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What Are Upgrade Modules in Destiny 2?
In Destiny 2, the power of your Guardian is determined not just by your skill but also by your gear. Armor and weapons have a Power Level (PL) that directly influences your character’s overall strength. To stay competitive and continue progressing through challenging content, you need to keep your gear updated. This is where Upgrade Modules come in.
Upgrade Modules are consumable items that allow players to infuse a higher Power Level item into another piece of gear, effectively boosting the latter’s PL. The core purpose of Upgrade Modules is to help players upgrade their favorite gear without having to abandon them for more powerful but less desirable options. Through infusion, the higher PL item is sacrificed, and its power is transferred to the desired item.
For example, if you have a piece of armor you love, like a helmet with perfect stats, but it’s 20 PL lower than your new helmet, you can use an Upgrade Module to infuse the higher PL into your preferred piece. This allows you to keep the aesthetics, perks, and stats of your gear while increasing its overall power.
Why Upgrade Modules Matter in Destiny 2
Upgrade Modules play a significant role in both player progression and gear customization in Destiny 2. Their importance can be broken down into several key areas:
1. Maintaining Optimal Power Level
The most straightforward function of Upgrade Modules is to help you maintain an optimal Power Level, especially when you find gear with favorable perks or rolls. The Power Level affects everything in Destiny 2—how much damage you deal, how much damage you can take, and your access to certain activities. High-level content such as Nightfall Strikes, Raids, and Trials of Osiris requires a high Power Level to be viable. Without the ability to infuse, you might have to constantly swap gear as you acquire higher-level drops, but with Upgrade Modules, you can stick to your preferred loadouts and gear styles.
2. Customization and Personalization
One of Destiny 2’s appeals is the way it allows players to customize their characters. This isn’t just limited to cosmetics but extends to how you want your gear to perform. Infusion ensures that you don’t need to sacrifice your perfect stat armor or your ideal weapon just because it falls behind in Power Level. For example, if you finally acquire that god-roll armor piece with high Discipline or a weapon with your favorite perk combination, Upgrade Modules will ensure you can continue using them throughout your journey.
3. Efficiency in Endgame Content
Once you’ve reached the endgame content—like Raids, Grandmaster Nightfalls, and Master Dungeon challenges—you need to be at your maximum power to take on these activities. Infusion through Upgrade Modules is an efficient way to ensure that you remain competitive without having to constantly grind for the same weapons or armor rolls. Instead, you can focus on perfecting your loadout and investing your resources wisely.
How to Acquire Upgrade Modules
Upgrade Modules are consumable items, so managing their acquisition and usage becomes an important part of a player’s strategy in Destiny 2. There are multiple ways to acquire Upgrade Modules, each with varying degrees of effort and resource management:
1. Buying from Vendors
The simplest way to get Upgrade Modules is to purchase them from vendors such as Banshee-44 (the Gunsmith) and Ada-1 in the Tower. These vendors offer Upgrade Modules in exchange for a set of resources, including:
- Enhancement Cores: These are rare materials that are used for upgrading gear.
- Glimmer: The basic currency in Destiny 2.
- Legendary Shards: These shards are obtained from dismantling Legendary or Exotic gear.
- Planetary Materials: Specific materials related to the different destinations in the game, such as Dusklight Shards from the EDZ or Spinmetal Leaves from the Cosmodrome.
On average, an Upgrade Module costs around 5,000 Glimmer, 10 Legendary Shards, 1 Enhancement Core, and 25 of a particular planetary material. Given that players need a constant supply of Upgrade Modules, managing these resources becomes critical to avoid running out when you need them most.
2. Seasonal Battle Pass
Each Destiny 2 season comes with a Battle Pass, which has a free and a paid tier. The Battle Pass provides Upgrade Modules at various levels as part of the progression rewards. Players who regularly play the game will accumulate these modules over the course of a season, making it one of the most efficient ways to obtain them.
