The year is 2026, and I just returned to Destiny 2 after a long break. I logged in last night, not sure what to expect. My Ghost hummed beside me as I spawned into the Tower, and for a second I just stood there, scrolling through my inventory. Something felt different. Cleaner. The usual pile of planetary materials that used to clutter my vault was gone. At first I panicked. Then I remembered the overhaul Bungie pushed a while back, and honestly? It is one of the best changes the Economy Team has ever made.
Back in the day, I spent hours farming materials on destinations like the EDZ, Nessus, and the Throne World. I needed them for everything: Enhancement Prisms, Ascendant Shards, Upgrade Modules, even old exotics from the Monument to Lost Lights. The system was bloated. I had stacks of Dusklight Shards and Microphasic Datalattice sitting around, yet I never had the one material I actually needed when Rahool was selling something good. It was exhausting.
Bungie noticed. The team said Destiny had grown into a much more complex game than it started as, and they were right. One of their major goals was making the game more approachable for new and returning players. The solution? Reduce the number of currencies players have to keep track of. I remember reading that and feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. Fewer currencies mean less cognitive load. Fewer spreadsheets in my head.
Now that planetary materials are gone, the cost structure has shifted. Glimmer still matters, of course. But the real pressure now sits on Legendary Shards. When I buy an Enhancement Prism, the Glimmer cost remains the same as before, but the material requirement has been replaced by Legendary Shards. Same for Ascendant Shards. That is a big change. I used to spend my Legendary Shards on cosmetics or focusing engrams without a second thought. Now I watch the number drop every time I masterwork a piece of armor. It made me value them more.
The change also hit older raid exotics. Buying those from the Monument to Lost Lights now demands a higher amount of Legendary Shards. I helped a returning friend pick up Anarchy last week, and his jaw dropped when he saw the cost. We spent two evenings running strikes and cleaning out his vault for shards. Is it more grindy? Maybe. But at least it is one clear currency instead of a dozen random rocks.
Of course, removing materials had a side effect: getting Glimmer became harder. Without material exchanges, a lot of us relied on public events and bounties for Glimmer. Bungie tweaked that too. Normal public events now drop somewhere between 3,300 and 4,645 Glimmer. Heroic public events drop around 10,000 to 12,500 Glimmer. That is a massive boost. I remember the first time I completed a heroic Glimmer Extraction event and saw the numbers flash on my screen. It actually felt rewarding. I no longer dread public events. Now I actively seek them out when I am broke.
There is also a fun side to these economy changes: the Festival of the Lost brought mech-themed armor pieces. I am not sure how giant robot suits tie into Halloween exactly, but I love them. The armor looks incredible. I paired the set with an old shader and stood in the Tower for a good five minutes just admiring it. 🎃 Festival of the Lost always has its own charm, and the mech armor gave me a reason to chase event bounties while learning the new economy.
Here is a quick breakdown of what changed in my day-to-day:
| Item / Activity | Old Requirement | New Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Enhancement Prism | Glimmer + Planetary Materials | Glimmer + Legendary Shards |
| Ascendant Shard | Glimmer + Planetary Materials | Glimmer + Legendary Shards |
| Old Raid Exotics | Varies with materials | Higher Legendary Shard cost |
| Normal Public Event Glimmer | Lower | 3,300–4,645 |
| Heroic Public Event Glimmer | Lower | 10,000–12,500 |
Honestly, this overhaul made me rethink how I play. I no longer fast travel between planets just to grab a few materials before reset. I do not keep a mental note of which destination has which resource. That alone saved me hours every season. New lights do not have to learn a second job just to get an Upgrade Module. The game feels more streamlined now. 👍
But I will not pretend it is perfect. Legendary Shards are now the bottleneck. If you are new, getting enough shards for a single exotic from the kiosk can feel like a wall. I wish Bungie would add more direct Legendary Shard sources or lower those prices a little. Still, the direction is right. The economy is simpler, and that benefits everyone in the long run.
As I closed out the night, I checked my inventory one more time. No planetary materials. Just Glimmer, Legendary Shards, and a clear path forward. For the first time in years, I felt like I understood the game's economy without a guide. And that, more than any mech armor or public event buff, is the real win. 🤖