How To Make Easy Glimmer (& The Best Stuff To Spend It On)
Destiny 2 has been chugging along strong for almost 4 years now and Bungie has been hard at work adding (and, unfortunately, vaulting some) clever and entertaining content for its players. Although there may be mixed feelings about the future of Destiny 2 and where the MMO-like FPS is headed, one can’t deny that developers don’t work hard to bring unique twists, turns, and upgraded gameplay to their community.
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Progression can seem a bit murky to new players, thanks to a massive overload of materials, relics, and catalysts. Most will find themselves gaining a wide array of «things» as they progress through Destiny 2‘s expansive world and there may be times that their inventory seems outright overwhelming. Between the planetary resources, weapon parts, and «buffs,» it can be hard to understand what’s important and what is simply «filler. «
One resource that sees a lot of confusion is Glimmer. This «currency» is gained by doing a multitude of activities across Destiny 2 but what exactly is it used for and how can players get tons of it as quickly as possible?
Updated on December 14, 2021, by Anastasia Maillot: There have been a lot of changes to Glimmer and Vendors in Destiny 2 in the past year. And with more changes on the horizon most likely for Witch Queen in February 2022, the best way to earn Glimmer in Destiny 2 is a matter that is likely to keep on changing as time goes on.
For now, however, with the 30th Anniversary out along with the Grasp of Avarice dungeon and Dares of Eternity six-man activity, this Glimmer guide has been updated to better reflect the methods of earning Glimmer and the best uses for it.
What Is Glimmer Used For?
Glimmer is rewarded for doing almost anything in Destiny 2. Players can earn Glimmer from killing enemies, completing planet patrols, opening chests, completing strikes, quests, bounties, and just about everything else.
Players can even unlock certain mods that will help them gain glimmer faster. It may not seem like a big deal at first, because this resource bleeds from many facets of the Destiny 2 world, but Glimmer can actually be pretty valuable, especially if players are trying to grow stronger.
There is a multitude of reasons players would want to carry as much Glimmer as possible at all times.
Purchasing Upgrade Items
Destiny 2 isn’t like a traditional MMO where players will be saving up their stores of gold to purchase powerful potions and incredible weapons. Instead, Vendors offer unique items that can be used to help upgrade equipment, such as Enhancement Prisms, Upgrade Modules, and Ascendant Shards. Players can also buy Armor pieces to make their Guardian stronger or even purchase lower-level gear pieces to dismantle, in order to grab any basic materials they might be missing.
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It’s important to note that mods from Banshee-44 and Ada-1 located in The Tower do not cost Glimmer, but instead require players to have Mod Components.
Upgrading And Masterworking Armor & Weapons
Glimmer is also important when it comes to upgrading armor and weapons (and Ghost shells), and eventually masterworking them. This is one of the main goals of most players, as masterworked weapons and armor gain powerful stat boosts that can make a huge difference when building a Destiny 2 character.
Luckily, as of the 30th Anniversary update in Destiny 2, swapping armor mods no longer costs Glimmer. However, swapping weapon mods and Ghost mods still costs a bit of Glimmer.
Buying From Xur And The Exotic Archives
Every Friday, the mysterious Vendor affiliated with the Nine arrives at a random location in Destiny 2’s world and shares his wares of Exotic items and Legendary goods. Many of his weapons and armor can have very good rolls, so players should save a bit of Glimmer and Legendary Shards to afford his wares. Exotics will not cost Glimmer, but any Legendary weapons and armor will cost both Legendary Shards and Glimmer.
Completing Xur’s Exotic Cipher quest allows players to spend a Cipher at the Exotic Archives, Monument to Lost Lights, located in the Tower. Exotic weapons from previous seasons and DLCs can be purchased here, and many of them have extremely steep prices in Glimmer. For example, the Ace of Spades hand cannon from the Forsaken DLC costs 125,000 Glimmer. On top of that, these Exotics also demand planetary resources, Ascendant Shards, and occasionally Spoils of Conquest from raids.
