The Great Dismantling: What to KeepIf Hoarders did Video Games, Destiny would have to be their first stop.

Players have been dealing with a paltry amount of storage space since day one, and as the game expands its gear, even the most economical of Guardians might be starting to feel the strain. One of the hardest of these to keep a handle on is weapons.

 

Real Conversation with a Hoarder

Real Conversation with a Hoarder

“So, what’s that there?”

“Uh, that’s my Atheon’s Epilogue.”

“How often do you play with it?”

“Um, never. I guess. I mean, I used it in a Void Burn Nightfall two weeks ago – but only because I left my Word of Crota in the vault.”

“Right, right. And you’ve been feeling pretty constrained by the lack of storage. So…can we get rid of Atheon’s Epilogue?”

“Well, uh, you see – ”

“It’s just that you said you don’t use it.”

“But I MIGHT use it!”

“It’s not even maxed out.”

“I’m getting to that! No, Atheon’s Epilogue stays. I got that from my first VoG run; it’s my baby.”

“Right, well, moving on…”

Know What Matters to You

Most of us have our go-to’s for PvE and PvP: a Fatebringer here, a Red Death there – but what about those weapons we left behind? Picking what can be dismantled and what has to stay is as hand-wringing an experience as any in Destiny today.

When you add in the gotta-catch-em-all mentality of many of Destiny’s vets, and the nagging reminder that any weapon class could be balanced into relevancy with an upcoming patch, it’s no wonder we’re all running out of corners to stash our stuff. So why is it that we have such a hard time parting with our gear, and what’s the best strategy to be economical about equipment?

There’s no one-size-fits-all prescription for doing some Destiny spring cleaning. There are those Guardians who have 7/8 slots filled on three characters at all times, with 36/36 Weapons in the Vault, who are perfectly content to juggle and dismantle constantly. Then, there are those who have only saved 3 Exotic Weapons since they started playing, exclusively use Fatebringer, and don’t bother holding on to anything that isn’t top-tier. You have to know yourself to know what you can afford to get rid of.

Think about your Primary’s. What do you find yourself gravitating toward in most content? If you play a lot of PvE, you’re probably big into Hand Cannons and Scout Rifles. Auto Rifles have been trash for a while now, but maybe you’ve hung on to a few of them in the hopes that they’ll make a return to their former glory.

Do you really need an Up For Anything and For The People? Maybe it’s time to say goodbye to one. If you rarely go into a Strike, Raid, Arena Event, or Heroic Mission with a Pulse Rifle, you can probably afford to ditch one or two that you’ve been holding onto.

Have you been fortunate enough with RNG to have a couple primaries of every element? If you can’t bear the thought of not being equipped for every type of shield, and even your flawlessly-rolled kinetic damage weapons have been languishing in your attic, then ask yourself how badly you really want to save them.

Sure, Another NITC and the Saterienne Rapier are great Scout Rifles, but if you can’t bring yourself to drop the useful Arc damage of Fatebringer once in a while, they’re all but expensive paperweights.

Cover Your Elemental Bases

Nightfalls and the Prison of Elders have burns galore (though no longer on Skolas), and Destiny’s toughest enemies in the wild are almost all shielded. To this end, you need a bit of elemental firepower to muscle your way through some of the trickier content. It’s good to have at least one Solar, Arc, and Void weapon for each slot, but beyond that, you should be smart about what you hold onto.

With a solid Arc Machine Gun (Pacifier X), how often do you use your Arc LMG? If you’ve got a 365 Swordbreaker, do you need that Void Fusion Rifle? It’s definitely a good idea to have a Sniper Rifle of each element, but Fusion Rifles and MGs aren’t as pressing a need.

Of course, this comes down to personal preference; an Ascended Corrective Measure makes a compelling argument for the value of a LMG over a Rocket Launcher. As for Primaries, go with what’s most versatile. Beyond the collection, Word of Crota is a better choice than Atheon’s Epilogue in every situation, Fatebringer is superior to the Fang of Ir Yût at almost all ranges, and the Vision of Confluence makes Abyss Defiant seriously question its life choices.

Collect Smartly

Like most RPGs, Destiny is going to attract players who are all about amassing a collection. In a digital realm, certain trophies act as validating milestones that mark progress and preserve a history of success. For Destiny, these trophies are its weapons.

At the top of the must-haves are the Exotics; earning an Exotic can be a special event, and some of the most rewarding moments in Destiny – defeating Atheon, conquering the Weekly Nightfall, felling Skolas – can result in a shiny new toy to play with. It’s easy to see why Guardians are inspired to collect these.

If you have duplicates of certain Exotic Weapons, start dismantling here. Bungie’s own application allows for painless transfer of weapons from character to vault to another character, and versatile 3^rd-party tools like the excellent Destiny Item Manager for Google Chrome can completely revolutionize the way you equip your Guardian.

