Destiny 2is filled with various weapons and armor to unlock. The best way for players to spruce up their Guardian is to unlock Masterwork legendary weapons and acquire Exotic gear. However, to do so requires collecting a resource known as Ascendant Shards. There are a bunch of ways to collect these inDestiny 2.
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To be clear, grabbing this special item is by no means easy and Guardians will need to complete pinnacle activities. Whether completing theultimate challenge of Nightfall Strikesor winning games in Trials of Osiris, players' skills will be put to the test. There are some methods that demand less effort but limit how many Shards players can get. Regardless, these items are necessary for building up a Guardian’s kit, so focus on these ways to buff up fast.
Updated on June 13, 2025, by Anastasia Maillot:Ascendant Shards remain one of the core, rare resources in Destiny 2. Players of all levels covet these Shards, which allow players to Masterwork gear and purchase Exotics. However, as of late, some changes were introduced to the way Ascendant Shards are stored on accounts. There have also been some minor vendor tweaks that Bungie has implemented since The Witch Queen and Lightfall have released. With that, a couple of corrections have been made, with additional tips and tricks onhow to get Ascendant Shards easily in Destiny 2.
What Are Ascendant Shards Used For?
Ascendant Shards have two main uses. Given their rarity, players should be cautious about how and when to use them. Here’s what Ascendant Shards are primarily used for inDestiny 2:
Note that as of season 22, players can carry 30 Ascendant Shards on their account, but none in their Postmaster.At the beginning of season 22, any Ascendant Shards in the postmaster will have moved to the player’s inventory, which is shared between characters. While this diminishes the maximum amount of Shards a player can stockpile, it at least removes the danger of them disappearing from the postmaster.
Unlock Them From The Season Pass
Easily the most straightforward way to earn Ascendant Shards is to buy the paid version of the Season Pass. Those with the paid version will be able to unlock a total of 3 Ascendant Shards from the Season Pass.
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Meanwhile, free season pass owners will be able to unlock 1 Ascendant Shard.
Complete Master Or Grandmaster Nightfall Strikes
Master and Grandmaster Nightfall strikes can yield a good amount of Ascendant Shards if players complete them over and over again. The key is to make sure that all champions are dead at the end to activate Platinum tier rewards.
Moreover, it’s recommended to wait for the week when Nightfall rewards are doubled. When this happens, players can score multiple Ascendant Shards at the end of one Grandmaster Nightfall strike. Better yet, if the strike happens to be an easy, quick, and farmable one, it should be no problem at all to fill the Ascendant Shard bank.
Buy Them From Banshee-44, Rahool, And Ada-1
In the Tower, players can approach Banshee-44 the gunsmith,and Ada-1, the armor specialist, as well as now Rahool the cryptarch to regularly buy Ascendant Shards. As one would expect, however, the price for these Ascendant Shards is quite high. This is what players will typically need to buy one Ascendant Shard:
Dismantle Masterworked Exotic Armor
This is the desperate guardian’s solution. Players who have old,Exotic gearin their Vault that they no longer need can dismantle it for a couple of Ascendant Shards. Typically, these won’t return all three spent Shards to the player, however, so it’s not a great way to farm shards.
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Players can also store their extra Ascendant Shards by masterworking armor, especially now that the maximum number of Shards per account has been technically lowered.
Earn Them As Reset Rank Reward From Vendors
Vendors like Lord Shaxx,Commander Zavala, Saint-14, and the Drifter all reward the player with one Ascendant Shard each on the first time the player resets their rank with them. After that, resetting the vendor rank will yield an Exotic engram instead of an Ascendant Shard.
This means that the core focus of every season should be to try and hit that first level on each Tower vendor, to collect those rewards before the end of the season.
Complete Trials Of Osiris Games
The last method is to use every possibletrick to win Trials of Osiris games. By winning seven consecutive matches without a loss, an Ascendant Shard will drop from the Lighthouse Chest. As a rare item for the best upgrades, Bungie does not make it easy for Guardians to gather Shards. However, by sticking to these activities, players will be drowning in the resource in no time.
Destiny 2is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
