How to Unlock Destiny 2: The Final Shape’s New Exotic Armor

Now that Destiny 2: The Final Shape is available for all players, there are a number of new items to chase after. Among the most notable is the latest exotic armors. At the time of posting a total of six of them are available, with each class receiving two options. While these have historically appeared behind Lost Sectors, and later Vex Strike Forces, Bungie changed the method to unlock.

Finish the Campaign

Like previous expansions, players can unlock one of the two new exotic armor pieces by finishing Destiny 2: The Final Shape‘s campaign on Legendary. At the end there will be the option to select either with a fixed roll.

Unlocking Novel Decryption

To unlock the other is through Novel Decryption, which requires players to max Rahool’s new vender rank system. Unfortunately, I did not track the exact amount, but it was around 17 Precision Decryptions and a Prime Engram decode to achieve max rank. I can also confirm my friend decoded 30+ normally and did not achieve max rank, so make sure to focus if you can spare the resources.

At max level there will be an option to collect an Exotic Cypher, which also resets your rank, and a brief message explaining Novel Decryption is now unlocked. At this point every exotic armor you have access to will be available for purchase for an Exotic Engram and Exotic Cypher. This makes it the most cost effective way to decode, especially for those unable to do Grandmasters for one reason or another.

Interestingly, this includes Assassin’s Cowl, Phoenix Cradle, and Stormdancer’s Brace. These have remained exclusive to Shadowkeep’s campaign, but with the new focusing they can be obtained as well. Doing so will not show as a new item in collection, though they can be worn, pulled from collections, and used.