How Weapon Crafting Works in Destiny 2 — Witch Queen Guide

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Human Made

Penned by Kody Wirth

Kody is our expert Destiny 2 and shooter genre writer. He lives in Oregon.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

One of the biggest challenges in Destiny 2 is finally rolling the perfect weapon with just the right perks. It often requires hours of grinding, continuous dismantling, narrowing down what and how you play, and just a whole lot of luck. That is all set to change with the introduction of weapon crafting in the upcoming Witch Queen expansion.

In this article, we’ll go over what Destiny 2 weapon crafting will look like, and what you can expect from this new mechanic. Let’s get started!

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Can You Craft Weapons in Destiny 2?

Note that not all weapons will be available to craft from the start. Instead, only Legendary weapons newly introduced as part of The Witch Queen and Season 26 will adopt the new system. Luckily, this still means we’ll have forty-two new weapons to begin unlocking, fine-tuning and upgrading. 

While a roadmap for new and revised weapons hasn’t been fully released, it’s safe to assume we’ll see sizable drops with each season in 2022. 

How to Unlock Weapon Crafting in Destiny 2

You won’t have access to weapon crafting immediately. Instead, you’ll need to complete the first campaign mission in The Witch Queen to unlock your first tier of the Deep Sight ability. At this point, you’ll be introduced to the mysterious Enclave and gain access to “The Relic” quest. This is less of a mission and more of a tutorial on how the weapon crafting mechanics in Destiny 2 will work.

All of this helps you build your first Glaive — ”The Enigma”. This first build is not designed to be a big grind and instead supplies you with all the necessary materials and a quick tutorial on how to acquire more for future builds. Once you fully craft your Galive, new weapons will become available to unlock and craft.

Where Can You Craft Weapons in Destiny 2?

You know how Mars got swallowed up by the Darkness and hasn’t been seen for a while? Well, it’s back, sort of, and it’s where you’ll be crafting weapons. In The Witch Queen, it’s no longer a combat zone for you to Patrol and complete missions. Instead, you’ll only have access to the new Enclave social space which features NPC Guardians, a mystery board for you to explore, and a lower level.

Head down the stairs and you’ll find the Relic—an ancient machine that has lain dormant for an unknown amount of time. It seems to hold a bunch of different molds and mechanisms designed to build components and full weapons. And it’s here where you’ll be spending all of your time crafting weapons.

Destiny 2 Weapon Crafting: How To’s

Weapon crafting in Destiny 2 is a fairly straightforward process but it can be a bit difficult to follow at first. Here are the basics to help you start crafting more weapons once you’ve built your Glaive.

1. Unlock Patterns

While there is a wide range of weapons available to craft, you won’t have access to them immediately. You’re going to need to unlock a Pattern, the blueprints for weapon crafting, first. Like your first Glaive, you’ll automatically obtain some additional patterns by completing additional questlines and activities as you complete The Witch Queen campaign. The rest will require you to attuning Deepsight Resonance weapons.

Deepsight Weapons Explained

Deepsight Weapons are Legendary weapons framed with a red border in the character menu. If you inspect them, you’ll notice a progress bar and associated objective, which typically requires you to simply use it. Start killing enemies, or complete activities with it equipped in order to prepare the weapon for extraction.

At this point, you’re able to pull out the Resonance to earn a selection of crafting materials. This will also revert the weapon into a standard Legendary. However, it also gives you progress to actually unlocking the weapon for crafting.

Patterns and Catalysts Section

Every weapon will have a different set of criteria for you to complete in order to unlock it for crafting. To check your progress and the requirements, head to your Triumphs tab and select the “Patterns and Catalysts” section on the right-hand side. This will break the Patterns down by weapon type and slot along with a progress bar similar to Triumphs.

If you hover over them, you’ll be able to review the required progress for a given weapon. At this point, it appears to range from one Deepsight Resonance completion to five, but this could change as more are added. Once you’ve completed a Pattern objective, click the Pattern in this tab to unlock it and add it to the Relic for use.

