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Destiny 2's loot game has evolved ever since its original launch. The evolution from static rolls to today's intricate crafting systems can be disorienting for old players returning to the game. Arguably the most confusing mechanic of the bunch is Engram Focusing.
Most vendors have unique Engrams you can earn which can drop a specific item with enough currency, allowing you to target farm certain weapons or armor pieces simply by playing your favorite activities. If you're looking for new armor sets or red border seasonal guns, you'll want to get the most out of Engram Focusing. This guide will explain what Engram Focusing is, how to focus vendor Engrams, and we'll showcase all Engram Focusing options currently in Destiny 2.
Updated April 2, 2023, by Charles Burgar: Bungie has added Engram Focusing systems to nearly every core vendor in Destiny 2, removing Umbral Engrams from the game entirely. We've updated this guide to explain how Engram Focusing works as of Lightfall, which vendors support it, how to access your vendor Engrams, and all Engram Focusing options available to you this season.
What Is Engram Focusing?
Engram Focusing is a mechanic that allows you to force an Engram to drop a specific weapon or armor piece. This is typically done by visiting a vendor at the Tower or H.E.L.M. and spending a small sum of Glimmer and Legendary Shards guarantee a certain item drops. This can range from activity-specific weapons to high-stat armor.
Ever since its introduction in Season of Arrivals, Engram Focusing has become vital to Destiny 2's loot game. With weapon crafting being added in The Witch Queen, Engram Focusing is a great way of unlocking crafting blueprints through resonance weapons, and it lets you target farm the exact gear you need.
How To Focus Your Engrams
Visit any activity vendor in the Tower or seasonal vendor at the H.E.L.M. to view Engram focusing options. That vendor will keep any playlist-specific Engrams in their reward track, located at the top-right of the rewards screen. Most activity vendors will have two focusing tabs:
- Focused Decoding: Newer items you can focus, typically released within the last 12 months.
- Legacy Gear: Older items introduced in previous years, notably armor sets. These focusing options are slightly more expensive.
- H.E.L.M. vendors lack a legacy focusing option.
Typically, focusing options cost 25 Legendary Shards, 5,000 Glimmer, and require a specific type of Engram. For example, Zavala's focusing options take Vanguard Engrams that drop from Vanguard Ops and Nightfalls. Legacy focusing is slightly more expensive, requiring 50 Legendary Shards and 10,000 Glimmer. Trials of Osiris legacy focusing options cost additional Trials Engrams as well.
Focused loot is affected by vendor resets when determining bonus perk options, so we highly recommend you wait until the end of a season before you start focusing Vanguard, Crucible, and Gambit Engrams. For example, resetting your Vanguard Rank once gives all Vanguard weapons a small chance of rolling with an additional trait option in the third or fourth perk column. This bonus will apply to all guns focused at Commander Zavala, not just end-of-match rewards.
Earning Vendor Engrams
Generally, playing any activity with a reputation system will award vendor-unique Engrams you can focus. Vanguard activities drop Vanguard Engrams, Crucible matches drop Crucible Engrams, et cetera. The only exception to this rule are seasonal engrams which have a chance to drop from any activity. Various Season Pass bonuses and H.E.L.M. vendor upgrades can force seasonal Engrams to drop from specific sources. For example, a War Table upgrade causes dungeon and raid encounters to drop two Defiant Engrams when completed.
Exact Engram drop sources can be found below. For more information on increasing reputation with certain vendors, visit our reputation guides linked in the table below.
Engram | Vendor | Acquisition Method |
|---|---|---|
Legendary Engram | None N/A | Drops from slain enemies and activity rewards. |
Pinnacle Engram | None N/A | Rarely drops from slain enemies and activity rewards. |
Crucible Engram | Lord Shaxx Tower | Valor Rank: Complete PvP matches in any non-competitive playlist. Wins grant bonus progress. |
Defiant Engram | War Table H.E.L.M. | Defiant Rank: Complete Defiant Battlegrounds. War Table upgrades add additional acquisition methods. |
Gambit Engram | The Drifter Tower | Gambit Rank: Complete Gambit matches. Wins grant bonus progress. |
Iron Engram | Lord Saladin Tower | Iron Banner Rank: Complete Iron Banner matches while the playlist is active. Wins grant bonus progress. |
Trials Engram | Saint-14 Tower | Trials of Osiris Rank: Complete Trials of Osiris matches while the playlist is active. Round wins and certain Passages grant bonus progress. |
Vanguard Engram | Commander Zavala Tower | Vanguard Rank: Complete Vanguard Ops and Nightfall activities. Higher scores grant bonus progress. |
All Engram Focusing Options
There are six vendors that offer Engram Focusing: Zavala, Shaxx, Drifter, Saint-14, Lord Saladin, and the War Table. We'll be covering what the ritual and seasonal vendors have for focusing options. If you're interested in what Trials and Iron Banner have for focusing options, consult our Trials of Osiris and Iron Banner guides, respectively.
Vanguard Focusing Options
Crucible Focusing Options
Each focusing option costs 10,000 Glimmer, 50 Legendary Shards, and an activity-specific Engram.
Gambit Focusing Options
Defiant Focusing Options
Defiant focusing options require Defiant Engrams and Glimmer.
The Best Focusing Options
- All Seasons: Armor focusing options tend to drop high-stat armor with good distributions, especially if you have armor focusing mods on your Ghost.
- Vanguard: Hothead, Prolonged Engagement
- Crucible: Riptide, Frozen Orbit
- Gambit: Borrowed Time, Trinary System
- Defiance: Regnant