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To be clear, grabbing this special item is by no means easy and Guardians will need to complete pinnacle activities. Whether completing the ultimate challenge of Nightfall Strikes or winning games in Trials of Osiris, players’ skills will be put to the test. There are some methods that demand less effort but limit how many Shards players can get. Regardless, these items are necessary for building up a Guardian’s kit, so focus on these ways to buff up fast.
Updated on November 8, 2021, by Anastasia Maillot: Ascendant Shards are an important resource that has seen a few minor changes throughout the balance patches and seasons in Destiny 2. As of the Season of the Lost, there’s a few set ways that players can farm Ascendant Shards.
The biggest change players will have is the existence of Grandmaster Nightfalls. These will make farming Ascendant Shards more accessible for high-level players, despite their incredibly tough difficulty level.
Using Ascendant Shards
Ascendant Shards can be put towards old Exotics at the Tower Kiosk. One piece of Exotic item will cost one Ascendant Shard. Players looking to Masterwork their gear will also need Ascendant Shards to do so.
Exotic gear in particular will cost 3 pieces of Ascendant Shards per piece of gear, so it’s evident that this is a resource that players will need if they want the best possible gear available in the game.
Note: A player can carry a maximum of 10 Ascendant Shards in their inventory. However, the Postmaster can hold an additional 10 per character, at least until they are destroyed along with other items.
Unlock Them From The Season Pass
Easily the most straightforward way to earn Ascendant Shards is to buy the paid version of the Season Pass. Those with the paid version will be able to unlock a total of 3 Ascendant Shards from the Season Pass.
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Complete Master Or Grandmaster Nightfall Strikes
Nightfall Strikes are currently on a weekly rotation, but Bungie has stated that soon players will be able to pick any strike and run it to their hearts’ content. For now, however, players can run the weekly Nightfall Strike on Master or Grandmaster difficulty.
For Master difficulty, Ascendant Shards are an Uncommon drop, while for Grandmaster difficulty, they are a Common drop. Anything below is not worth running. Make sure to defeat all champions in the strike to increase the chances of receiving these drops.
Buy Them From Banshee-44 And Ada-1
In the Tower, players can approach Banshee-44 the gunsmith, and Ada-1, the armor specialist, to regularly buy Ascendant Shards. As one would expect, however, the price for these Ascendant Shards is quite high. This is what players will typically need to buy one Ascendant Shard:
10 Enhancement Prisms 100 Planetary Materials 50,000 Glimmer
Dismantle Masterworked Exotic Armor
This is the desperate guardian’s solution. Players who have old, Exotic gear in their Vault that they no longer need can dismantle it for a couple of Ascendant Shards. Typically, these won’t return all the three spent Shards to the player, however, so it’s not a great way to farm shards.
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Earn Them As Reset Rank Reward From Vendors
Vendors like Lord Shaxx, Commander Zavala, Saint-14, and the Drifter all reward the player with one Ascendant Shard each on the first time the player resets their rank with them. After that, resetting the vendor rank will yield an Exotic engram instead of an Ascendant Shard.
Complete The Augmented Obsession Triumph
This is a special Triumph that players with the Beyond Light DLC can complete on Europa. It’s quite a time-consuming Triumph, as it takes about eight weeks to complete, with a weekly cap on how many Braytech Transponders you can buy from Variks. Speak to Variks once a week to get a Braytech Transponder, and use it to complete the 8 Augment Triumphs. After beating this challenge, return to Variks for a single Ascendant Shard reward.
The reward for completing the Triumph includes an Ascendant Shard. It’s a long shot, but for completionists and grinders out there, it’s worth it.
Complete Trials Of Osiris Games
The last method is to use every possible trick to win Trials of Osiris games. By winning seven consecutive matches without a loss, an Ascendant Shard will drop from the Lighthouse Chest. As a rare item for the best upgrades, Bungie does not make it easy for Guardians to gather Shards. But by sticking to these activities, players will be drowning in the resource in no time.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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