3. Seasonal Challenges and Bounties
Another way to acquire Upgrade Modules is through completing certain weekly or seasonal challenges and bounties. Activities like strikes, Gambit, and Crucible offer bounties that, when completed, provide Upgrade Modules as rewards. These challenges often reward not just Upgrade Modules but also other valuable resources, making them a double benefit for resource management.
4. Dismantling High-Power Gear
Occasionally, dismantling high-power gear also grants Upgrade Modules. This tends to be a more situational method, as it’s not a guaranteed drop and is often based on RNG (random number generation). Still, this can occasionally provide an unexpected Upgrade Module when dismantling old or unused gear.
5. Masterwork Gear
When you fully upgrade a piece of gear to Masterwork level (which requires several Enhancement Cores, Prisms, and Ascendant Shards), it unlocks additional stat bonuses and generates orbs of power. As part of this upgrade process, you may receive some Upgrade Modules. This makes upgrading and masterworking gear an indirect source of Upgrade Modules, though it’s not necessarily a reliable method.
Best Practices for Using Upgrade Modules
Given the finite nature of Upgrade Modules and the resources needed to acquire them, efficient use is critical to avoiding wastage and ensuring your character is as powerful as possible. Here are some key strategies to maximize your Upgrade Module usage:
1. Prioritize Endgame and High-Stat Gear
You’ll often find yourself upgrading gear throughout your journey, but a common mistake is wasting Upgrade Modules on gear you’ll quickly replace. The most efficient use of Upgrade Modules is to reserve them for endgame gear or high-stat armor and weapons with optimal perks. Infusing every random Legendary you find can drain your resources quickly. Instead, wait until you have a piece of gear that you’re certain you’ll use long-term.
2. Hold Off on Early Infusion
In the early stages of a season or expansion, you’re likely to find yourself constantly leveling up through new gear drops. While it might be tempting to infuse immediately, it’s best to avoid doing so during these early stages. Since you’ll frequently receive higher-power gear, saving your Upgrade Modules for later, when the power increase slows down, is a smarter strategy. Waiting ensures that you’re not wasting precious resources on gear you’ll soon replace.
3. Focus on Pinnacle and Powerful Rewards
During your weekly grind for Pinnacle and Powerful rewards (which are sources of higher-power gear drops), infusing your most crucial gear—such as your primary weapon or best armor piece—helps keep you competitive. These sources often provide the highest PL gains, and using Upgrade Modules here can bridge the gap between power levels effectively.
4. Optimize Resource Gathering
Given the variety of resources needed to purchase Upgrade Modules, keeping a steady supply of Glimmer, Legendary Shards, Enhancement Cores, and planetary materials is vital. Completing daily and weekly bounties, farming planetary materials in specific destinations, and dismantling unneeded Legendary gear for shards and cores are excellent ways to ensure you always have enough to buy Upgrade Modules when needed.
5. Make Use of the Season Pass and Challenges
The seasonal battle pass and weekly challenges provide free Upgrade Modules, often at the higher levels of the pass or through the completion of specific challenges. As these are essentially ‘free’ rewards for playing the game, they should be your first line of defense in building up your Module stockpile. Prioritize completing these tasks regularly to minimize your reliance on buying Modules from vendors.
Managing Resources for Upgrade Modules
Since acquiring Upgrade Modules requires a variety of resources, effective resource management is a core component of staying prepared. Here’s how to manage the key resources needed for Module acquisition:
1. Glimmer
Glimmer is the most abundant currency in Destiny 2, but it can quickly disappear, especially when buying Upgrade Modules or other high-end resources. To keep a healthy stock of Glimmer:
- Run Glimmer-focused farming activities, such as Public Events or Lost Sectors.
- Purchase Rainmaker consumables (which increase Glimmer drops) from vendors like Spider.
- Consider dismantling unneeded gear for small amounts of Glimmer.
