So you’ve enjoyed the initial voyage to level 20 in Destiny and now you’re ready to push your Legend to the next level, huh? Well there are a handful of things you’ll need to understand about Destiny mechanics and how the end game flow works. In order to progress your Legend, you’ll need materials that will allow you to purchase new gear and enhance that gear once you’ve acquired it.
This guide will serve as a reference for you on your adventures in Destiny. There are a plethora of materials you’ll need to gather to enhance your gear and progress your Legend’s light levels and become more powerful. Use the navigation list below to quickly jump to that section to read up on how you can quickly gather that item in-game. If you have any questions or comments, toss me a comment and I’ll do my best to help you out!
Vanguard Marks — Vanguard Reputation — Crucible Marks — Crucible Reputation — Faction Reputation — Spirit Bloom — Spinmetal — Helium Filaments — Relic Iron — Sapphire Wire — Weapon Parts — Ascendant Shards — Ascendant Energy — Strange Coin — Mote of Light — Glimmer — Exotic Bounties
Vanguard Marks
Vanguard Marks are the PvE (Player vs Environment) currency in Destiny. This currency is used to purchase level 20 Legendary armor and weapons from Vanguard vendors. You can only earn a maximum of 100 marks per week, so be sure you are capping every week. The total cap is 200. There are a handful of ways to acquire Vanguard Marks that range from completing Strikes, doing bounties, daily mission, weekly strike, exchanging materials with the Vanguard Quartermaster and completing public events.
If you are strictly looking to farm as quickly as possible, the most efficient way to cap 100 marks is to chain public events. You gain 4x Vanguard Marks for every Gold public event you complete. There are plenty of guides for paths you can find, however I think Destiny Public Events is by far the best resource for this. I found this video below which recaps this technique pretty well.
Vanguard Reputation
Vanguard reputation is the core PvE reputation in Destiny. There are two Vanguard vendors – one that sells armor and emblems and another that sells weapons and vehicles. This reputation can be earned by completing bounties, strikes, daily heroic mission, weekly heroic strike, exchanging materials with the Vanguard Quartermaster and completing patrols. In order to purchase armor, you will need at least Rank 2 and for weapons, you will need Rank 3.
The quickest way to grind Vanguard reputation is to farm patrols. I found the video below that details the most efficient path for farming patrols. However if you’re soloing, you could really just hit whatever planet you enjoy the most. Knocking out world events while you’re farming patrols is a good idea as well.
Crucible Marks
Crucible Marks are the PvP (Player vs Player) currency in Destiny. This currency is used to purchase level 20 Legendary armor and weapons from Crucible vendors. You can only earn a maximum of 100 marks per week, so be sure you are capping every week. The total cap is 200. Crucible Marks are earned by completing Crucible matches and exchanging materials with the Crucible Quartermaster. You earn 3x marks for winning a match and 2x marks for losing.
Since the ways to gain Crucible Marks are limited, it’s all about optimizing your time and marks gained per hour. For this reason, the more matches you can fit in per hour, the better. If you have a talented group of 3, I’d recommend grinding Skirmishes. Otherwise, knock out Control or Clash – mixing it up is a good idea to reduce burnout, as the grind can take a bit.
Crucible Reputation
Crucible reputation is the core PvP reputation in Destiny. There are two Crucible vendors – one that sells armor and another that sells weapons and vehicles. This reputation can be earned by completing Crucible matches and exchanging materials with the Crucible Quartermaster.
Since the ways to gain Crucible Reputation are limited, it’s all about optimizing your time and marks gained per hour. For this reason, the more matches you can fit in per hour, the better. If you have a talented group of 3, I’d recommend grinding Skirmishes. Otherwise, knock out Control or Clash – mixing it up is a good idea to reduce burnout, as the grind can take a bit.
Faction Reputation
Factions are a bit of a twist in Destiny. There are 3 factions in Destiny which you can choose from to represent: New Monarchy, Dead Orbit and Future War Cult. These faction vendors are located in the Tower, where you can purchase a class item that will convert any reputation you earn into that faction’s reputation when equipped. I opted not to grind these reputations initially, but will most likely go back and grind them once I’ve reached Rank 3 with Vanguard and Crucible.
