiny 2, reaching rank 20 does not guarantee a legendary. Reaching rank 20 is not tied to the reward structure of Destiny 2. However, leveling up your season pass will guarantee legendary gear and engrams throughout its levels.
9. Can you craft legendary gear in Destiny 2?
Yes. While you can’t just create gear out of thin air, some weapons in Destiny 2 can be crafted. Through completing specific tasks related to those weapons, you can obtain deep-sight versions of them. Completing these deep-sight versions will unlock the weapon’s crafting pattern. Leveling the crafted weapon up will unlock bonus perks that allow for customization.
10. Is rare gear better than legendary in Destiny 2?
No, rare gear is outclassed by legendary gear in Destiny 2. Rare items can be useful while leveling your light level for the first time, but they are quickly replaced by legendary pieces of gear that have better stats and more perks.
11. Can you lose a legend rank in Destiny 2?
You cannot lose your legend rank in most Destiny 2 systems once achieved for the current season. Once you reach this rank, you are there until the next seasonal reset. In some systems, losing matches can reduce your points, which can cause you to regress out of the Legend rank.
12. Does Xur always sell legendaries?
Xur typically sells one exotic weapon, one exotic armor piece for each class, and some legendary weapons and armor pieces. While he always sells exotics, he is not guaranteed to sell a specific legendary item you might be looking for. His inventory changes every week.
13. How long does it take to get legendary armor?
Acquiring legendary armor depends on the activities you play. Playing more challenging content and participating in endgame activities (raids, dungeons) will provide higher drop rates and quicker acquisition of high stat legendary armor.
14. What is the rarest Destiny 2 loot?
The rarest Destiny 2 loot is usually associated with difficult accomplishments, such as certain emblems (like solo flawless dungeon emblems), seasonal triumphs, and items from limited-time events.
15. How many exotics can you wear in Destiny 2?
You can equip one exotic weapon and one exotic piece of armor at the same time. While powerful, exotic items are limited to one of each type, allowing for a balanced build around these powerful items.