Destiny 2 Guide: How Currency Works

Navigating Destiny 2’s economic landscape presents a significant learning curve for newcomers. The game features numerous redeemable currencies with names that don’t immediately convey their purpose or value. Unlike traditional games with straightforward monetary systems, Destiny 2 employs specialized tokens, materials, and resources that serve distinct progression paths.

Seasoned Destiny 1 veterans might recognize some familiar elements but should prepare for substantial changes to currency mechanics. The good news is that spending these resources follows relatively clear patterns, making it difficult to completely waste your hard-earned assets. However, strategic management becomes crucial for optimizing your gameplay experience and avoiding common pitfalls.

For comprehensive Destiny 2 coverage across PC, PS4, and Xbox One platforms, explore our detailed resources including Xur’s weekly location updates, complete review collections, and platform-specific optimization guides.

Glimmer: The Universal Workhorse

Glimmer serves as Destiny 2’s foundational currency, acquired through virtually all in-game activities including enemy eliminations, chest discoveries, and public event completions. Its widespread availability makes it the least valuable resource individually, but its constant requirement across multiple systems ensures you’ll never have enough. Key expenditure categories include:

• Uncommon-tier weaponry and protective gear (though superior equipment emerges through regular gameplay)
• Randomized equipment modifications available through Banshee-44’s inventory
• Standard vehicle acquisitions from Amanda Holliday’s selection
• Treasure mapping tools and scouting consumables from Cayde-6 that highlight resource caches
• Transaction fees applied to most purchases involving other currency types

Upon reaching endgame content with substantial Glimmer reserves, proactive spending becomes essential. The maximum storage capacity restricts you to 100,000 units, beyond which you cease earning from any source. Regular investment in Banshee-44’s modification offerings and Cayde-6’s specialized consumables represents the most efficient utilization strategy.

Legendary Shards: Endgame Power Currency

These fragments represent Destiny 2’s most valuable economic resource, obtained exclusively through dismantling Legendary and Exotic quality gear. This process typically requires sacrificing unique equipment pieces, creating meaningful acquisition decisions. Conversely, you’ll deploy these shards to acquire superior Legendary and Exotic equipment, demanding careful consideration for each transaction:

• Xur Exotic Purchases – Destiny’s mysterious exotic merchant appears weekly at unpredictable planetary locations with time-limited inventory. If you’ve accumulated a modest collection of Legendary Shards through consistent gameplay, this vendor becomes your primary expenditure target.
• Weapon and Armor Infusion – Throughout your leveling journey, you’ll inevitably collect Legendary and Exotic items that become outdated due to inferior power ratings. The infusion system allows transferring higher power levels to preferred equipment using Legendary Shards alongside more powerful gear versions. This mechanism preserves your favorite equipment’s relevance by transferring enhanced statistics to weaker pieces.

Bright Dust: Cosmetic Collection Currency

Comparable in rarity to Legendary Shards but dedicated exclusively to aesthetic enhancements. Bright Dust originates from Bright Engram openings or dismantling cosmetic items extracted from these engrams—including shaders, emotes, legendary vehicles, weapon ornaments, and Ghost shells.

• Tess Everis Marketplace – This system enables converting rare cosmetic items into alternative rare cosmetic acquisitions. You can purchase from a rotating assortment of emotes, legendary vehicles, shaders, ghost shells, and weapon ornaments. These identical items appear randomly within Bright Engram contents.

Silver: Premium Microtransaction Currency

This represents Destiny 2’s real-money economic channel. Acquiring Silver through your platform’s digital store using actual currency enables Bright Engram purchases from Tess Everis, yielding randomized cosmetic item assortments: emotes, legendary vehicles, shaders, ghost shells, and weapon ornaments. Crucially, no Silver-acquired items provide combat advantages, maintaining gameplay balance.

Vanguard Tokens: PVE Progression

Vanguard Tactician Tokens accumulate through Strike and Nightfall completions. Additional objective fulfillment during these activities yields bonus tokens. Redeem them with Commander Zavala to elevate your Vanguard Tactician standing and receive Legendary Engram rewards upon reputation milestones. These tokens serve no alternative functions.