2. Collect Crafting Materials

We mentioned how completing Deepsight Resonance extraction will grant you with crafting materials right? This is the other major piece required to start crafting weapons. While you’ll be given a fairly generous amount when creating your Glaive, the rest will be obtained this way. 

What Crafting Materials Are There?

Every time you extract, you’ll get the chance to choose between a selection of materials that always include Neutral Element. You’ll then have the choice between two crafting elements that are typically related to the Perks on the weapon. That is a fairly general connection though, so don’t expect that to hold true every time you extract and craft. 

Here are the currently available crafting materials:

• Neutral Element: General upgrade material.
• Adroit Element: Associated with handling and stability Perks. 
• Mutable Element: Associated with ability Perks.
• Ruinous Element: Associated with damage Perks. 
• Energetic Element: Associated with ammo and reload Perks. 
• Drowned Element: Associated with Raid weapon perks.

Additionally, there are two other types of crafting materials that are not connected to the Resonant weapon system. 

• Resonant Alloy: Acquired by dismantling Legendary weapons.
• Ascendant Alloy: Purchase from Rahool once a week, complete Banshee’s weekly reward, or earn randomly from weekly campaign missions and Master Wellspring runs.

Five Resonant Alloy are required to craft a Legendary weapon with Exotics requiring a variable amount more. Ascendant Alloy is a bit more limited in how you acquire it since it is used for crafting Exotic weapons or Enhanced Traits for your weapons.

3. Shape Your Weapon

Once you have a Pattern available and enough materials, head back to the Enclave and visit the Relic. Choose the Shape option and you’ll see the same Pattern menu from your Triumphs appear. Select the weapon you want to begin crafting to begin putting it together. 

Here is everything you’ll be able to adjust:

• Frame Intrinsic: Perks that dictate weapon functionality.
• Magazine: Impacts rate of fire, reload speed, and any related functions.
• Barrel: Impacts stability, range, and any related functions
• Trait 1: Perk you choose.
• Trait 2: Perk you choose.
• Memento: Cosmetic associated with The Witch Queen.

You’ll likely notice that some of the Perks and other options are currently locked. This is where some of those special materials will eventually come in handy. However, some Enhanced Perks are locked behind a given weapon level meaning that you’ll have to keep using it to gain access to them.

4. Make Your Selection and Complete

Once you have your weapon parts in place, hover over on the right-hand side to Shape your weapon. This will quickly display what you’ll be paying for the weapon and takes long enough to give you time to reconsider. Don’t worry though, once you’ve crafted a weapon you still have the option to change it.

How to Reshape Weapons in Destiny 2

The beauty of crafting is that you’re not locked into a specific weapon build once you’ve put it together. In fact, this new crafting system is designed with testing and retooling in mind to help you find the perfect builds for your playstyle. This is encapsulated by the Reshape function of the Relic, which allows you to adjust the components of a given weapon.

While you cannot change the entirety of a Pattern, you can switch the barrel, mags, and available alternative traits. Reshaping a weapon follows the same process as Shaping your original design with a slight difference. Instead of choosing a Pattern and building everything from scratch, you’ll simply be working with a currently built weapon.

One catch, be sure you have it unequipped before attempting to reshape, and then start making changes and switching out different Traits. 

Can You Customize Your Weapons in Destiny 2?

Weapon ornaments are currently the only way to adjust the visual appearance of weapons in Destiny 2. These are limited to Exotic weapons, meaning that the only other way to personalize weapons is popping on a shader.

That’s changing with the addition of Mementos. Mementos are unique appearances that provide a theme and tracker to a given weapon. You’ll need to max out your weapon (more on that in a bit) and head back to the Enclave to pop on a recently unlocked Memento. At the start, only a Gambit-themed option will be available. However, there will be continuous releases in modes like Trials of Osiris and Grandmaster Nightfalls. More and more will surface over time alongside a new endgame cosmetic (that has yet to be unveiled). 

