Dedicated players like this high-level Warlock are actually quite common, as gamers have invested quite a bit of time into Destiny. But will this change as a result of unfair DLC practices?
A dedicated Warlock has hit Destiny‘s current level cap, earning the ire and respect from fellow Guardians throughout the galaxy.
Destiny‘s new Dark Below DLC has been out for almost a week now, and one die-hard Guardian has achieved Light level 32.
The stalwart Guardian goes by the handle of EnormousTrash, and is among the first players to reach max level in the DLC. Taking a look at their gear we see that the Sunsinger is decked out in Crota’s End raid gear–that’s Deathsinger’s gloves, chestpiece and boots for Warlocks–which represents a considerable amount of time, luck and effort.
Crota waits in the darkness, ready to spill the Light of Guardians.
EnormousTrash has three characters, all of which have run the new Crota’s End raid in rotations. Having three of the same character is pretty much standard operating procedure for dedicated Destiny players, as gear is interchangeable and players can run the raid once per character.
By this method the user was able to not only find raid gear from the Dark Below raid, but also the new upgrade materials needed to enhance them.
Instead of Ascendant Shards and Energies, you now have to use the new Radiant Shards (armor) and Radiant Energies (weapons) materials in order to buff up any Legendary gear that drops from the raid.
And you the only place you can find these mats from the new Crota’s End raid, meaning you’ll have to devote some serious time to decking out your Guardian’s gear (assuming you’re lucky enough to find it in the first place).
You can also break down raid items to net Radiant mats, and Eris lets you exchange Shards for Energies and vice-versa.
This persistent Sunsinger has three characters, two of which are no-doubt raid farmers for their main Warlock. This is a necessary strategy to maxing out a Guardian.
Dark Below‘s raid has a total of three bosses and two chests, with varying opportunities to find gear drops. Polygon notes that if you didn’t find any gear, only found Radiant Shards or Radiant Energies, you could snag as many as 10 to 12 per run.
Sadly Crota’s End can only be run on normal for right now, as Bungie will unlock hard mode in January.
This means you only get a single run per character. So that’s three only runs per week, and raid gear from Vault of Glass won’t elevate you to level 32. Three runs a week substantially lowers the odds in raid gear drops along with the precious Radiant Shards needed to enhance them.
For reference the original Vault of Glass raid on Venus can be run six times a week–twice with each the three characters–which raises the chance of netting something good.
Assuming you find a party of Guardians to run with, and are adequately geared to take down the Hive god, you can snag three runs perk week across your two raid farmers and your geared main.
Most Guardians use DestinyLFG to find a raid party. The site itself is extremely active and it seems there’s always someone available for an event or two.
7 Radiant Shards per the last three defense tiers means every piece of Warlock raid gear takes 21 Radiant Shards to max. Talk about a time sink.
Checking back to the Warlock’s gear we find that their raid set is completely maxed out. According to a comment over at Destiny DB, Deathsinger’s gear takes up 7 Radiant Shards per the last three defense tiers.
So that’s a total of 21 Radiant Shards to max out every piece of armor, and since EnormousTrash is wearing three, this totals to a whopping 63 Radiant Shards. Wow.
When we look at it like this, it’s easy to see the dedication factor come into play. Hitting level 32 is no small feat, and it’s a true testament to persistence, skill and of course luck. For this we commend you, EnormousTrash.
May you forever bask in the Light of the Traveler, Guardian.
Thanks, Game Informer.
