Destiny 2: Beyond Light is almost here and Bungie is changing up how to obtain the old exotic and pinnacle/ritual weapons. With various weapons no longer obtainable via their respective quests or raids, a new system for acquiring these items has been implemented. Dubbed the “Monument to Lost Lights Exotic Archive,” you can find this vendor in the Tower near the normal vault kiosks in the center. If you are looking to pick some terrific exotic weapons or try a few old favorites in the Crucible, you’ll need some Exotic Ciphers to obtain these items. Here’s how to get Exotic Ciphers and unlock old exotic weapons.
(Author’s Note: We will be updating this guide with new information once Beyond Light goes live and we can access the new kiosk.)
More Destiny 2:
- Destiny 2 Prophecy Dungeon Guide – How to Complete Every Encounter
- Destiny 2 Season of Arrivals Silver Exclusive Eververse Guide
- ICYMI: Everything From Today’s Big Destiny 2: Beyond Light Reveal
How to Get an Exotic Cipher
Exotic Ciphers can now be obtained in two different ways, with the first being tied to the battle pass. When you load up Beyond Light, you will unlock the battle pass and gain access to 100 tiers of rewards. There is a single Exotic Cipher available by just reaching a specific rank, so it will take a bit of time to unlock. Each rank requires 100,000 XP, so consider slapping on some XP mods on your Ghost to increase the amount you earn. You will only be able to earn one Exotic Cipher this way, so don’t merely too much on this if you’re brand new or need to fill out your collection.
The other method is by purchasing one from Xur. Every week, Xur will sell a single Exotic Cipher for Legendary Shards, which can be turned in at the Monument to Lost Lights Exotic Archive for a shiny new weapon. Alternatively, you can also spend Ascendant Shards, but I strongly advise against this. These crafting materials are quite rare, so you’re better off hoarding them for now. Since you’ll want to masterwork armor, Ascendant Shards are key so definitely don’t spend these on old exotics or weapons.
What Exotics Are Available?
There are quite a few exotics you can obtain via the Monument to Lost Lights Exotic Archive including Leviathan’s Breath, Eriana’s Vow, Bastion, Symmetry, Devil’s Ruin, Heir Apparent, Tarrabah, Legend of Acrius, and Anarchy. All of these exotics were available in previous seasons via their respective season passes, raids or through time-limited exotic quests. Of these items, I suggest prioritizing Anarchy above every other weapon, as it’s one of the best PVE weapons in the game. Being able to do passive damage to bosses is huge and will allow you to quickly melt a foe’s health bar.
There are also a handful of pinnacle weapons such as The Recluse and Mountaintop available. Unless you are focusing primarily on non-Light enabled PVP modes, you can save these for last. They cannot be infused to the seasons current light total, so it’s best to just leave them be for now. Focus on getting the exotics first, since those will have a more dramatic impact on your PVE and PVP experience.
Depending on how you look at it, the good news is that you can’t purchase an exotic cipher in Eververse or via any of the other Destiny storefronts right now. You’re only hope at the moment is to spend some time grinding this season. Perhaps Bungie wanted to space out the catch up mechanic to take place over multiple seasons, rather than just letting players who haven’t been around get all of the exotics quickly.
We’ll be sure to let you know if any of this information ever changes, but for now, check out the rest of our Destiny 2 coverage. We have guides on the new Contact public event including how to make it heroic, a look at all of this season’s Silver exclusive Eververse items, a walkthrough of the new Prophecy dungeon, and more!
