Destiny 2 PSA: Don't Wait To Decrypt Engrams (And Don't Bother Equipping Your Best Gear Either)

Players continue to come to grips with the changes in Destiny 2, many of which are for the better. Some of these involve obtaining new gear and decrypting Engrams, a process which has been radically simplified.

As we've pointed out previously, you'll notice that Engrams drop less frequently than in the original Destiny. That means you can more frequently acquire new gear and equip it without first taking a trip to the Farm, which is certainly nice. But when you do obtain an Engram, there are two key bits of information to be aware of.

The first is that there's no sense in holding onto Engrams, as their Power level is determined when they're dropped. In other words, grinding your level or Power up before decrypting an Engram won't have an effect on it. In fact, by waiting, you may end up finding that it's underpowered relative to your current gear, forcing you to waste materials to infuse it in order to bring its Power level up.

Better yet is what Destiny 2 project lead Mark Noseworthy confirmed on Twitter recently: You no longer have to equip your best gear when decrypting. The game automatically determines what your best possible loadout is and uses that figure when dictating the Power of an Engram. As a result, you're essentially free to use whatever gear you want--you're no longer impacting the strength of your drops by using a lower-level piece of gear you prefer.

We've got tons of tips and guides for Destiny 2, with more still to come; one other thing to make sure you're aware of is that you may want to save your Upgrade Points. For thoughts on the game itself, check our Destiny 2 review diary.