2. Legendary Shards
Legendary Shards are a crucial currency for many activities in Destiny 2, including purchasing Upgrade Modules. These shards are obtained primarily through dismantling Legendary and Exotic gear, as well as from certain vendors. Here’s how to efficiently manage Legendary Shards to ensure you always have enough for Upgrade Modules:
- Dismantle Unused Gear: Make it a habit to dismantle Legendary gear that you don’t need. While it can be tempting to hold onto extra gear for its perks or aesthetics, you’ll end up with a cluttered inventory and insufficient resources.
- Don’t Hoard Unnecessary Exotics: If you have multiple copies of the same Exotic item, consider dismantling extras. You can always reacquire Exotics from your collection, so hoarding them is not necessary unless they have different perks or rolls.
- Farm Strikes, Gambit, or Crucible Matches: These activities often reward Legendary gear, which can be dismantled for shards. Running them consistently will not only build up your shards but also provide a steady influx of gear drops.
3. Enhancement Cores
Enhancement Cores are one of the most valuable resources in Destiny 2, as they are required not just for Upgrade Modules but also for masterworking weapons and armor. They can be acquired in several ways, though they tend to be rarer than Glimmer and Legendary Shards. Here are some strategies for maximizing your Enhancement Core acquisition:
- Complete Gunsmith Bounties: Banshee-44 offers daily and weekly bounties that reward Enhancement Cores upon completion. Focus on completing these bounties regularly to build up your supply.
- Dismantle Masterworked Gear: If you dismantle weapons or armor that have been masterworked (upgraded to level 10), you’ll receive Enhancement Cores. While you’ll lose the item, this is a reliable way to gain cores when you have excess or underperforming masterworked gear.
- Buy Cores from Spider: On occasion, the Spider vendor in the Tangled Shore sells Enhancement Cores for Legendary Shards. If you have a surplus of shards, this is a great way to stock up on cores.
- Use Lesser Cores for Infusion: Since infusing gear can sometimes cost a core, avoid unnecessary infusions and prioritize using gear that doesn’t require them until you’ve gathered enough cores.
4. Planetary Materials
Different planets and destinations in Destiny 2 have their own unique materials, which are required to purchase Upgrade Modules. Managing these planetary materials ensures that you can always pick up Modules from vendors when needed. Here are some tips for gathering these materials:
- Farm Public Events and Lost Sectors: These activities on specific planets will reward you with the local planetary material. For example, running Public Events on the EDZ will reward Dusklight Shards. Stock up on these by regularly running activities in those locations.
- Purchase from Spider: The Spider vendor sells planetary materials in exchange for Glimmer or Legendary Shards. If you’re running low on a specific material, check Spider’s inventory, as his stock rotates daily.
- Loot Chests and Resource Nodes: While exploring planets, make sure to open chests and interact with resource nodes, which grant small amounts of planetary materials. Over time, this can add up significantly.
The Role of Upgrade Modules in Endgame Content
Once players hit the endgame, Destiny 2 becomes increasingly focused on refining gear and maximizing Power Level. Endgame activities like Raids, Grandmaster Nightfalls, Master Dungeons, and Trials of Osiris are designed to push players to their limits, requiring optimal builds and high Power Levels. Upgrade Modules play a crucial role in enabling players to remain competitive in these environments without having to constantly chase new gear.
Here’s how Upgrade Modules factor into key endgame activities:
1. Raids
Raids are some of the most challenging content in Destiny 2 and demand the best gear to succeed. However, the gear obtained from raids can sometimes be lower in Power Level compared to your overall average. Using Upgrade Modules allows you to infuse your most powerful weapons and armor into raid-specific gear, ensuring that you remain at the top of your game while keeping raid gear you enjoy. For example, if you obtain a fantastic weapon or armor piece in a raid, but it’s lower than your current Power Level, an Upgrade Module can instantly bring it up to your highest level, maintaining your competitive edge.
