How to Get Legendary Shards in Destiny 2

If you are new to Destiny 2, then there are a lot of things that you need to learn about the game. For those who played the original Destiny, this will come much easier. However, if you aren’t a veteran player, you will need some tips and tricks.

For example, you should learn about the game’s currencies and how to obtain them. One of the most important currencies, especially later in the game, is legendary shards. Read on to find out how to get them, but also how to use them properly.

Not wasting legendary shards early on is crucial.

Items in Destiny 2

This article is mainly about legendary shards, so let’s discuss their primary uses. Most frequently, you will use legendary shards for infusion. It’s the primary way of gearing up in Destiny 2.

It is much easier to explain to World of Warcraft players because the system is similar to the gear score in WoW. Each item has a gear score, or power, how Destiny 2 calls it. You will see the power number on every item very clearly.

The items you have will determine your total power (all their power values added up, and the average extracted). What does power represent? Well, in Destiny 2, power tells you how strong you are, in terms of attack and defense.

Getting the best gear in the game increases your power to the maximum level, making you powerful; this should be self-explanatory. Items in Destiny 2 are divided from the weakest to the strongest as follows: common, uncommon, rare, legendary, and exotic.

Infusion Explained

Finally, we can explain how the infusion works. It is a game mechanic that lets you break down an item of a higher power to boost a less powerful one. The more power item gets destroyed in the process, but it improves the other one significantly.

Infusion is not the only way of obtaining better gear in Destiny 2, but you will use it often, and it requires legendary shards. It requires you to get upgrade modules, but these cost ten legendary shards each. To get these upgrade modules, visit Banshee-44.

Obtaining Legendary Shards

Now let’s talk about the main point of the article, getting legendary shards. The easiest way to get them is to dismantle gear from your vault (works in a similar fashion like disenchanting in WoW). When you sacrifice a legendary item, you get three shards, from legendary items you get one, and from exotic items, you get five shards.

You can also get legendary shards from faction engrams, i.e., when you rank up your reputation with a faction within the game. Ranking up can net you between two and seven legendary shards. Additional ways of getting them are dismantling specific shaders (not all of them) and through your Destiny 2 season pass.

There is also a vendor in the game that sells legendary shards occasionally, in return for other materials (namely, glimmer and planetary materials). Of course, you can get legendary shards by merely playing the game regularly.

You will get a lot of loot when playing, and you can dismantle these items for legendary shards. Also, shards often drop in engrams, chests, and bounties in the game.

Where to Spend Legendary Shards

Legendary shards aren’t only there for infusion. They are also a currency that you can give to multiple vendors in exchange for gear. Some faction representatives will ask for your legendary shards and give you high-end equipment for them.

Then there is Xur. If you played the original Destiny, you might remember him. He only appears on Friday and leaves on Tuesday. You can find him in multiple locations, which vary every time. A website, whereisxur.com, can tell you where to find Xur at that particular moment. You can also find him on the director’s map, under the IX symbol.

Xur offers you a fantastic choice of exotic items, which are quite pricey, so better keep your legendary shards. He carries five random exotic items that you can use to complete your collection and increase your power.

Finally, here’s a tip. Better get raid gear from the Tower’s vendor, Benedict, than spend them carelessly on legendary engrams. The latter are randomized and cost a lot. So, it is better to get something you need.

Final Advice

Destiny 2 isn’t very different from WoW. Also, it used to be accessible from the Blizzard launcher until the company transferred it over to Steam.

The main takeaway from this article is to keep your legendary shards until you can get something useful, like the most powerful gear. Also, don’t just dismantle all the items from your vault, you should keep some of them instead of infusing them. Look up the meta items online to see what is worth saving.

Tell us about your strategy for legendary shards, and other thoughts in the comments section below.