If you are just now making your way to the end game of Destiny 2, you will soon realize that you need a lot of Ascendant Shards for your gear.
Ascendant Shards can be hard to come by. Today, we’ll go over some of the best methods for obtaining Ascendant Shards.
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In Destiny 2, Ascendant Shards can be obtained through Master and Grandmaster difficulty Nightfalls. Ascendant Shards can be purchased from Master Rahool in the Tower. You can passively gain Ascendant Shards through Vendor Rank Resets and Season Pass Tiers.
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What are Ascendant Shards?
While you may be familiar with the more common materials such as Legendary Shards or even Enhancement Prisms, Ascendant Shards are one of the rarest materials in Destiny 2.
This Exotic material is awarded through some of the toughest end-game activities and is the reason you will find many players actively farming these activities, as they can never get enough of them.
What do Ascendant Shards do?
Ascendant shards are used to upgrade your gear and maximize your armor and weapon stats through Masterworking.
In order to fully Masterwork your gear, you will need some Ascendant Shards. The number of Shards will depend on the type of gear.
Every piece of armor will require at least 1 Ascendant Shard to fully Masterwork, while Exotic armor will require 3 Ascendant Shards and quite a few Enhancement Prisms.
This means you will need at least 7 Ascendant Shards to fully Masterwork a set of armor, including an Exotic armor piece.
This doesn’t take into account Masterworking your weapons, which will require even more Ascendant Shards.
As you can see, the game requires you to farm quite a few Ascendant Shards in order to stay competitive in end-game activities. So let’s go over the best ways to get some Shards.
How to Get Ascendant Shards in Destiny 2
While Destiny 2 can be stingy with its rewards, there are luckily quite a few different methods for obtaining Ascendant Shards.
Nightfalls
Master and Grandmaster Nightfalls are by far the best way to get lots of Ascendant Shards.
With a skilled Fireteam, you can knock out Nightfalls in under 10 minutes. You will want to get some friends together or LFG a team to help, as there is no matchmaking in Master and Grandmaster Nightfalls.
Each Nightfall has a chance of rewarding Ascendant Shards, with Master and Grandmaster difficulties giving you better drop chances.
To get the most rewards for your time, you will want to wait for a Double Vanguard Rewards Week.
This is a special event in Destiny 2 that will grant you additional rewards for every Nightfall you complete, potentially granting you 2-3 Ascendant Shards per run.
Vendor Resets
Many of the Vanguard Vendors, including Zavala, Shaxx, Saint-14, Banshee-44, and The Drifter will reward you with an Ascendant Shard once you reach reputation rank 16 with them and reset your rank with them.
By no means is this a fast method for obtaining Ascendant Shards, but it is a passive, repeatable method that solo players can rely on while enjoying the content they want to play.
Just be sure to pick up bounties from each of the Vendors before heading into any playlist activities and you will gradually see their ranks increase.
Purchase Ascendant Shards
If you happen to have an abundance of extra materials, namely Glimmer and Enhancement Prisms, you can always head on over to Master Rahool in the Tower to trade for some Ascendant Shards.
Keep in mind that they will come at a steep price of 50,000 Glimmer and 10 Enhancement Prisms.
While definitely not the most efficient method, it is a great way to get a couple of Shards if you just need them to upgrade a single piece of armor.
Dismantle Masterworked Gear
If you really, really need some Ascendant Shards in a pinch, you can dismantle any Masterworked Legendary or Exotic gear. You have to get back some of the materials used to Masterwork them, namely an Ascendant Shard.
This is a very inefficient method, as you won’t get back all of the materials used to Masterwork the dismantled armor.
However, if you happen to have some old gear lying around that you won’t be using anymore, then you can dismantle it to finish upgrading your new Loadout.
Season Pass
The Season Pass can be a great source of materials and currencies. Sadly, the same can not be said for Ascendant Shards.
As of Season of the Witch, you can obtain three Ascendant Shards from the Season Pass, one at Tier 85, one at Tier 90, and the last one at Tier 94.
While definitely something to keep in mind, you won’t be using this method anytime soon.
While the Season Pass may be stingy with Ascendant Shards, it can be a good source for Glimmer, Legendary Shards, and Enhancement Prisms, allowing you to trade up for Ascendant Shards at Rahool.
These are the best methods for getting Ascendant Shards in Destiny 2.
Are you still having trouble getting enough Ascendant Shards for your Loadouts? Are there any other sources for Ascendant Shards that you think I missed? Let me know in the comments!