Given that this is the only way to get some of these unique Exotic weapons, it’s one of the best uses of Glimmer in the game.
Buying Bounties For XP And Powerful Gear Challenges
Bounties are one of the best ways in Destiny 2 to earn XP and progress the Seasonal Pass. Past the light level cap, bounties are also the primary way of earning XP and leveling the Seasonal Artifact to gain a Power bonus for one’s light level.
Most Vendors also require players to complete a set number of bounties per week for Pinnacle or Powerful Gear drops, which is essential for players under the power level cap to level up.
Glimmer is the number one currency to purchase these bounties. Whether it’s from Banshee-44, the Drifter, Zavala, Lord Shaxx, or even Vendors outside the tower, like Variks and Shaw Han, all of these bounties have a Glimmer price tag that can add up quickly for XP-hungry Guardians.
How To Make Glimmer Quickly
Now that players know there’s a Glimmer-eating monster lurking beneath the waves of Destiny 2, they’ll need a way to bankroll all of their purchases and upgrades. Unfortunately, there is also the annoyance of a pretty unforgiving Glimmer cap. Players can only hold 250,000 of the currency at one time, so they won’t be able to «farm for a week and retire.» Glimmer use and production are a revolving door and dedicated players will need to constantly replenish their currency.
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Thankfully, there are some great ways to make Glimmer quickly in Destiny 2 and with all of this «money» exchanging hands it’s easy to see why Bungie rewards players with Glimmer for practically everything they do.
Dismantling Items
Players earn a lot of loot from various activities, most of which they’ll never end up using. Any weapons, armor, ghosts shells, shaders, and such can be dismantled for some Gunsmith Materials, Legendary Shards, the occasional Enhancement Core, and even some Glimmer. It’s not much, but those with an excess of items in their Vault and inventory should regularly do a clean-up. They might be surprised by how much spare Glimmer they end up with.
Trade With Spider
Spider is absolutely and without a doubt «The Man» when it comes to gathering Glimmer quickly. If players are looking for the fastest way to get a ton of currency, look no further.
Spider allows players to trade certain materials with him and the trade structures will shift weekly. Sometimes they’ll be able to snag Legendary Shards and Planetary Materials from him for Glimmer, which is handy if players are short on upgrade materials, but the flip side is that Spider will also allow players to trade certain planetary materials and shards for cold, hard, cash.
The exchange rate is pretty generous too, with batches netting up to 10,000 Glimmer per trade. If players don’t feel like farming and want the instant gratification of money-in-hand, Spider is the man to see. Note that after December 2021, the Tangled Shore will be vaulted and Master Rahool will take over the Glimmer exchange trade in The Tower.
Farming PVP & Difficult PVE Activities
Perhaps players don’t want to give up their hard-earned planetary materials and their incredibly valuable Legendary Shards. That’s definitely understandable and smart for the Destiny 2 player that doesn’t mind farming up a firestorm.
Sure, they can grab Glimmer through planetary Patrols and Public Events but players are honestly much better off running through PVP and PVE activities.
PVP players stand to make the most from these ventures because matches are fast and short depending on the Game Mode. PVP is a great place to grab not only Glimmer but materials, shaders, weapons, armor, and even exotics.
For those that simply can’t stand PVP and prefer to throw hands with Destiny 2‘s hordes of A.I., it can be rewarding to enter the Strike playlist. Challenging Nightfall strikes, and Grandmaster Nightfalls, in particular, can yield a motherload of loot and Glimmer for players.
Solo Legend and Master Lost Sectors are also fantastic for players who don’t have a clan or a fireteam ready to grind for Glimmer with them. These Lost Sectors also have a chance of dropping some cool Exotic gear. Finally, completing raids will earn players a ton of Glimmer, though it’s not a quick process by any means and requires a dedicated fireteam.
Ghost Buffs & Rainmaker
No matter what players end up doing, they’ll want to take a look at the modifications available for the Ghost, which can help players get more Glimmer. A cache-detector mod is also useful if players are on patrol and want to open as many chests as possible.
