King cleaning: Last-minute preparations for Destiny: The Taken King

With the release of Destiny update 2.0, it has finally set in that the biggest expansion yet is just days away. As a result, the Tower is busier than ever; millions of Guardians are rushing about in a mad dash to get stuck in for The Taken King. Glimmer needs maxing, reputation needs earning, raid teams need assembling—it’s hectic out there. As our own Joe Donato pointed out in a recent piece, there’s plenty to do. And with the final pre-TTK week coming to a close, there’s still plenty more.

The affectionately titled weekly grind is the most obvious check on the to-do list. Although Year Two equipment will essentially obviate existing gear (upgraded Exotics notwithstanding), there’s plenty of reason to finish up this week’s Nightfall and Heroic Strikes, and Raids. You won’t be putting much wear on any gear you nab, but it’s still a valuable resource.

Resource really is the word. Strange Coins can be hoarded for future Xur updates (or spent on his latest inventory, which you can find here). Ascendant and Radiant materials alike can be converted into Motes of Light and Glimmer, which will be invaluable going into The Taken King. Motes of Light, in particular, will be in high demand due to the way new weapons will be upgraded. Heck, they already are what with the addition of Faction patronage.

Existing Crucible and Vanguard Marks are another easy way to rack up packages. All existing Marks will be turned into Commendations worth one package each with the launch of The Taken King, with a conversion rate of 50:1. So if you have, say, 180 Crucible Marks gathering dust, spend down to 150 to get the most out of things. And while you’re at it, spend your excess on crafting materials like Spirit Blooms and Helium Filaments. You’re going to need plenty of those. Be sure to hang onto a few hundred Sapphire Wire, Hadronic Essence or Plasteel Plating as well, lest you be left out in the cold when the great armor conversion comes.

Raid equipment can also be broken down into its respective upgrade material. That double glove roll you got at Templar isn’t worthless after all. However, like other Legendary and Exotic gear, they’re best held onto for now. Indeed, now’s the time to channel your inner hoarder and stuff your Vault with loose Legendaries. As Bungie advised in a previous update, sharding them after The Taken King’s release will yield significantly better items, including the new currency, Legendary Marks. Deciding on a specific outfit now and readying the rest of your collection for dismantling will help with that.

Ironically, now is also the time to take the duster to your Vault. Although Vault storage was recently expanded by over 100 percent, space may well be tight in the coming weeks. The Infusion mechanic, for instance, requires you to stockpile gear to pour into your favorite setup. Those guns aren’t going to hold themselves, so you’re going to need free slots. The General tab of the Vault, home to all manner of consumables, is a particularly easy clean since emblems, shaders and ships are now stored in account-wide archives. You can simply delete the ones you use infrequently and withdraw them later on a need-to-style basis.

Necessity is the crux of the matter. For instance, you might want to upgrade your Faction rank to 25 in order to access its unique Exotic class item. Tempting though it is, you’re better off holding onto your donations until TTK drops, as this will substantially improve your reward packages. The same is true for Quests. Although daily bounties are fair game, long-form story Quests should be treated like instant-experience—just add bullets. The completionist in you may want to finish up your current subclass storylines, but hopefully the pragmatist in you will counter with, “Wait until we’re actually gaining experience.” We can’t reach level 40 yet, after all, so why not pocket the easy experience until we can? That’s to say nothing of concerning whispers of bugged Quest rewards.

Or, I suppose, you could just bide your time. But where’s the fun in that?