Vanguard Research Tokens

These specialized tokens reward Meditation session completions with Ikora Ray. Bonus challenges during these activities provide supplementary tokens. Exchange them with Ikora Ray to advance your Vanguard Research reputation and earn Legendary Engrams at rank thresholds. Single-purpose utility defines their design.

Crucible Tokens: PVP Advancement

Earn Crucible Tokens through player-versus-player engagements against fellow Guardians. Fulfilling extra challenges during Crucible matches generates additional tokens. Present these to Lord Shaxx to increase your Crucible reputation and obtain Legendary Engrams at progression points. Exclusive functionality characterizes their usage.

Planetary Tokens: World-Specific Rewards

EDZ Tokens materialize through participatory events while exploring the European Dead Zone—public events, patrol missions, adventures, high-value target eliminations—plus discovery in loot caches. Similar to Crucible Tokens, exchange them with Devrim Kay to boost planetary reputation and secure Legendary Engrams upon achievement. Identical single-application design applies.

Titan-based activities—public events, patrol assignments, adventures, high-value target confrontations—along with cache findings generate Titan Tokens. Parallel to EDZ Tokens, redeem them with Field Commander Sloane to enhance your standing with her and acquire Legendary Engrams. No secondary purposes exist.

Nessus exploration events—public occurrences, patrol duties, adventures, high-value target engagements—supplemented by cache discoveries yield Nessus Tokens. Comparable to Titan Tokens, exchange them with Failsafe to improve your reputation and earn Legendary Engrams. The consistent pattern continues with exclusive single-function implementation.

Io planetary activities—public events, patrol tasks, adventures, high-value target missions—combined with cache acquisitions produce Io Tokens. Mirroring Nessus Tokens, present them to Asher Mir to elevate your reputation and obtain Legendary Engrams. Unambiguous single-role operation persists throughout all token varieties.

Dusklight Shards

These naturally occurring materials develop throughout the European Dead Zone environment, emitting subtle auditory cues when proximity detection occurs. Gathering these resources and delivering them to Devrim Kay gradually increases your reputation, though at diminished efficiency compared to token exchanges. No alternative applications exist for these resources.

Alkane Dust

Titan’s indigenous materials manifest as collectible resources that generate faint shimmering sounds during approach. Accumulating these particles and transferring them to Field Commander Sloane incrementally boosts your standing with her, albeit through slower progression rates. Exclusive single-function utilization defines their purpose.

Microphasic Datalattice

Despite its complex nomenclature, this resource represents Nessus’s natural material formations that produce soft glowing indications during nearby presence. Collecting these crystalline structures and presenting them to Failsafe steadily enhances your reputation, though through reduced advancement speed. The absence of secondary functionality characterizes all planetary material types.

Phaseglass Needle

Io’s geological formations yield these needle-like materials that emit gentle luminosity when detected. Gathering these specimens and supplying them to Asher Mir progressively improves your relationship, again through moderated progression velocity. Uniform single-role implementation persists across all material categories.

Ordnance Mods

While not technically classified as currency, these enhancement components emerge from Engram openings and loot container discoveries. You can directly install them onto equipment in their current state, or alternatively exchange multiple mods with Banshee-44 to acquire Legendary Mods featuring superior performance characteristics.

Mod Components

Possessing these Legendary-tier items, discovered within loot chests, enables Legendary Gear modification creation through Banshee-44’s workshop services.

Mastering Destiny 2’s economy requires understanding several nuanced strategies that experienced players employ:

• Glimmer Cycling: When approaching the 100,000 cap, prioritize purchasing mods from Banshee-44 and consumables from Cayde-6 to maintain earning potential
• Dismantling Prioritization: Focus on dismantling duplicate or obsolete Legendary gear rather than unique pieces
• Token Efficiency: Complete bonus objectives during activities to maximize token acquisition rates
• Material Farming Routes: Develop efficient planetary material collection paths that maximize resource gathering while completing other activities
• Weekly Preparation: Save Legendary Shards throughout the week in anticipation of Xur’s Friday arrival
• Reputation Timing: Coordinate token and material turn-ins with weekly reset cycles to optimize reward acquisition

Understanding these advanced economic principles can significantly accelerate your progression through Destiny 2’s endgame content. The systematic approach to currency management separates casual players from dedicated Guardians who maximize their gameplay efficiency.

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