Destiny 2 Season of Arrivals has, well, arrived! Revolving around the Darkness finally arriving in our solar system, players will begin to dabble with the darkness and uncover the mystery behind this new foe. Unlike previous seasons this year, Bungie is introducing a new engram that will allow players to have more control over what loot they receive. Dubbed “Umbral Engrams,” these are used in the Drifter’s new machines to pick from a whole collection of new gear. However, acquiring these new engrams can be a bit confusing since Bungie tosses a lot of information at the player at once.
Here’s everything you need to know about Umbral Engrams:
How to Get Umbral Engrams
Umbral Engrams are given out a few different ways at the time of writing this. The first is simply by going through the story quest that has you encountering the Darkness and helping The Drifter set up two new machines in his nook at The Tower. Once both the Umbral Decoder and Prismatic Recaster are online, you will start receiving Umbral Engram drops in the wild. These appear to drop just like any other Legendary Engram.
During my time playing I had them appear during Public Events, Strikes, Nightfalls, and even just on patrol. You’ll know you have a Dark Engram because of the black energy swirling around it when it drops. The drop rate doesn’t seem any higher or lower than a normal Legendary Engram. Additionally, you can get Umbral Engrams by leveling up your Prismatic Recaster, which takes 500 Twisted Energy, per level. Twisted Energy is acquired by completing Weekly Bounties given out by this machine, so make sure to pick them up!
You can also get Umbral Engrams by picking up passive perks in the Prismatic Recaster. Unlocking abilities such as Umbral Discovery I, will reward you will a bonus Umbral Engram for completing a Strike, Nightfall, Gambit, or Crucible match. There are a few of these machine perks you can acquire, so pick whichever one suits your goals and playstyle. Finally, you can get Umbral Engrams by leveling up the Season Pass, but this is a very limited supply.
How to Focus an Umbral Engram
Now that you have an Umbral Engram, what the hell do you do with it? Take it to the Drifter’s nook, of course! Once you have an Umbral Engram, return to The Tower and interact with the Prismatic Recaster. Select the Umbral Focusing tab to open up a new menu that shows off several rows of different engrams with symbols on them. This is where you get to decide what type of Engram you are going to make. For now, you will only be able to choose between a new Season of Arrivals weapon engram, an armor engram, a Legacy Engram, and one that drops Gambit loot. More types of Focused Engrams will unlock as you progress through the Season Pass (not upgrades for the machine).
Creating one will cost you an Umbral Engram and some Altered Element. While you do get some free Weekly Focuses, you’ll eventually need to spend some materials to transform them. You can get Altered Elements from completing Prismatic Recaster Daily Bounties, which are fairly simple and shouldn’t require a ton of effort. After you’ve picked what you want your Focus Engram to be, head over to the Umbral Decoder behind you to claim your reward!