Spirit Bloom
Spirit Bloom is a material found on Venus used to upgrade armor. The video below is a good reference for a path you can use to farm plenty on the Venus patrol.
Spinmetal
Spinmetal is a material found on Earth used to upgrade armor. The video below is a good reference for a path you can use to farm plenty on the Earth patrol.
Helium Filaments
Helium Filaments are a material found on the Moon used to upgrade armor. The video below is a good reference for a path you can use to farm plenty on the Moon patrol.
Relic Iron
Relic Iron is a material found on Mars used to upgrade armor. The video below is a good reference for a path you can use to farm plenty on the Mars patrol.
Sapphire Wire
Sapphire Wire is a material used to upgrade armor. This material is found by dismantling armor.
Weapon Parts
Weapon Parts are materials used to upgrade weapons. This material is found by dismantling weapons.
Ascendant Shards
Ascendant Shards are Legendary crafting materials used to upgrade Legendary and Exotic armor to its fullest potential. This is a material you are really going to have to work for, but your hard work will result in upgrading your armor and advancing your Legend’s Light levels.
You have a chance for Ascendant Shards by completing Gold Public Events, opening chests, decoding engrams, completing your daily heroic story and dismantling Legendary armor purchased from the Vanguard or Crucible vendors.
Ascendant Energy
Ascendant Energy is a Legendary crafting material used to upgrade Legendary and Exotic weapons to their fullest potential. This is a material you are really going to have to work for, but your hard work will result in upgrading your armor and advancing your Legend’s Light levels.
You have a chance for Ascendant Energy by completing Gold Public Events, opening chests,decoding engrams, completing your daily heroic story and dismantling Legendary weapons purchased from the Vanguard or Crucible vendors.
Strange Coin
Strange Coins are a currency used to purchase Exotic weapons and armor, specialty consumables and bounty items from Xur, a vendor who only appears on Friday and Saturday of each week. Strange Coins can be acquired in a number of ways including the weekly strike and a chance to acquire from the daily heroic story, crucible matches and decoding engrams.
Mote of Light
Mote of Light is a currency used to purchase emblems and class items from the Speaker and an Exotic engram from Xur. Mote of Light can be acquired by decoding engrams, random drops from mobs, loot chests, reward from Crucible matches or Strikes and advancing in Light levels.
Glimmer
Glimmer is the base currency in Destiny. The cap is 25,000 – so once you hit that, you can burn it by purchasing items from the Cryptarch or Gunsmith to dismantle (or get lucky). You can acquire Glimmer by killing mobs or dismantling armor or weapons. There are also consumables you can use that increase the amount of Glimmer dropped by mobs of a specific type. The video below shows one particular strategy that works pretty well when paired with the Black Wax Idol consumable.
Exotic Bounties
Exotic bounties are special bounties that yield Exotic weapons in which you can receive in two ways – either purchasing from Xur or a small chance to automatically receive a bounty once you complete any Vanguard or Crucible bounty. Unlike Vanguard or Crucible bounties, Exotic bounties have multiple steps and take considerably longer to complete, but the reward is much greater. You can view an in-depth guide for each Exotic bounty by clicking on any bounty below.
- A Dubious Task – Invective (Shotgun)
- A Light in the Dark – Thorn (Hand Cannon)
- A Voice in the Wilderness – Super Good Advice (Machine Gun)
- An Unknown Patron – Fate of All Fools (Scout Rifle)
- Shattered Memory Fragment – Pocket Infinity (Fusion Rifle)
- Toland’s Legacy – Bad Juju (Pulse Rifle)
Conclusion
Well folks, that should sum it up. I’ll continue to add and update as strategies improve for efficient farming and the game continues to evolve. If y’all have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! Either drop a comment here or catch me on Twitter, @Accomp. We’ve also got an XBox One clan made, so if you’re looking for a home, we’d love to have you as we continue to grow as a team. Recruitment is open, so all you need to do is join our group, then set as your XBox One clan (don’t forget the second step!).
I’ll be releasing more Destiny guides in the near future, so be sure to share with your friends, check in regularly and follow me on Twitter for regular updates/conversation. Thanks folks!