Collect and Level Up Exotics
While there have been many changes to Destiny throughout the various patches and two DLCs, one element of the game that has remained relatively constant is the role and function of exotic weapons within the game. While some exotics have been subject to individual nerfs in Destiny’s new Weapon Tuning 2.0 Patch that takes effect with the release of The Taken King, exotics as a whole have not lost their value.
As far as we know, year one exotics will carry over to year two and will be able to be upgraded to keep up with The Taken King’s new standards. When the The Taken King releases, there will be a myriad of new exotics released along with it. In the meantime, if you have any exotics, you might want to level them up. And if you don’t have many or want more, then continue to run through nightfall missions, play through the weekly heroic on the hardest difficulty to earn strange coins to buy exotics from Xur, and save up your motes of light so that you can trade them in to Xur for exotic engrams.
However, if you’re having trouble acquiring a specific exotic, don’t fret too much about it. In Destiny’s The Taken King, there is a new loot system that takes the exotics you already have in your inventory into account in drops to reduce duplicates and facilitate collection of pieces that players are still trying to acquire.
Don’t Waste Too Much Time On Legendaries
One of the most alarming pieces of news for veteran players is that there will not be a way to upgrade year one legendary weapons and armor to the new standards of Destiny’s The Taken King. To prepare for the new expansion, players must accept that year one legendaries will eventually lose their importance in year two. That being said, it isn’t necessarily a bad idea for players to hold onto their purple items for a little bit. If you have the extra vault space then sure, why not?
Many players dismantled their Vault of Glass raid weapons and equipment when it could not be upgraded in The Dark Below DLC. However players who held on to this gear benefitted when an update in the House of Wolves DLC allowed for players to upgrade it to the newest standards. Destiny can be unpredictable at times because it’s so reactive and responsive to community feedback so at times it makes sense to hold on to things unless you need more space. Even if they can’t be upgraded there is a chance there will be other benefits.
Ultimately, it’s your decision whether or not to keep them or dismantle them, but there’s really no disadvantage to playing it safe on this one.
Use Your Complimentary The Taken King Level Boost Wisely
As a way to make Destiny more accessible for new and returning players, Bungie is offering a one-time use level boost consumable that will instantly bring any character up to level 25 for Destiny: The Taken King. The light level armor system is being replaced with an experience based leveling system, while the light levels themselves are instead going to gauge your guardian’s power. This boost will give players a jump start in these new systems as they work their way towards the new level cap.
Remember, this boost is for both veteran players and new players alike. If you already have a level 34 guardian or two but there’s a class that you’ve always wanted to create but never had the time to get around to leveling up, now might be a good time to create that character and make use of this level boost. Or maybe you have Xbox One and want to switch to PS4, or vice versa. Now might be a good time for that too. However you choose to use it, just remember that you only get one of these.
While some veteran players are annoyed that new players will be able to join and play without having put in the first year’s grind, Bungie intends for Destiny to be an inclusive experience, not an exclusive one. By removing barriers to entry, Bungie aims to improve and expand the game’s social experience. Who knows, maybe Bungie will even add the highly demanded matchmaking feature to Destiny one day.
Be Wary Of Collecting Currencies, Engrams, and Postmaster Packages
With The Dark Below and House of Wolves DLCs, many people saved up their postmaster packages. When they would receive rewards from the cryptarch, vanguard, or crucible as well as engrams, they would save them in hopes that they would provide an early chance at new content. In both cases this did not work. While this is not a guarantee that this won’t work in Destiny’s The Taken King, it’s probably a pretty good sign.
If you want to save those items up anyway for the purpose of dismantling them and/or exchanging them for other materials/experience, then that makes sense. You can also keep your factions at the point right before they level up and push them over after The Taken King releases.
One of the aspects of Destiny that has changed a few times between the game’s DLCs and patches is how different currencies work and for what they can be exchanged. So far, it seems as though the game provides you some sort of reward for your old stuff. So they will probably still give you something in The Taken King. But this is not a guarantee in year two so be prepared for anything. According to Planet Destiny, “Legendary marks replace “Crucible” and “Vanguard” marks. “Armor Materials” replace Hadronic Essence, Sapphire Wire, Plasteel Plating.” So it may be worth maxing out your crucible/vanguard marks to buy new weapons, even if you need to trade them for legendary marks first.
Although, if you’re going to bet on anything, motes of light and glimmer might be a good idea. Once again, it’s not a guarantee, but motes of light have been valuable for one reason or another since the beginning of Destiny and we have not seen any indications of that changing. And, according to Planet Destiny, you can use “glimmer to order a new Legendary weapon, and Wednesday that weapon arrives with a random set of perks.”
Level Up Your Characters – Or Intentionally Don’t
The way The Taken King’s new leveling system works for existing players is that although light will no longer determine level, veteran players will enter The Taken King at the current light level of their characters. So in other words, if you don’t care about the boost and you just want your character or characters to enter The Taken King fully prepared, then now would be a good time to max everything out. Continue to gather etheric light from running the Prison of Elders until you hit the level cap of 34.
And although legendaries are soon to become irrelevant, feel free to fully upgrade those too if you plan on using them in the beginning. Just remember they’ll soon fall behind when you’re considering how much time and effort you want to spend leveling up.
There’s another way to look at it. As suggested in a post on reddit, you might want to attempt not preparing for Destiny’s The Taken King whatsoever. If you already have a character that’s close to level 34, you should definitely take that guardian all the way. But if you were thinking of starting a new character or finally leveling one you never finished, you might want to wait till The Taken King releases. If you grind now, you grind with Dinklebot. But if you can wait till The Taken King releases, you can grind with a ghost newly re-voiced by Nolan North as well as an entirely new experience based leveling system and a reorganization of previous levels to fit the new narrative.
If you prepare too much for The Taken King, you’re going to lessen the grind. Perhaps this is exactly what you want to do, but with all the new stuff, you might want to give yourself a little more grind room. If you have multiple characters, maybe leave one of them un-leveled. Or not. It’s totally your call. We’re just throwing the idea out there.
What do you think of these Destiny: The Taken King preparation tips? Did you find useful information? Do you know something that we don’t? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
If you haven’t had enough of Destiny, and would like to pursue more useful and/or interesting information about the game, be sure to check out our destiny Destiny Wiki Guide: How to, Tips, Tricks, & More! as well as our Destiny House of Wolves Wiki Guide: How to, Tips, Tricks, & More!
And, for a steady stream of hilarious, intellectual, and exciting video game articles and news, and especially for more Destiny content, remember to like Twinfinite on Facebook.
Published: Aug 18, 2015 11:28 am