• Guide

Destiny Guide: What are Grimoire Cards?

Learn what Grimoire Cards are, what they do, and how to obtain more.

Shack Staff

September 27, 2014 2:00 AM

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If you’ve done any amount of grinding in Destiny then you’ve probably noticed the banner that pops up at the bottom of your screen alerting you of new Grimoire card unlocks. Don’t be fooled these cards aren’t for trading, and they aren’t for burning in the firepit either. Though they may not look like much right now, once you dig into them a little you’ll begin to realize the potential they add to your Guardian, and just how helpful they can be at keeping you alive just a little bit longer.

What are they?

Grimoire Cards are a form of collectible introduced to players once they start up Destiny. Just looking at them they may not appear to be useful, but if you dig deep and unlock more and more you’ll find that these cards are the key to unlocking the lore surrounding the Destiny universe.

Since there is a plan to continually grow the universe presented in Destiny, the current number of card types may change as time goes by. However, as it stands at this point in time there are only six categories, each with its own sub-category. We won’t dig too deep today, instead let’s just focus on the first six layers.

• Guardian
• Inventory
• Allies
• Enemies
• Places
• Activities

How do I get them?

There are quite a few ways for you to obtain Grimoire Cards, the most notable of which is to simply play the game. In fact, if you’ve logged any time whatsoever into the game you’ve probably already seen that pesky banner we mentioned before at the bottom of your screen.

The second way to unlock these cards is to revive the dead Ghosts that are scattered throughout the world. There are 62 in total, and they can be found in the environment of the Tower and the four planets you’ll visit during the story missions. Finding 50 of these dead Ghosts will unlock the Ghost Hunter trophy on Playstation 4, and the same named achievement on your Xbox One.

The third, and somewhat easiest, method of unlocking more cards is to find codes that have been posted online. Prior to launch there were several posts going around on Reddit and other sites with lists of these codes available for anyone who wanted them. After a bit of debate we figured we’d make it a bit easier to find for any of you who might not have obtained these cards yet. Hey, we’ll even throw some codes for Shaders and Emblems while we’re at it!

Grimoire Card Codes

1) YKA-RJG-MH9

2) 3DA-P4X-F6A

3) MVD-4N3-NKH

4) TCN-HCD-TGY

5) HDX-ALM-V4K

6) 473-MXR-3X9

7) JMR-LFN-4A3

8) HC3-H44-DKC

9) 69P-KRM-JJA

10) 69P-VCH-337

11) 69R-CKD-X7L

12) 69R-DDD-FCP

13) 69R-F99-AXG

14) 69R-VL7-J6A

15) 69X-DJN-74V

16) 6A7-7NP-3X7

17) 6A9-DTG-YGN

Emblem Codes

1) X4C-FGX-MX3

2) A7L-FYC-44X

3) X9F-GMA-H6D

4) N3L-XN6-PXF

5) 7F9-767-F74

6) FJ9-LAM-67F

7) JD7-4CM-HJG

8) JDT-NLC-JKM

9) JNX-DMH-XLA

10) 7CP-94V-LFP

Shader Codes

1) 7MM-VDP-MHP

2) RXC-9XJ-4MH

Which cards do I have?

There are two ways you can view your collected Grimoire Cards, the first of which is to simply visit the official Destiny website on your computer. Once you reach the website you’ll need to sign in with your Microsoft or Playstation account. You can also sign in with your Facebook or Google account if you choose to. To keep things as simple as possible we used our Playstation 4 account, which was automatically linked up with our in-game progress. Having your account linked to your game means that every card you collect as you play will instantly show up on the website for your viewing pleasure.

The second option available to players is to download the Destiny Companion application on your iOS or Android powered device. Signing into the application is very similar to the website, even allowing you to use your preferred method. The biggest benefit to using the companion app is that players who do not have access to their PC can access the new information on their cards from the ease of their phone or tablet.

What do I use this stuff for?

That’s the smoking gun, isn’t it? There are actually a couple of ways for players to use their Grimoire Cards. Some of these collectibles will simply tell more about the game’s backstory, allowing any story-hungry players to delve deeper into the lore of the universe. Other cards will level up player weapons, increasing base stats for certain weapon classes. If you’re really lucky you’ll even end up with some Grimoire Cards which increase the likelihood of loot spawning when you kill enemies or open chests.

For those story-hungry gamers out there, you can choose to interact with the cards and flip them over for new tidbits of information.

If all you’re looking for is some extra Glimmer in your wallet then cards like the Servitor (found under the Fallen subcategory of the Enemies section) can be combined with consumables to earn more currency upon defeating mobs. Still using the Servitor as an example, killing them 50 times will net a Rank 1 card, which can be combined with the Ether Seeds consumable to increase Glimmer drop for 10 minutes.

Last but certainly not least, players can use certain Grimoire Cards to level up their weapons faster. Using the Auto-Rifle as an example, after reaching a total of 2,500 kills the player will unlock Rank 1, which grants them additional weapon experience for that weapon type, and allows them to unlock upgrades faster than they could before.

Now that you know a little bit about these unsung heroes of the Destiny world it’s time to dive in head first. Fire up your Playstation 4, or Xbox One and get right in to the fight. Don’t forget to check out the Destiny website, or download the companion application to keep track of any progress you’re making.

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.