Destiny 2 – A guide to Legendary Shards, Bright Engrams and other microtransactions

While you can grab some great loot by depositing bullets into a nearby Fallen foot-soldier in Destiny 2, you might want to have a look at the market as well during your quest to take back The Last City. Whether it be Glimmer, Legendary Shards or even some Silver, there’s plenty to buy if you’ve got the right cash to flash. Here’s a breakdown on the currencies of Destiny 2 so far.

Glimmer

Your stock-standard resource, Glimmer can be earned from all manner of activities and kills. It’s now also not hobbled by the wallet limit of 25 000 Glimmer per account, as was the case in Destiny 1, which is just rad. For the early sections of Destiny 2, it’s an easy resource that can keep your Guardian equipped with the best gear per their level, at least until you start earning more rare and legendary drops towards the endgame.

Bright Dust

You’ll need Bright Dust to shop around Tess’s Eververse stand, because even the Red Legion can’t stop the emote-train from rolling on through. How do you get the stuff? By dismantling Bright Engrams. Which can be earned through Destiny 2 if you’re lucky or paid for with…

Silver

Which costs actual, proper money. Dollars, Rands or pounds, take your pick because Destiny 2 isn’t picky about which real currency you use to pay for the stuff. Just so long as you do actually pay, unless you want Tess to break your kneecaps.

Legendary Shards

Here’s the stuff that everybody wants ahead of Xur’s arrival on Friday. One of the rarer currencies available, Legendary Shards take over from Strange Coins and can be earned dismantling Legendary and Exotic gear. Legendaries can be earned from vendors out in the field once you chuck a few tokens at them, as random drops or as prizes for outstanding performances in strikes, the Crucible and Public Events.

If you’ve got some Legendaries to spare, now might be a good time to dismantle them for the arrival of Xur.

There is some controversy erupting over the use of Bright Engrams at the moment. The stock available from the Eververse company is rarely given out, and when players do receive them as rewards you can expect cosmetic goods aplenty. If you’re lucky, you might even grab a few mods for your character and gear, and seeing as how Bright Engrams can be purchased with the Silver in-game currency that costs actual moolah, people are wondering if this is a pay-to-win mechanic.

That’s the debate raging on the Destiny 2 Reddit, as these mods are capable of allowing Guardians to benefit from increased resilience and other buffs while out in the field. They’re not major buffs, but they are present. Bright Engrams can also be earned via levelling up with vendors, so getting your hands on them isn’t exactly difficult.

Still, is this a mechanic that preys on the impatient Guardian who wants to get great gear fast by buying a few advantages instead of earning them? Well…yes. It comes down to options really. Are you desperate enough to spend money on the chance at shiny gear, or will you actually grind for the stuff? Bear in mind that Bright Engram content is random, and you see that it is a gamble. It’s way too early for me to even have an informed opinion on this, what with Destiny 2 only having been out in the wild for two days at this point.

How this impacts Destiny 2 in terms of the long game that’s being played, is something that will be worth discussing in the weeks and months to come.

Last Updated: September 7, 2017