Destiny 2 allows players to determine their loot themselves in Season 13. However, it seems that players should avoid making certain mistakes. Otherwise, you will waste valuable resources and time.
Here’s what you should watch out for: In Season 13 of Destiny 2, the popular Umbral Engrams made their return. This gives Guardians an opportunity to farm for new weapons and armor more precisely through what is called focusing. This costs players seasonal resources and especially “hammer charges”.
Regarding this, the motto is that the more expensive the focusing is, the better or more precise the loot determination will be. However, that doesn’t seem to be entirely true.
- Destiny expert Ehroar from the renowned Redeem Clan states in his latest video: “You’re using the focusing of Umbral Engrams incorrectly all the time…” (via YouTube).
- The community is discussing probabilities that are not in the Guardians’ favor.
- magazines like Forbes are also reporting on this and issuing a warning (via Forbes).
MeinMMO summarizes the discovered problems and gives you the recommended “right way” to focus Umbral Engrams in Season 13.
The system behind it is closely linked to the Prismatic Hammer in Season 13. You can find detailed guides on both on MeinMMO:
– Umbral Engrams 2021 – Here’s how to focus them in Season 13
– This is how you use and upgrade the new Prismatic Hammer in Destiny 2
Don’t waste your charges and Umbral Engrams
Before we look at the problem, here’s a brief overview of what players need to keep in mind. The focusing of Umbral Engrams occurs in 3 stages:
- The first stage is very cheap, but you have virtually no influence on the loot. You can only determine whether you want a new weapon or a new piece of armor with a hammer charge. You have no influence on the weapon type, perks, or stats.
- Stage 2 costs already 3 hammer charges but limits the loot to just 2 possible weapons (for example, sniper or bow as well as rocket launcher or linear fusion) or to a specific piece of armor (for example, the new helmet, which is mocked for its appearance).
- At the final stage, each focusing costs 5 hammer charges. The loot pool is identical to stage 2, but you have two options for the second perk slot instead of the usual one. For armors, a selected value is guaranteed to be around 20.
- Almost every focusing costs hammer charges, for which you must first spend the resources Kabal Gold, then play a battleground activity to the end (about 15 minutes), and only then do you get a charged hammer.
The statistics are against you at high levels
This is the problem: According to Ehroar, the mathematical probability shows that with 6 focusings at stage 2, you waste significantly more resources and come barely any closer to your God Roll. He and the community come to slightly different numbers.
But fundamentally, stage 1 provides you with a 66% chance of getting your desired weapon with 6 focusings. Stage 2 costs more and gives you a 75% chance of getting your desired weapon, which is not significantly higher.
At stage 3, you have an extremely expensive coin toss. Obtaining 2 weapons, of which 50% is the wrong one, costs 10 hammer charges.
Most players are likely to diligently save for the most expensive focusing and hope for the best opportunities. However, the problem is also that you have significantly more Umbral Engrams than you should earn hammer charges.
This is also frustrating: The rather complex and intertwined mechanics of Umbral Engrams and the Prismatic Hammer, which needs to be charged, annoy many.
Because the effort to focus even one Engram requires
- playing at least 2 playlists,
- returning to the H.E.L.M. hub
- and spending resources.
- For a focused Engram, mind you.
In general, Guardians like Umbral Engrams, as self-determination of loot is great. However, the way this is implemented in Season 13 is not very well received.
“The right way” to focus Umbral Engrams in Destiny 2
This is how you should proceed: The simplest way to handle Umbral Engrams seems to also be the best. You receive an Umbral Engram and a hammer charge and directly spend both for stage 1.
In the long run, according to Ehroar, this will yield the best results. Because you will receive the most weapons overall, and the other options only marginally increase the chances of God Rolls when factoring in the costs.
Here’s a look at the new weapons that can also be contained in the Umbral Engrams:
Only if you earn plenty of hammer charges, already possess one or another God Roll, and really enjoy the battlegrounds, are the more expensive focusings recommended.
How do you approach Umbral Engrams? Are you swimming in loot packages by now or are you still focusing them diligently? Is the system too complex and unnecessarily lengthy? Maybe it will get better once you unlock all hammer upgrades…
Discuss with other Guardians in the comments.
Why you should also be careful when hunting for God Rolls from other weapons is explained by MeinMMO here: Destiny 2: Wait to farm the new weapons