Bungie’s latest fray into Seasons can also prove fruitful as buying the Season Pass and climbing through the «levels» of it can unlock Glimmer-based buffs. Players with the Rainmaker consumable item can also pop it before PVE activities for a chance to create a shower of Glimmer when scoring precision kills.
Destiny 2 was released on September 6, 2017, and is available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Google Stadia.
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How To Farm Glimmer Fast
Quick Links
- How To Get Glimmer
- Glimmer Farm #1: Talk to Rahool
- Glimmer Farm #2: Farm Planetary Chests
- Glimmer Farm #3: Farm Resources
Destiny 2 has a lot of resources you gotta manage.
There are Legendary Shards, Enhancement Cores, Enhancement Prisms, Recon Data for Season of the Hunt, Herealways Pieces introduced in Beyond Light, and a specific resource for each of the game’s many destinations.
Related: Destiny 2: How To Farm XP Fast
But the thing you’ll always need is Glimmer. Glimmer is as close as Destiny 2 comes to cold, hard cash. You need Glimmer to buy bounties, Glimmer to slot mods, Glimmer to upgrade your arms and armor, and Glimmer to do just about anything. When you run out of Glimmer, your game grinds to a complete standstill.
Keeping up your Glimmer supplies is a necessary thing in Destiny 2, but not something you want to spend too much time on. Here’s every way you can earn Glimmer in Destiny 2 and some of the fastest Glimmer farms you can use.
Updated April 15th, 2022, by Charles Burgar: The Spider has decided to shift his resource exchange secrets to Master Rahool at the Tower, allowing Guardians to purchase Glimmer without having to leave the City.
We’ve updated this guide to include Rahool’s new Glimmer bundles, and we’ve changed the Season Pass section to include Year 5’s reworked pass rewards.
How To Get Glimmer
Virtually everything you do in Destiny 2 will grant Glimmer. Defeating enemies, completing activities, and speaking to certain vendors will be your main sources of earning Glimmer. Notable methods of earning Glimmer is listed below:
|
Method |
Type |
Glimmer Amount |
|---|---|---|
|
Killing Enemies |
Activity |
Miniscule |
|
Dismantling Rares And Vanity Items |
Misc. |
100 |
|
*Planetary Chests |
Activity |
400 |
|
**Lost Sector Chests |
Activity |
1,800 |
|
Playlist Match Completion |
Activity |
2,500 |
|
Rahool’s Resource Exchange |
Vendor |
10,000 |
|
Season Pass |
Season Pass |
110,000 |
*Chests taper your Glimmer rewards when farmed.
You’ll gain less Glimmer as you open chests in a short time span.
**Only grants 1,800 for the first five Lost Sector chests that session (excluding Dreaming City and Moon chests).
Credit to Pyro Gaming for most of the Glimmer values listed above.
Season Pass
Each Season Pass will grant Glimmer during certain ranks, both for the free and premium tracks. Assuming you own the current season, you can earn 110,000 Glimmer from the Season Pass. Glimmer bundles are given at the following ranks:
|
Rank |
Track |
Amount |
|---|---|---|
|
Rank 3 |
Free |
8,000 |
|
Rank 6 |
Free |
8,000 |
|
Rank 9 |
Paid |
10,000 |
|
Rank 12 |
Free |
6,000 |
|
Rank 16 |
Free |
6,000 |
|
Rank 17 |
Paid |
10,000 |
|
Rank 23 |
Paid |
10,000 |
|
Rank 37 |
Paid |
10,000 |
|
Rank 42 |
Paid |
12,000 |
|
Rank 82 |
Paid |
30,000 |
New Lights can get up to 28,000 Glimmer from the Season Pass.
Season owners get significantly more, up to 110,000 Glimmer upon reaching rank 82.
Lost Sectors
If you’re less inclined to run laps in patrol to farm chests, there’s another option. Pick a short Lost Sector and farm it. Widow’s Walk in the EDZ’s Trostland is an ideal choice because—with the right build—you can walk in, kill the boss, loot the chest, and leave within seconds. Any Dreaming City and Moon Lost Sector will work too.
