Destiny 2: Beyond Light: Everything to know about Armor 2.0

With the release of last year’s major update to Destiny 2, Shadowkeep, Bungie totally overhauled the armor system: Armor 2.0. Over the past year, Bungie has listened intently and reviewed user feedback of the major changes made in 2019.

Now, with the release of Beyond Light, Bungie has announced it's going to make some revisions to the model. While there isn’t a fancy new name, the changes are substantial and absolutely undeniable improvements. So here’s everything you need to know about armor in Destiny 2: Beyond Light.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light Armor 2.0: An overview

When Shadowkeep rolled around, stats based armor was introduced alongside some more specific energy mods. While the stats remain, there have been some significant changes to how the energy type of an armour influences its mods. For the better, of course. Weapon mods will no longer be exclusive to a specific energy type, for instance Bow Targeting mods can be placed in any helmet instead of Arc energy helmets. Energy mods will still exist, however, as will seasonal mods. So don’t go sharding all your gear. 

Bungie also plans to implement transmogrification. This means that players will eventually be able to modify the appearance of their chosen piece of armor to look like one of their favourite pieces they’ve unlocked throughout Destiny 2’s life cycle.

What do the stats mean?

All armor in Destiny 2 can drop with a varying number of stats, starting with the depths of the low 40s to the soaring heights of the high 60s. Each piece of armor has a set number of stats dispersed across six different stats; Mobility, Resilience, Recovery, Intellect, Discipline, and Strength.

Mobility increases your movement speed and jump height. Resilience increases the amount of damage you can take before you die. Recovery increases the rate at which your shields recharge. Intellect reduces the time taken to regain your super. Discipline reduces the time taken to regain your grenade ability. And Strength reduces the amount of time taken to regain your melee ability. 

All of these stats are rated in tiers, with incremental bonuses being rewarded after each gain of 10, peaking at tier 10 with 100 in that particular stat. There are no hard-and-fast rules on which stats are the best, but your class ability does benefit from a different stat. Hunters regenerate their class ability faster with higher mobility stats, Titans with Resilience, and Warlocks with Recovery. 

As a general rule, you’ll want to aim for round numbers, keep 60+ stat armour, and focus on prioritising your class’ key stat as a focal point with other stats being selected based on your preferred playstyle. 

What does Destiny 2 Armor 2.0 gear look like?

Well, it can look like anything you want... we think. While Bungie hasn’t explicitly stated how transmogrification will work, it is assumed that it will be implemented similarly to how ornaments currently work. 

You’ll be able to change the overall look of each individual armour just as you would change the shader on your armour, by navigating to the cosmetics tab and selecting the aesthetic you wish. 

What's staying the same?

Your initial three mods slots will function exactly as they did before, with the first mod being used for stats boosts and energy-based resilience and the following two excepting your weapon and ability based mods. 

You’ll also still need the exact same materials. That's Enhancement Prisms, Ascendant Shards, Enhancement Cores, and Upgrade Modules to increase the available energy in your equipment or infuse it with higher Power Level pieces.