Can You Craft Exotic Weapons in Destiny 2?

So, what about Exotics? While Legendary weapons can be crafted from the ground up, Exotics will be more about fine-tuning a given weapon.

To start, the three class-unique Glaives and the new Osteo Striga SMG are the only Exotics you’ll be able to do this with. Once you find their Patterns and build them, it’s more about customization. You’ll be able to change the barrel, stock, mag, and other standard traits in a limited pool of options. Perks seem to be static and connected to the weapon itself, but that could change over time.

How to Upgrade Your Weapons in Destiny 2

On top of crafting and reworking your weapons, you can also upgrade them. This is a leveling system that comes after you craft a weapon and simply requires you to use it in activities and defeat enemies. Basically, the more you use the weapon, the faster you’ll unlock it.

Upgrading will earn you enhanced stats and additional traits that you can unlock and equip at higher levels. It steps beyond standard Masterworking and encourages you to invest in a weapon far beyond pouring in a few resources. Keep grinding, and make the most out of every weapon.

Are There Any Issues With Weapon Crafting?

Being an entirely new system to an established game often means major issues. However, at launch, weapon crafting appears to be the next major step for what Destiny 2 can be. Yet, after playing for dozens of hours, there are some potential issues emerging that Bungie will hopefully address.

Material Caps

Destiny 2 has had a storage limitation issue for a while now. Everyone is readily aware of the constant need to clear out your vault, the basically unending stream of Glimmer, and even the strangely small number of Strange Coins you can hold. That issue has unfortunately stretched to the amount of crafting materials you’re able to hold at a given time.

This system encourages you to bank up and spend once you’re ready. The only issue is that this is difficult to do with how randomized that spending appears to be. On top of that, the best way to acquire this material is through the completion of Deepsight weapons. If you happen to be close to maxed out on materials at any point, you basically have to hold onto completed Deepsight Weapons, further aggravating the Vault problem.

In short, for this system to work and reward collecting and planning, there really needs to be a much larger or nonexistent limit. Right now, it’s just too easy to hit and too easy to run out of once you start spending. 

Unlocks Aren’t Permanent

The entire benefit of weapon crafting outside of personalizing your dream weapon is the ability to create multiple builds. That becomes difficult when the Traits and Perks you unlock aren’t actually available. Yeah, you have to have the right materials to pay for a full Reshape every time, making any changes expensive and less immediate than promised. 

It totally defeats the purpose of being able to unlock specific things and switch between them for different gamemodes. Now, instead of one core weapon with rotating Traits, you now have to own a different variant of the weapon to customize and make this work.

The Importance of Random Rolls

While there are plenty of weapons available to craft, there are far more that aren’t. It would be ridiculous to expect that, however, it is causing a problem. Crafting is simultaneously diminishing the value of random rolls and simultaneously making it far more important for specific weapons. 

In short, those that you cannot build are still a random grind to pursue. While those that you can randomly get are immediately devalued due to the need to upgrade a personalized version. This will hopefully gradually be rectified as more weapons and more Perk variations become available. For now, it’s a necessary issue that simply represents the growing pains of the system. 

My recommendation, focus on the weapons that you like. Still keep the solid random rolls that you get and hold onto them if you think you’ll use them. But, don’t get too hung up on managing, upgrading, and keeping every weapon that comes across your Guardian.

When Will Weapon Crafting be Available in Destiny 2?

Weapon crafting is currently available alongside the release of The Witch Queen on February 22, 2022. It is available to all players but specific weapon types and builds will be locked behind the paid expansion and Season. 

Join the High Ground

Weapon crafting is possibly the biggest update to Destiny 2 in the game’s history. It totally reshapes how players will approach earning God Rolls, what high-level rewards are, and really what end-game pursuits can be. 

Be sure to let your Fireteam know about this how weapon crafting will change the game by sharing this article on your favorite social channels and sign up for our newsletter for the latest on Destiny 2.

Happy gaming!