To do this, your best option is to bring a high-damage Heavy weapon of some kind, but any high-damage elemental weapon should be fine. Go in, quickly take down the boss before other enemies can overwhelm you, and then take your Glimmer and leave. Even if you die at that point, it’s fine because you can just head outside of the Lost Sector to do it all over again.
Keep in mind that this “farm” can’t be used too often. After multiple runs, the Glimmer rewards will taper off until it’s not really worth doing anymore.
But this is another option to make some quick Glimmer thanks to your Glimmer Booster mods.
Related: Destiny 2: Tips For Farming Legendary Lost Sectors
Boosting Glimmer Gains With Ghost Shells And Rainmaker
Those planning to farm for Glimmer should consider modding their Ghost Shell and using the Rainmaker consumable item. Here’s what they do:
- Glimmer Boost (1-6 Energy, Ghost Mod): Increases Glimmer gains by 5-65%.
- Rainmaker (Consumable): Precision kills have a chance to create a shower of Glimmer. Effect lasts for 4 hours.
Ghost Shell Glimmer Boosts can increase your Glimmer gains by up to 65%. This includes all Glimmer sources that drop in the world, so virtually everything except bounties and the Season Pass. Rainmaker dramatically increases the amount of Glimmer enemies drop, so consider using this item if you start to run low on Glimmer. If you’ve been playing Destiny 2 for a few dozen hours, you should have quite a few of these in your inventory.
Return to Quick Links
Glimmer Farm #1: Talk to Rahool
Now that the Spider no longer exists, Rahool has taken his place as the resource exchange vendor. Each day, Rahool will sell three resource types for Legendary Shards and three Glimmer bundles. Each bundle costs 25 of a particular resource.
If you run out of resources and can’t buy Glimmer from Rahool, look at the resources he’s selling. There’s a good chance one of those Glimmer bundles cost the same resource he’s selling, allowing you to convert Legendary Shards into Glimmer.
Return to Quick Links
Glimmer Farm #2: Farm Planetary Chests
Still not enough Glimmer? Here’s a quick combo to use with your Ghost’s Glimmer Booster Mod. In the second slot on your Ghost will be a mod called Expert Hunter, allowing you to scan chests up to 75 meters away from you. Apply it to your Ghost Shell, then head to your planet of choice.
Most prefer the EDZ since it’s jam-packed with chest spawn locations.
That’s not bad, but we can do a lot better. It’s unknown if this is a bug or a feature, but peering through the scope of a sniper rifle extends that 75-meter radius to basically the entire map. Suddenly, every treasure chest in your current area will be visible, with the only caveat being you have to now have to painstakingly correct your Sniper Rifle’s aim to be in the general direction of the chest to spot it.
Honestly, that doesn’t take very long, and you can easily whip out your Sniper Rifle, spot a chest, hop on your Sparrow, open that chest, and repeat for all remaining chests in the region until you’ve made a few thousand Glimmer in just a few minutes. Then all you need to do is speed off to the next area to repeat the whole process over again. Just keep in mind that these chests will stop granting Glimmer if you open too many of them in a short timeframe. If your Glimmer starts to taper off, consider farming Public Events or Patrols for a few minutes.
Return to Quick Links
Glimmer Farm #3: Farm Resources
This sounds counterintuitive, but Rahool’s resource exchange is so good that farming activities for Glimmer isn’t as time-effective as just farming for the resource Rahool is asking for.
Check which resource is tied to Rahool’s Glimmer exchange, then head to the destination tied to said resource. For example, if Rahool is selling 10,000 Glimmer for 20 Dusklight Shards, then you’d head to the EDZ.
When you arrive at the destination, speak to the planetary vendor. Grab any bounties that grant resources. Equip the Wombo Combo mod on your Ghost, your favorite Sniper Rifle, then hunt down some chests in your area. These will grant Glimmer and the occasional resource. Complete any resource bounties you’ve purchased while you’re doing this.
Once the chest rewards start to taper off, look for Patrols and Public Events in your area.
