What To Do Before Shadowkeep Releases
The launch of Destiny 2's next DLC expansion, Shadowkeep, is right around the corner. Whether you're a veteran player or someone who engages with the game a bit more casually, the launch of any major new piece of content for Destiny usually signals the need to start preparing on multiple fronts. Here are some steps to consider taking--and others that every player should absolutely do before Shadowkeep releases.
If you haven't been keeping up to date on what's coming to Destiny 2, there are two major changes on the horizon. Shadowkeep is the new paid DLC expansion for the game, although unlike previous ones, this is a standalone expansion, meaning it can be bought and played on its own. Buying Shadowkeep also gets you access to the first of four seasons of new content that will comprise Year Three of the game, beginning with the Season of the Undying on October 5. Shadowkeep introduces an expanded version of the moon location from the first Destiny and centers around a story involving the Hive and Eris Morn, while Undying focuses on an invasion by the Vex.
Shadowkeep releases on October 1. That same day, Bungie will also release Destiny 2: New Light, a free-to-play version of the game that consists of a substantial chunk of content. An update also releasing on that day will boost all characters to Power level 750, the current cap, which will make New Light an easy way to get new friends onboard and playing with you right away.
Whether you've been playing since launch or you took a break at some point, read on for a look at what you need to do before October 1.
Trash Every Item That Turns Into Bright Dust
If there is any single thing everyone should do before the release of Shadowkeep, it's to dismantle all of your items that turn into Bright Dust.
Bungie revealed earlier this year that it's dramatically reworking Bright Dust, a special in-game currency used to purchase certain items. (This is separate from Silver, the premium currency that can only be purchased with real-world money.) Previously, it was obtained almost exclusively by dismantling items obtained through the Eververse store; now you'll earn it by playing. Additionally, you'll no longer use it to reacquire cosmetic items you've previously unlocked, like ships, shaders, and so on. But as a result, items that previously would dismantle into Bright Dust will no longer do so once Shadowkeep releases. Instead, you'll only get glimmer and Legendary Shards.
In effect, what this means is you have a window of opportunity to stockpile Bright Dust by breaking down every last item you own that dismantles into Bright Dust. This will allow you to build up a stockpile of Bright Dust and then, once Shadowkeep releases, reacquire anything you might want back at the much more modest cost of glimmer and Legendary Shards.
But how to actually go about this process? You can certainly go through your inventory and vault manually to try dismantling things to see what nets you Bright Dust--basically, you're looking for special ships and ghost shells, Eververse shaders, and Eververse armor. Alternatively, you can consult this list of Eververse shaders, courtesy of Reddit, or use the Destiny Item Manager tool. If you go the latter route, you can run a search for "source:eververse" to find all of your possessions worth breaking down. And don't forget, shaders can be broken down more quickly by visiting Master Rahool, the cryptarch at the Tower.
The only things you may want to consider keeping are any Eververse armor with rolls you're particularly fond of (though, bear in mind, Armor 2.0 is coming) and ghost shells or sparrows with ideal rolls (but you'll soon be able to reacquire these as many times as needed with glimmer/Legendary Shards to get the same perks).
PC Player? Make Sure You're Prepared To Migrate
With Bungie and Activision parting ways, part of the Shadowkeep/New Light release sees the PC version migrate from Blizzard's Battle.net launcher to Steam. Everything you own will transfer, but the process involves a few steps on your part. You'll need to link your accounts through Bungie's website, and if you've bought Silver on Battle.net recently, you have to log into the game before October 1 to ensure it transfers correctly to Steam.
Dismantle All Your Weapon Mods (Except For One Of Each)
As with Bright Dust, weapon mods are changing significantly in Shadowkeep. They'll no longer function as one-use-only items; instead, each weapon mod you acquire is permanently unlocked and can be freely slotted into weapons as many times as you wish.
You can get a head start on your collection by having a weapon mod in your inventory--that will allow you to unlock it once Shadowkeep is out. But that means two things: If the only version of a weapon mod you have is currently in a weapon, you'll need to find a way to reacquire it, as only the unused mods in your inventory will count. The other key point is that you only need one of each weapon mod to unlock it; in other words, you can start breaking down any and all duplicates you have saved up.
Get Some New Weapon Mods
Dismantling those mods will net you mod components, which you can in turn use to fill out your collection with any mods that you're missing. At the Tower, both Banshee and Ada sell mods--Banshee has two specific mods that rotate out, while Ada sells random Black Armory mods. Either way, it's reason to check in on their inventories daily to ensure you have all of the mods you can get. That's true of not just Banshee, but also Ada, as the cost of acquiring a mod from her increases with each purchase, but this price resets daily. However, Ada's mods also cost Black Armory schematics, though they can be well worth the price, as they include things like Rampage Spec and Dragonfly Spec.
