Power leveling is a necessary evil for most of Destiny 2’s players. While Bungie has recently been introducing changes that eliminate the most brutal portions of the grind, it continues to be a slog. Luckily, prime engrams—also referred to as simply “primes”—have helped tone back the time commitment needed to get up to higher-level activities.
Many new players instantly dismantle gear from primes without realizing how valuable these drops can be. That’s why, in this article, we’ll cover what prime engrams are, what they can contain, and why they should matter to you.
What are Prime Engrams?
Prime engrams are unique items that drop powerful legendary gear. They can be considered a tier above regular legendary engrams but below exotic ones; their drop rate tends to be somewhere between the two, and their potential rewards match that trend.
You can differentiate prime engrams from legendary ones on the ground by the additional VFX emanating from them. Once you get your hands on one, you’ll need to head to the Cryptarch to decode it (just like Exotics).
Prime Engrams, Destiny 2
What can Prime Engrams contain?
Prime engrams have a relatively large loot pool containing legendary weapons and armor. This pool changes frequently and doesn’t typically contain must-have items. So why do these drops matter?
The reason is simple: primes will drop around four levels above your current max power, assuming you’re between the soft and hard caps (currently 1750 and 1800, as of Season of the Deep. For more information on this, check out this guide). This makes prime engrams an invaluable drop when leveling up your Guardian.
One important thing to note is that each engram’s power level is determined when it drops on the ground, not when you decrypt it at the Cryptarch. That means it actually hurts you to hold onto them, and you should instead head straight for the Tower after getting one to drop.
How do you obtain Prime Engrams, and what is Prime Attunement?
Like rare, legendary, and exotic engrams, primes drop from Crucible matches or random powerful combatant kills (orange health bar or higher). As stated earlier, they’ll drop +4 above your current max power if you’re between the soft and hard caps or +0 if you’re between the hard and pinnacle caps.
There is one intricacy that’s unique to prime engrams: a buff called Prime Attunement. This buff appears in your character menu and significantly increases the drop chance of prime engrams.
The details of Prime Attunement are hard to track, but here’s what we know: the buff is character-specific and refreshes with each daily reset. It gets removed after anywhere from one to three prime engram drops. If you don’t play enough one day to remove it from a character entirely, those “charges” will roll over to the next day.
Prime Attunement, Destiny 2
For example, if you don’t play too much one day and you still have Prime Attunement when the daily reset comes around, the engrams you missed out on will be added to the next day’s total. This system does have a limit, but it can be beneficial if you’re away from the game for a few days.
The exact amount of Prime Attunement “charges” you get per day is debated by the community, but an active player can expect around two engrams per day before the buff gets removed. It’s also worth mentioning that prime engrams seem to drop even if you don’t have Prime Attunement active. However, the drop chance is so low that most players don’t deem the grind worth it.
Why do Prime Engrams matter?
Prime engrams and their rewards are invaluable, especially when a new DLC launches. Unlike all powerful drops from challenges, Prime Attunement resets daily. This makes prime engrams extremely common compared to other powerful gear sources.
Additionally, prime engrams can drop anywhere in the game. Combine this with the fact that free-to-play Guardians have access to them, and it’s clear that they’re the most accessible powerful gear source in Destiny 2.
Even if the gear you get from a prime engram seems useless at first glance, hold onto it (or use it as infusion fodder!). Increasing your power level above the soft cap is basically required to play the newest and best content Destiny 2 offers, and prime engrams are the most passive way to hit those requirements.
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