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How to unlock new Exotic armor - Destiny 2

The Final Shape added new Exotic armor to Destiny 2 but unlocking this new gear is a little bit different in 2024.

Sam Chandler

June 17, 2024 1:00 AM

Bungie

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Unlocking Exotic armor is a Guardian’s favorite pastime in Destiny 2. Whenever a new expansion, Season, or now Episode drops, players typically dive in, finish the campaig, get Exotic armor, and then go farm Lost Sectors for the other pieces. However, the release of The Final Shape shook this up, and now players trying to unlock new Exotic armor in 2024 (and beyond) have to go about it a different way.

How to unlock new Exotic armor

New Exotic armor can be unlocked at the Cryptarch via the third tab in the Focused Decoding tile. This third tab is unlocked by reaching max Cryptarch rank (Rank 17). This means you will need to rank up Master Rahool all the way to 16 and then fill that bar to gain access to an additional tab in his engram-focusing tile called, Novel Decryption.

Once you have access to Novel Decryption, unlocking a new Exotic armor piece will cost you one Exotic Engram and 1 Exotic Cipher. With the armor piece acquired, it will be added to your Collection, and then you can get it randomly from decrypting Exotic engrams.

Tangentially related, Legend & Master Lost Sectors now no longer offer a set Exotic armor piece for a specific slot on a daily rotation. Instead, you’ll simply receive an Exotic engram, which you can decrypt (or focus) at Master Rahool. This is useful if you need to level him up, but it does mean that the activity is now less valuable. Even Vex Incursion Zone, while it still guarantees an Exotic, doesn't seem to drop the new Exotic immediately. Mataiodoxia is the only chest piece I'm missing and the activity didn't drop it for me!

Now that you know how to unlock new Exotic armor each Episode, you can focus your efforts on leveling up your Cryptarch rank. Check out our Destiny 2 Strategy Guide for more information on how the game’s various systems work.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler