Some of the endgame activities in Destiny 2: Beyond Light and its current season, Season of the Chosen, are so challenging that Guardians require weapons and armor upgraded to their maximum. Although Orbs of Power can provide Guardians with a boost of energy to clear a heavy mob of enemies, Masterworked armor gives a permanent edge against the competition, reducing ability and super cooldowns, increasing damage resistance, and even granting faster movement.
Masterworking armor in Destiny 2 is relatively straightforward, although the materials required can be hard to obtain. For example, farming Ascendant Shards requires completion of Nightfall Strikes or flawless Trials of Osiris runs, two high-level endgame activities in which masterworked armor is already a given for most Guardians. On the other hand, the initial few levels are supplemented by the incredibly easy to obtain Legendary Shards, which comes from dismantled Legendary weapons. Players should be more or less ready for a grind, especially if any favorite pieces of armor happen to be exotics.
Masterworking armor works very similarly to Masterworking weapons. The first five levels require players to spend a total of 2,500 Glimmer and 6 Legendary Shards. If players are a low on either, a trip to The Spider on the Tangled Shore is the best way to stock up on both. Any rarely used weapons or armor laying in the vault is an easy way to build up on Legendary Shards, and if nothing else, activities are a great way to gain Glimmer and armor to be dismantled.
Levels six and seven require 1,000 Glimmer and 3 Legendary Shards each, with six requiring 1 Enhancement Core and seven requiring 2. While The Spider offers steep and somewhat intimidating ways for Guardians to obtain Enhancement Cores, Banshee-44 offers these through his weekly Destiny 2 bounties, with objectives as simple as kills with a certain weapon or energy type. Finest Matterweave makes obtaining Enhancement Cores the easiest, although the cost in Bright Dust may be unappealing to some players.
Eight and nine exchange Enhancement Cores for Enhancement Prisms, also requiring 1 and 2 respectively, along with 3,000 Glimmer each. The most consistent way to gain Enhancement Prisms is to run Nightfall Strikes at Hero difficulty or higher. Those looking to buy Prisms may find it a bit tricky, as Banshee-44 trades one Prism for 10 Enhancement Cores. Alternatively, as a last ditch resort, players can opt to dismantle already Masterworked gear for Prisms. If purchased, the Season Pass also gives players another convenient source.
At the final level, players will need 4,000 Glimmer, 5 Legendary Shards, and one Ascendant Shard. Aside from numerous Nightfall runs and tricky Trials of Osiris games, players can also obtain Ascendant Shards from the Season Pass. Additionally, players can go the long route and focus on the Augmented Obsession Triumph, which grants players a single Ascendant Shard as a reward per weekly completion.
Altogether, players will need a total of 16,000 Glimmer, 3 Enhancement Cores and Prisms, and 1 Ascendant Shard. Exotic armor steepens the overall cost, as it requires players to have 24,000 Glimmer, 5 Enhancement Cores and Prisms, and 3 Ascendant Shards. With the number of materials required, it's no surprise that Guardians are more than happy that 12-man Nightfalls are a thing, no matter how unofficial it is.
Destiny 2 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.