As Lightfall’s release approaches, Bungie has been providing additional posts to supplement its regular This Week at Bungie series. Last week, an update on buildcrafting was revealed, and was further discussed in an interview with Bungie. This week’s post is slightly less dramatic but will be just as exciting for those invested in the fashion side of the game. Bungie has finally unveiled the “legacy focusing” system, allowing players to obtain older weapons and armour sets that no longer drop from core activities. It is also introducing a new section of Ada-1’s armour shop, which will stock a rotating selection of old shaders for 10,000 glimmer each. The Reddit post linked provides a visual representation of which shaders will be returning. Players will be thrilled to earn Bergusian Night, New Age Black Armory, Dark Omolon, and the old faction shaders from Year 1. Sadly, Carminica is not included, but hopefully the selection will be expanded.
To obtain legacy gear, significantly more investment is needed. For Crucible, Vanguard Ops, and Gambit, armour pieces that are yet to be unlocked will cost three engrams, 50 Legendary Shards, and 10,000 Glimmer. The cost is reduced if you are focusing armour that has already been unlocked, but there are better and cheaper ways to earn armour, and thanks to transmog, you can reskin the armour. For Nightfall, Iron Banner, and Trials of Osiris weapons and armour, the cost is seven engrams, 100 Legendary Shards, and 10,000 Legendary Glimmer. It should be noted that each rank requires more points, so while the jump from Guardian I to Heroic II requires 1,925 points, the next seven—Heroic II to Mythic III—requires 5,625 points.
Adept Nightfall weapons earned from Grandmaster Strikes can also be focused, but it will require 10 Adept Ciphers. You will earn two for a Platinum award from a GM run. For most players, farming GMs will be the better, more profitable route. The Palindrome, an adaptive frame hand cannon no longer available in the Nightfall rotation, is not included in the legacy focusing system. The Iron Symmachy set is also not returning, which is unfortunate as it is one of the more distinct looks available.
Despite some pain points, it is great that players have a method to unlock older gear. Between this and the planned changes to buildcrafting, many quality-of-life changes are arriving next month. Hopefully, the launch of Lightfall will be smooth despite this week’s lengthy outage.
