Destiny 2's Upcoming Update Will Make Getting New Exotics Easier

There's nothing better in Destiny 2 than seeing a yellow Exotic engram drop after blasting some giant alien fiend. That excitement is often immediately dashed, though, because there's no guarantee that the Exotic weapon or armor that comes out of that engram will be something players don't already have. Hopefully those days of crushing engram disappointment are about to come to an end, thanks to an upcoming Destiny 2 update.

Bungie's preliminary patch notes for its next update run down a bunch of quality-of-life improvements coming to Destiny 2. While there are a handful of nice changes coming with the update, the one that's probably going to matter most to players affects the drop rates of duplicate Exotics. Bungie is changing the way Destiny 2 creates random drops, increasing the chance players will get an Exotic they don't already have, and changing the chances for which duplicates they'll receive if and when they do.

First, the update is changing how Exotics are "weighted" when Destiny 2's RNG determines what Exotic drops in an engram. Exotic weapons and armors you don't already have get weighted heavier than Exotics you do. Bungie is also eliminating Exotics that are earned by completing quests, like Malfeasance and Ace of Spades, from the pool of possible random Exotic drops, which should further decrease the chances of getting something you've already got in your inventory.

The changes won't totally eliminate the possibility of duplicate drops, but Bungie is also tweaking drop rates so that when you do end up with an Exotic you already have, it's a little less annoying. When duplicate drops happen, the chances that you'll get Exotic armor will be higher than getting an Exotic weapon. That's because Exotic weapons have set perks, but armor perks are randomized--so even when you wind up with an Exotic armor drop you already have, there will be a chance that it'll be better than what you're already carrying.

There are more quality of life changes due in update 2.0.5, and you can read all about them on the Bungie blog. The update is set to drop with the Destiny 2 weekly update, slated for 9 AM PT / noon ET on Tuesday, October 30.