2. Trials of Osiris
Trials of Osiris is the pinnacle of Destiny 2’s PvP scene, and players who want to compete at the highest levels need to ensure their gear is fully optimized. Since Trials is a light-enabled activity, having the highest Power Level possible is essential. Upgrade Modules ensure that you can use your preferred weapons and armor without worrying about their Power Level being subpar. PvP players, in particular, often have specific loadouts that they’re comfortable with, so keeping those weapons and armor pieces up-to-date with infusion is critical.
3. Grandmaster Nightfalls and Master Dungeons
These high-difficulty PvE activities require players to be at or near the pinnacle of their Power Level. Grandmaster Nightfalls, in particular, have a recommended Power Level that is often the maximum available in the game at the time. Players who are below this Power Level will be at a significant disadvantage, taking more damage and dealing less. Upgrade Modules ensure that you can maximize your Power Level while keeping your favorite or best-performing gear in use, rather than constantly replacing it with random drops.
4. Masterworking and Infusion Synergy
At the highest levels of play, many players aim to masterwork their gear. This process, which requires a substantial investment of resources like Enhancement Prisms and Ascendant Shards, makes a piece of gear even more powerful by providing extra stats and generating orbs of power on multi-kills. Once a piece of gear is masterworked, the investment is significant, and players want to keep using it for as long as possible. Upgrade Modules allow you to continue using masterworked gear by keeping it at the top Power Level, even as you obtain more powerful items throughout the season.
The Economy of Upgrade Modules: Is It Sustainable?
One of the ongoing discussions in the Destiny 2 community revolves around the sustainability of the Upgrade Module economy. Players often ask whether the resource cost for acquiring Upgrade Modules is too high, especially for more casual players who may not have the time to grind for resources like Legendary Shards, Enhancement Cores, and planetary materials.
1. Resource Scarcity
For many players, the scarcity of Enhancement Cores in particular is a sticking point. Since Enhancement Cores are required not only for buying Upgrade Modules but also for upgrading armor to higher tiers and masterworking gear, players often find themselves short on these valuable resources. While experienced players can manage their cores by farming bounties and dismantling gear, newer players or those with limited playtime may struggle to acquire enough cores to meet all their upgrading needs.
2. The Grind for Planetary Materials
Another area of concern is the constant need for planetary materials, which can become tedious to farm. Since each Upgrade Module requires a specific planetary material, players may find themselves traveling to different destinations just to gather enough resources to buy Modules. While this adds some incentive to explore the game’s various environments, it can also feel like a grind for players who want to focus on other aspects of the game.
3. Vendor Accessibility
Vendors like Banshee-44 and Ada-1 provide a consistent source of Upgrade Modules, but the daily limits and high resource costs can be prohibitive for some players. Balancing the need for modules with the cost of buying them is a challenge that many players face, especially when trying to masterwork gear or upgrade a full set of armor and weapons.
Conclusion: The Vital Role of Upgrade Modules in Destiny 2
In summary, Upgrade Modules are an essential component of Destiny 2’s gear progression system. They allow players to infuse their favorite gear with higher Power Level items, keeping their loadouts relevant and competitive as they progress through the game. Whether you’re aiming for high-end PvE content like Raids and Grandmaster Nightfalls or competing at the highest level in Trials of Osiris, Upgrade Modules provide the flexibility to customize and optimize your gear without sacrificing Power Level.
While the process of acquiring Upgrade Modules can sometimes feel resource-intensive, particularly for casual players, managing your resources wisely and prioritizing key pieces of gear can help mitigate this. With a variety of ways to obtain Upgrade Modules, from vendors and seasonal challenges to dismantling gear and completing bounties, players have numerous options to keep their favorite armor and weapons up-to-date.
As Destiny 2 continues to evolve, Upgrade Modules will remain a crucial part of the player experience, providing the tools to ensure that every Guardian can face the challenges ahead with their ideal loadout. Understanding how to acquire, manage, and effectively use Upgrade Modules will ensure that you remain competitive, no matter what new content Bungie introduces. For Guardians who want to master Destiny 2, Upgrade Modules are not just an optional resource—they are a fundamental part of progression.