Destiny 2’s promised Jan. 30 update debuted Tuesday, delivering Masterwork Armor, user interface (UI) changes, tweaks to raid loot and more bug fixes. The new D2 patch also reworks the game’s existing reward structure, reducing the experience cost of Illuminated Engrams and making it easier for fans to earn Heroics during endgame activities.
Beginning this week, Destiny 2 players will have a small chance to find Masterwork Armor inside their Legendary Engrams; a stronger tier of armor that bridges the gap between standard Legendary gear and the Exotic equipment at the top of Destiny’s item hierarchy. They can also use Masterwork Cores, combined with Legendary Shards, to create Masterwork versions of Legendary gear they already own. You’ll need four cores and 20 shards, so it’s far from a free upgrade, but that’s doable if you’ve played D2 regularly since Masterwork Weapons debuted last year. Masterwork armor can have different base stats than the regular version. And those tats can be rerolled (individually) for the cost of one Masterwork Core and a stack of 10 Legendary shards (per roll).
Bungie reduced the XP needed to earn Illuminated Engrams by 25 percent, increasing the drop rate from one per 160,000 experience points to one every 120,000. Players will also receive exotic gear as a reward for completed Heroic strikes more frequently after the new update is installed. Bungie also says its addressed a bug that caused the Three of Coins, meant to increase exotic item drop rates, not to function properly for some players. Last, but certainly not least, anyone who reached the level cap (20) without finishing the campaign will be able to purchase new Gunsmith Engrams from Arcite-99. Most of the other reward-related changes address bugs with the equipment appearances and previews.
For more on this week’s Destiny 2 update, check out the complete patch notes over on Bungie.net. Alternately, head down to the comments and let us know if you’re excited to hunt for Masterwork Armor or if you’ve already abandoned Destiny in favor of another multiplayer title.
Destiny 2 is available on PS4, Xbox One and PC. The game’s next expansion is expected sometime in the first half of 2018.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Destiny 2 news in 2018 and however long Bungie supports Destiny 2 in the years ahead.
