A relatively new addition to the game, Exotic Ciphers are one of the most valuable currencies in Destiny 2. Not only do they offer the opportunity to obtain past quest exotics—they also can grant free random exotics and now allow you to focus specific exotic armor.
In this article, we’ll cover everything there is to know about Exotic Ciphers: what they are, the different types, how to obtain them, and where to spend them.
What are Exotic Ciphers?
Exotic Ciphers are a rare currency that allows you to purchase Exotic weapons and armor from various sources in the game. You can currently hold up to five ciphers at a time.
Types of Exotic Ciphers
Destiny 2 has two types of Ciphers: standard Exotic Ciphers and Forsaken Ciphers. The generic ones are far more common and will be the primary focus of this article. However, we’ll quickly cover Forsaken Ciphers here as well.
After purchasing the Forsaken Pack, you’ll receive three Forsaken Ciphers. You can redeem these at the Monument to Lost Lights in the Tower in exchange for Year 2 exotics. An important exception comes in raid exotics. Even if you have a Forsaken Cipher, you’ll still need to spend 240 Spoils of Conquest to purchase these.
Forsaken Exotic Ciphers, Destiny 2
If you already have all the exotics from Year 2, you can exchange your Forsaken Ciphers for Ascendant Shards at the monument instead.
How to get Exotic Ciphers
There are very few ways to obtain Exotic Ciphers in Destiny 2, and nearly every method is time-gated to only allow you to receive a couple at a time.
Season Pass Rewards
The first method is straightforward: leveling your season pass. From this method alone, you’re able to get one Exotic Cipher per act. One of these Ciphers requires the current Episode to obtain (at Level 101), while the other two (Levels 60 and 180) are available on the free track.
How to get Exotic Ciphers, Destiny 2
Xûr’s Xenology Quest
The second method is through Xur. Each week, he’ll offer a quest titled “Xenology.” To complete it, all you need to do is finish Vanguard Ops or get Crucible and Gambit wins. You’ll need 21 total, but playing with clanmates and completing Nightfalls or Trials of Osiris matches speeds up progress. You can only complete Xenology once per week.
Xur also has a chance to directly sell an Exotic Cipher each week for 79 Strange Coins. However, this is only a chance, is limited to once per account per week, and is replaced by purchasable exotic class items when not present.
Master Rahool
Xur also has a chance to directly sell an Exotic Cipher each week for 79 Strange Coins. However, this is only a chance, is limited to once per account per week, and is replaced by purchasable exotic class items when not present.
Where to Use Exotic Ciphers
Exotic Ciphers are a diverse currency that proves useful to all Guardians. While there have previously only been two ways to spend ciphers, Bungie has been making this currency increasingly valuable by adding places to spend it. Below are just a couple of the most common ways Guardians spend Exotic Ciphers.
Monument to Lost Lights
The first place to spend ciphers is also the most helpful for newer players: the Exotic Kiosk in the Tower. Here, you can purchase old quest and raid exotics for one Exotic Cipher each.
🚨 You’ll need Destiny 2’s expansions to purchase most exotics. Additionally, raid exotics from the past require 240 Spoils of Conquest, a rare currency obtained from raids.
Where to spend Exotic Ciphers, Destiny 2
Upgrading Exotic Armor
After fully masterworking your exotic armor (achieving 10 energy), you’ll be able to upgrade that piece of gear one more time. This will unlock an Artifice mod slot, allowing you to get +3 of any stat for free. The cost to unlock this slot is 1 Exotic Cipher and 10,000 Glimmer.
Precision Exotic Armor Decryption
Master Rahool offers methods to obtain additional rolls of exotic armor pieces of your choosing. This system requires Exotic Ciphers to use, among other currencies.
New with The Final Shape, Master Rahool also offers “Novel Focusing” after resetting your rank with him once. This allows you to obtain some of the newer exotic armor pieces that were previously locked behind high-difficulty Lost Sector completions.
Before you go…
If you’re interested in Exotic Ciphers, it means you’re probably looking into completing your collection of Exotics. If that’s the case, Solo Lost Sectors remains the best method to acquire Exotic armor.
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