Destiny 2: Cosmetics Explained (How & Where to Get)

Look good and feel good. | Image: Bungie via HGG / Jeffrey Hsu

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Penned by Jeffrey Hsu

Having learned how to play video games before he could walk or read, Jeffrey is a gaming zealot. With a fixation on efficiency and details, he'll d... Read more

Reviewed by Jeffrey Hsu

Destiny 2 is a massive game, and while the gameplay and missions are great and all, the cosmetics end up getting a lot of the attention. For a lot of players, when they aren’t hunting the newest weapon, they’re trying to upgrade their style.

From Ghosts to emotes to all the different shaders we have access to, there are a ton of cosmetics in Destiny 2. So many that it can be difficult to figure out what they all are and how to get them, especially when you first start playing.

Whether you’re new to Destiny 2 or you just need to know where to get something specific, here’s a guide to help you make sense of all the various cosmetics in the game!

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The Eververse Marketplace

The Eververse Marketplace is the first place you’ll want to get familiar with when looking for cosmetics. You can find the Eververse either in your destination menu all the way on the right under the “store” tab, or you can walk up to Tess Everis at the Tower.

Regardless of how you get there, you’ll have the same options in the menu. Each week, the items in the Eververse shop refresh, with some staying throughout the season.

Lastly, we have to talk about the currencies you spend at the Eververse. You can get items for either in-game currency or real money in the Eververse shop. The free in-game currency is called Bright Dust, and the paid currency is called Silver.

Store Pages & Sections

In the Eververse menu, you have six different tabs over on the left side. Here is what you will find in each section:

• Featured: This section shows a variety of items, from new arrivals to returning items and everything in-between. There are items for both Silver and Bright Dust in the Featured section, and there are often sales for the Silver items.
• Seasonal: Features items that are new as of the current season. Most items in this section are Silver only, but you can sometimes also find these items in other sections for Bright Dust.
• Recommended: You’ll find a little bit of everything here. How it picks what to recommend to you is a mystery, but you can find some unique items you might skip over or not notice otherwise.
• Archive: Features old cosmetics from previous seasons.
• Bright Dust: Exclusively features cosmetics that you can purchase with the free-to-earn Bright Dust currency. You can find all kinds of cosmetics in this section, so it’s one of the best places to check each week for free cosmetics.
• Expansions: Not a cosmetics section. Instead, you’ll find all the available expansions and DLC for Destiny 2 here. If you’re a newer player, this is a good place to check for what you might want to buy next.

If you’re interested in quickly checking out the notable cosmetics available in the Eververse store for Bright Dust each week, check out our weekly article on what’s new each week in Destiny 2!

Ghosts

Ghosts are a practical tool in Destiny 2, but it doesn’t matter which Ghost Shell you choose to go with. The only exception to that is some of the old Ghost Shells, which either can’t be masterworked or don’t have all the slots. As long as you’re using a legendary or higher Ghost Shell, everything else is purely cosmetic.

You can buy Ghost Shells in any cosmetics section of the Eververse. The bottom part of the Featured section and the Bright Dust section are the two best places to find Ghost Shells for Bright Dust, but you can find more for Silver in the Seasonal and Archive sections.

Sparrows

Sparrows are partially cosmetic, but they do have a lot of actual uses. Obviously, Sparrows are your main vehicle throughout the game, so they’re important. But in addition to finding one you like the look of, you’ll also need to make sure you have one with the max speed.

All Legendary Sparrows have 150 speed and Exotic Sparrows have 160 speed, so you’ll want an Exotic one. There is also a single Sparrow called Always on Time, which has 170 speed and some other bonuses. Technically, it’s the best sparrow in the game by far, but 90% of people don’t use it anyway, as it doesn’t look all that cool. Plus, the bonuses it gets are only noticeable in really difficult and specific content.

You’ll be able to find Sparrows in a bunch of places, but for standard Exotic Sparrows, Eververse is the best option. Check the Featured and Bright Dust sections for weekly updated selections, and the Seasonal and Archive sections have a static (or seasonal) inventory that you can check out from time to time. You can also get Sparrows via Exotic missions, challenges, and the Exotics Archive at the Tower (for Always on Time, specifically).

In terms of which Sparrows look the best, you have a ton of options! Since Bungie has put so many resources into Sparrows over the years, you can find everything from the Ghost Rider bike to Go-Karts. Make sure to check out seasonal updates to see what the new Sparrows each season look like, as they usually add at least one or two good new ones each season.

Emotes

Emotes are the best way to get a point across in-game without using the chat. They’re also the source of some of the funniest cosmetics, so they’re great if that’s what you want.

