Prepping
Some tips on how to prep for a new expansion and (more importantly) contest mode/day 1 raids and dungeons.
If you intend on prepping, you should start at least 6 weeks before the release date due to how some bounties rotate.
This list is roughly in order of priority.
Content completion
Section titled “Content completion”Some general things you should make sure to complete. Note that seasonal content generally will not persist between content releases, including exotic missions and their associated exotic.
- Acquire all exotics
- Make sure to complete the seasonal exotic mission
- Acquire all exotic catalysts and complete them
- Make sure to complete the seasonal exotic catalyst
- Acquire Strand, Stasis, and Prismatic subclasses
- Acquire all grenades, fragments, etc. for your subclasses
- This may require a significant amount of time and/or glimmer
- Make sure to check Ikora for things you may be missing on your Light subclasses
- Complete campaigns and seasonal stories
- Claim all season pass rewards on all characters
- Claim all vendor and seasonal engrams
- Claim all seasonal challenges
- Acquire exotic class item rolls
- Acquire craftable weapon patterns
- Free up vault space
Equipment to get
Section titled “Equipment to get”Bounty Prepping
Section titled “Bounty Prepping”A key part of prepping is bounty prepping where you keep completed bounties in your quests screen and do not turn them in for rewards. You can keep bounties between seasons/expansions, so when the new season/expansion starts, you can claim your completed bounties to gain a lot of XP very quickly.
You can only keep so many bounties/quests at a time, so you need to make them count. You can also have bounties on all 3 characters.
In order of priority:
- Weekly bounties from all vendors (XP++, 12000 XP each)
- Note that some vendors have rotating bounties each week (i.e. Petra Venj)
- Daily bounties (XP+, 6000 XP each)
- Repeatable bounties (XP, 3000 XP each)
Remember to keep some quest space open for new quests for new content. Bounties count against your total quest space.
Remember to claim bounties while in a fireteam and on a destination for fireteam XP bonuses!
Exotic Engrams
Section titled “Exotic Engrams”Since exotic engrams are a key part in unlocking new exotic armor, you should keep some on-hand to quickly level up Rahool in the Tower.
- You can keep up to 10 engrams on each character
- You can purposely fill your engram slots on your character so new exotic
engrams go to your postmaster to claim later
- Note that enhancement cores will deceptively appear in your postmaster as exotic engrams at 0 power
Make sure to free a couple slots in your engram inventory before new content releases so you can have space for new items.
The most efficient way to fully rank up Rahool is Tier 2 precision focusing (focusing a specific exotic piece). Using this method, you will need a total of about 12 exotic engrams, 720,000 Glimmer, and 24 Ascendant Shards. Just opening engrams at Rahool will also provide progress.
Resources
Section titled “Resources”List of resources to farm and keep in your inventory before new content releases so you have plenty to use.
- Glimmer (max 500,000)
- Ascendant Shards (max 30)
- Enhancement Prisms (max 100)
- Enhancement Cores (no max)
- Upgrade Modules (max 25)
- Ascendant Alloys (max 30)
- Exotic Ciphers (max 5)
Glimmer Banking
Section titled “Glimmer Banking”Glimmer can be quickly used up when new content drops, so it sometimes can be useful to “bank” glimmer so that you can get some back quickly. Here are some methods to do so:
- Keep sunset planetary materials that you may still have
- These can be traded for glimmer at Rahool in the Tower
- Keep any Rainmakers you may still have
- Claim exotic ghosts to keep in your inventory
- These can be dismantled for glimmer later
- Sparrows and ships no longer cost/provide glimmer
Other Banking
Section titled “Other Banking”Like Glimmer, other resources can be banked. You should only bank resources if you know you can get to the resource cap again before the release date.
- Bank enhancement cores/prisms by masterworking exotic armor
- Exotic armor can be dismantled later for some resources back
- Other gear can also be masterworked/dismantled but for less resources
Hazards to avoid
Section titled “Hazards to avoid”The first day(s) of new content can be quite buggy or you may be unable to connect to certain services like DIM.
Here are some things to do right before the release date:
- Keep items you’re likely to use during the first day in your inventory and not in your vault and not on other characters
- Keep a couple spaces open in each slot for new item drops
- Remember to clear your postmaster when possible
- Keep some quest slots open for new quests
- Remove mods from all weapons, armor, ghosts, ships, etc.
- Free up some vault space for new items
Release Day Tips
Section titled “Release Day Tips”Do NOT immediately claim banked bounties on first load in!
Once a new expansion is out you should make sure to do the following:
- Play the first quest all the way through on your main class on legendary difficulty
- Full legendary completion will usually award you with additional items like power-capped gear and new exotic armor
- Acquire the seasonal artifact
- Equip the maximum XP bonus mod on your ghost
- While in a fireteam with other players and on a destination, claim your banked bounties for XP one member at a time, alternating each time you hit an XP bonus from the season pass
- Acquire new bounties from vendors for additional XP as you play and claim at will while in a fireteam
- Complete the campaign on legendary difficulty
- Complete all seasonal challenges for the week and claim while in a fireteam
Repeat the above as you are able on your other two classes in order of priority.
Remember to only claim XP sources while in a fireteam, on a destination, and with the XP bonus ghost mod for maximum XP gains.
Disabled Items
Section titled “Disabled Items”It’s often the case that some items are disabled for the day 1 raids or dungeons. Be prepared to switch up your loadouts if needed. Click the card below for a list of currently disabled items.
As a minor note for Steam players, you can enable high priority updates to
make sure Destiny updates as fast as possible on the release date. Right click
on Destiny 2 in Steam, then go to Properties > Updates > Automatic Updates and
turn on high priority updates.
What should I focus on?
Section titled “What should I focus on?”Completing content and acquiring meta equipment is the most important. Then, Bounty prepping is probably the most impactful. You can do the other stuff if you have the time and willpower.
If you have limited time, focus on your main class and complete content, acquire meta weapons, and bounty prep as much as you can. As you have more time, you can do the same on your second and third favorite classes.
Should I prep for an expansion/season/raid?
Section titled “Should I prep for an expansion/season/raid?”For just an expansion or seasonal content? No, unless you really want to.
For contest mode raids? Probably, but it’s not required. It’s a helpful boost and can give you an advantage in contest mode with access to more artifact perks.
For contest mode dungeons? Probably, but it’s not required. Contest mode dungeons are generally easier to complete in the contest mode timeframe than raids.