Buy Any Seasonal Eververse Items You Still Want
Whether you haven't had a look or have put off your purchase, time is running out to buy Season of Opulence items from Eververse. With the start of the new season, the Eververse store will refresh its lineup of items, which likely means saying goodbye to the assortment of Opulence cosmetics you can currently find there. Be sure to give the store one final look before Shadowkeep to ensure you get your hands on anything you might want.
Clean Out Your Vault, Especially That Old Armor
Armor 2.0 is set to largely render your old armor irrelevant. While existing armor with top-tier rolls like "enhanced" perks will likely still be useful for some time--and may be essential for those hoping to take on the Garden of Salvation raid as soon as possible--for most players, it's something to move on from. That's not to say you have to salvage every last piece of armor you have, but if you're like me and have dozens or hundreds of pieces saved up just in case you want a particular look while maximizing your efficiency with a particular weapon type, it's time to part ways with it all. Shadowkeep will introduce universal armor ornaments for some sets (like existing Eververse armor) that will allow you to change the look of your favorite Armor 2.0 pieces, so you won't need copies of all the old stuff.
Finish Out Quest Chains That You'll Lose Progress On
This recommendation primarily concerns questlines that involve doing certain things in Crucible. For instance, certain quests (such as Crucible pinnacles like Luna's Howl) ask you to reach Fabled rank in the Competitive playlist, while others (Redrix's Broadsword) ask you to reset your Valor rank in Crucible five times in a single season. The problem is, because these quests are given out piece-by-piece, you may not receive credit for something like reaching Fabled if you don't complete the preceding objectives before ranks are reset at the end of the season. If you've already spent time playing this season, you might be close to fulfilling these objectives.
For any questlines you have, it's worth looking up the full list of steps to see what's ahead of you. If you've reached Fabled in Competitive or reset your Valor five times, it might be worth putting in the time to complete the previous quest steps to gain credit for doing these things. It may require some effort to complete the preceding quest steps to reach these objectives, but that's arguably better than having to do those steps and reach Fabled again during a future season, for instance.
It's entirely possible that some requirements could change and/or become easier to accomplish in the future, and you won't be locked out of finishing these quests if you decide to wait. But it's worth examining your Pursuits log to take advantage of the time you've already spent playing.
Don't Infuse Anything
While everything above involves being proactive, there's also one thing you should not do. The release of Shadowkeep will see all items boosted to the current Power level cap of 750. That will allow players to get started on the new content right away, which is good news for those hoping to rope in friends to try the game for the first time once it goes free-to-play with New Light.
But that also means that infusion right now should be skipped at all costs. Save your Enhancement Cores and materials for whatever is to come in the future; at this point, you'd literally be throwing them down the drain for a few days of having an item at a higher Power level.
PC/Xbox One Players: Pay A Trip To Xur On PS4
If you've been playing Destiny 2 on PC or Xbox One, we are, at long last, finally about to be done with PS4-exclusive items. This longtime exclusivity arrangement will end on October 1, which means previously PS4-only content will be coming over to the PC and Xbox One versions. In the meantime, the introduction of cross-play has opened an easy path to a new Exotic weapon, provided you have access to the game and Forsaken on PS4.
As we've reported previously, moving to PS4 with cross-save lets you take advantage of Xur's Fated Engram. This decrypts into an Exotic you don't already own from a select pool. If you've played enough to earn all of the available Exotics in this pool, moving over to PS4 guarantees you'll earn that still-PS4-exclusive item: Wavesplitter. Hop over to PS4, buy the Fated Engram, and even if you plan to continue playing on PC and Xbox One, it will be usable come October 1. As always, Xur will arrive at 10 AM PT on Friday (September 27), so be sure to make a trip to him this weekend if you can.
Finish Out Your Title Grinds
This skews more toward Destiny 2's more hardcore players, but if you've been grinding away at earning a Title and haven't yet finished, now is the time to do so. While Titles won't be disappearing (other than the Moments of Triumph one that is already gone), we're about to be inundated with a ton of new content, and Bungie seems to have a plan for ensuring a steady rollout of new things to do after launch. Are you really going to want to spend time on Black Armory runs or tracking down those final Dreaming City secrets when there are new places to go and things to do? Snag that title now and you'll thank yourself later.
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