You can have up to 4 emotes equipped at any given time, and you can easily use them during gameplay without having to stop playing (for more than a second or two, at least). It’s too bad we can’t use them to peak corners in PvP anymore, but they’re still fun to use in raids and other PvE content!

To find emotes, check out each section in the Eververse shop. You can usually find good ones for sale in the Featured section each week, and there are usually two in the Bright Dust shop every week as well. They’re also a very common reward from Eververse Engrams.

Finishers

Finishers are a great way to quickly take out low-HP enemies, but Bungie knew we’d want more than just a default animation. Luckily, there are tons of unique finisher animations you can get.

Finishers, just like most other cosmetics in Destiny 2, are almost entirely found in the Eververse shop. In addition to the ones available in the Seasonal and Archive sections, you’ll find a rotating selection of finishers in the Featured and Bright Dust shops as well. You can usually get really nice, often Exotic finishers for just Bright Dust, so make sure and check each week!

Once you have a bunch of finishers you like, you can equip them in the second page of your loadout. Each time you use a finisher, it’ll randomly use one of your favorited ones. Since you might end up using a lot of finishers, this is great. Otherwise, you’d be seeing the same animation over and over again far too often.

Shaders

Shaders are, without a doubt, the most important cosmetic in Destiny 2. While most other types are only important in specific situations or from time to time, Shaders are always there, determining the color scheme of your armor. Naturally, they’re the first thing other players will notice about you. Luckily, there are hundreds of Shaders available, and most of them can be found for free.

In addition to almost every section of the Eververse store (especially the Featured and Bright Dust sections), you can also get a lot of Shaders from completing activities or challenges. Each of the Ritual playlist vendors (Zavala for Vanguard, Shaxx for Crucible, Drifter for Gambit) has new shaders each season. You can get these shaders simply by playing the associated game modes and leveling up with their vendors. Sometimes, you’ll also randomly get Shaders after completing matches in those ritual playlists, and some can even be found in harder content – like Raids or competitive PvP.

If you really want to stand out, go for Shaders with either vibrant, contrasting colors or unique animations/effects. Shaders that add an effect to your armor (usually a fiery or smoky effect) are always great.

Armor Ornaments

Armor Ornaments are cosmetics for Exotic and Legendary armor pieces which change how they look. Since you can’t use transmog effects on Exotic armor, this is the only way to change how they look (Shaders do too, but not in the same way).

Not every single Exotic armor piece has an ornament, but at the same time, some have many of them. Armor Ornaments for Exotics do have a difficult job, as Exotic armor usually has a specific design tied to their lore and/or purpose. Changing that up doesn’t always work, but sometimes it makes things even better.

Bungie has also used these Ornaments to update older or more basic looking Exotics to add some more appeal to them. Legendary Ornaments modify the base look of Legendary armor pieces in a similar manner. They’re just less impactful and also less common.

Each week, there’s usually a single Exotic Armor Ornament (and sometimes a Legendary one) in the shop that you can pick up. There are also a bunch in the Seasonal and Archive sections, so make sure to go check there too! There aren’t any that can be found outside of Eververse, but since they don’t make much sense in terms of in-game lore, that’s fair.

Weapon Ornaments

Weapon Ornaments are similar to Armor Ornaments, as both modify the base look of Exotic/Legendary weapons and armor. You can find Weapon Ornaments throughout the shop in all the sections, but if you want them for free (aka. Bright Dust), check the Featured and Bright Dust sections. There’s usually at least one in there each week, but sometimes you’ll find more!

Most weapon ornaments have no impact whatsoever on the actual weapon. The only exception to this is that some ornaments do change certain aspects of the weapon’s build. For example, one of the Arbalest ornaments gives it a different scope than the normal version. These things are rare, but there are the occasional exceptions.

Ghost Projections and Transmat Effects

As you browse through the Eververse shop, there are a few other types of cosmetics you might find. Ghost Projections are one of the more common cosmetic items you’ll come across. They make little holographic images/symbols appear above your Ghost when you hold it out, so they’re pretty fun. You can get them for Bright Dust and from Bright/Eververse Engrams.

Transmat Effects are also here and there throughout the shop, and they’re similar to Ghost Projections. They give you a special effect when your Ship drops you off at a destination, which adds a bit of flair to your entrance. You can usually find several for Bright Dust, but you’ll come across them in random places occasionally.

Join the High Ground!

There are so many cosmetics in Destiny 2 that we’d never be able to list them all (even though an article ranking them all would be fun, admittedly). It’s this level of customization that makes Destiny 2 so great, so it’s worth seeking out all the best cosmetics when you have the time.

If you have any more questions about cosmetics, let us know in the comments! We’ll get back to you as soon as we can! And don’t forget to subscribe to the High Ground for more gaming news and guides on all of your favorites.

Happy gaming!