How to get Prime Engrams in Destiny 2

Published , by Sam Chandler

Prime Engrams are a great way of increasing your Power in Destiny 2. These new types of Engrams were introduced with Forsaken, but with the release of Shadowkeep, their importance was further emphasised. Each Prime Engram has the ability to drop at a decent level above your average Power, so getting more of them is a good idea.


How to get Prime Engrams

Prime Engrams take on a similar appearance to Legendary Engrams with the only difference being they do not auto-decrypt on pick-up. Instead, Prime Engrams go directly into the Engram slot, have a white glow in the center (similar to a Powerful Engram), can only be decrypted at a Cryptarch, and will hopefully grant a piece of gear at a higher Power level than the item in the slot for which it dropped.

These new Prime Engrams only begin dropping once players reach Level 50 and receive their first one from the Cryptarch in the Tower. From this point on, players will have a chance at getting a Prime Engram from defeating enemies. There seems to be a point system associated with Prime Engrams. Basically, the more powerful the enemy, the more "points" you get for killing them. It's possible to kill a tonne of red health bar Dregs and one will eventually drop it, but yellow-bar enemies are worth more and so farming them is a better idea.

It’s worth playing each day until the Prime Attunement buff disappears or deactivates, because as long as the buff is there, the chance of getting a Prime Engram remains. A good method of farming Prime Engrams is to complete Lost Sectors, Heroic Public Events, Wanted bounties, or even high-level targets in missions. This is one of the many ways players can now acquire powerful gear in order to level up to become raid ready.


Getting more Prime Engrams in Destiny 2 has never been easier. As of Shadowkeep, players are able to earn even more Prime Engrams, however they will drop at a slightly lower Power than they did pre-Shadowkeep. In saying this, it all sort of balances out thanks to the new Powerful gear tier system that's in place. Be sure to check out the Destiny 2 Complete Strategy Guide for more walkthroughs and helpful farming articles.