Then, there are The Vault of Glass weapons. There are 10, and each was once considered among the best options available for its weapon class. Today, at least 5 of them are still widely regarded as some of the strongest out there. A complete collection of all 10 might not be functionally pragmatic, but there’s no better way of saying “I’ve mastered the Vault of Glass” than to have your own Vault lined with each of them maxed out.

Crota’s End, with its 9 Hive-flavored weapons, is a similar story. If you throw in the Iron Banner, Queen’s Wrath, Prison of Elders, and Trials of Osiris sets, the amount of “collectible” weapons starts to reach pretty dizzying levels. We respect the collection mentality. It’s a healthy way to create a sense of progression and forge your own legend. However, it’s simply not sustainable in every instance. Our advice? Pick a couple of sets that matter to you.

If you’re a hardcore Crucible player, having a perfectly-rolled set of pre-HoW Iron Banner goodies makes sense. If you’re a seasoned raider, maybe a 300 Hezen Vengeance that will never see the (Etheric) light of day is an acceptable bench-warmer.

You can’t have it all, though. If your OCD can forgive you, dismantle what you know is simply outclassed. The Queen’s Wrath weapons are cool, and can be reforged, but otherwise are simply vividly pink, average options. Weapons like the Song of Ir Yût and Praetorian Foil are similarly middling. Worst case scenario, when you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake, you can head back into the Vault or the Dark Below and earn them back the hard way. In the meantime, you’ll be surprised how freeing it can feel to finally ditch the dead weight.

Make New Friends But Keep The Old

With all the Vanguard and Crucible marks you’re probably earning, and all the new weapons that the Vendors are selling, it makes sense that you’ll want to try a few out. However, from a min/max standpoint, some of the stock and available perks prior to HoW are superior to what’s available. Most notably, Field Scout has been almost completely wiped out. Almost every LMG, Rocket Launcher,  and Sniper Rifle benefits enormously from an increased Magazine Size and extra reserve ammunition, and Field Scout’s replacement, Casket Mag, penalizes Stability harshly without even offering the full complement of benefits that Field Scout once did.

To this end, if you bothered to find a Sniper or LMG with Field Scout prior to HoW’s launch, never let that thing out of your sight. The Arma Engine DOA, Sawtooth Oscillator, and Chain of Orbiks-Fel can’t go toe-to-toe with the right Against All Odds, Deviant Gravity, or Corrective Measure. Sniper Rifles are equally disappointing with the House of Wolves. Almost every option available for sale has a high RoF, but low base Impact and Magazine Size. As Casket Mag destroys Stability, if you snagged a Field Scout Efrideet’s Spear or LDR 5001 from TDB, it’s safe to say that almost every new Sniper Rifle you get will probably pale in comparison.

On the other hand, Shotguns have almost never been better. Sure, you can’t get Hammer Forged anymore, but the powerful drops from Crucible playlists, when coupled with the right rolls, make for deadly PvP and PvE combinations. If you’ve been holding on to a sub-par Shotgun and wondering if you could afford to dismantle it, the answer is almost certainly: yes.

If you can be aware of what’s possible now and what isn’t, you can avoid the indecision that accompanies a drop, and dismantle poor weapons with confidence. It’s very easy to allow yourself to be inundated with what’s new, but as that new expansion smell begins to fade, it’s time to start seeing some of House of Wolves’ weapons and their perks for what they are.

Take the Plunge

If all the equivocating, hedging, analyzing, and bargaining fails, it’s time to just give yourself some good ol’ fashioned tough love. Have a friend tie you down while he systematically wipes out half of your Vault with an impassive, emotionless diligence. Put a blindfold on when you navigate to your weapons section and just hold square until your tears soak through the fabric. Tell your Necrochasm and Hard Light that you’re going for a walk the park, and make sure they have an unforgettable afternoon, before you re-enact Of Mice and Men all over the picnic blanket.

In all seriousness, common sense should win out. If you’re really struggling with Vault Space, you know you’ll have to bite the bullet and get rid of something. Life will go on. You’ll be able to keep killing and Destiny will throw more gear at you sooner or later. In the meantime, you’ll have a cleaner Destiny experience, without having to worry about clutter and running out of room while on Patrol.

Your Favorites?

While only one facet of the Vault problem, weapons can be a real pain to organize. It’s easy to get caught up in collecting and min/maxing, while forgetting entirely the point of a gun: to shoot it. As a rule of thumb, if you aren’t shooting your guns, you can afford to dismantle them. We’ve outlined some exceptions to that rule, and it always pays to know yourself, but by and large this can guide you through dismantling.

We hope that the day arrives when we’ll look back on this day fondly, saying “I can’t believe we ever had to worry about Vault space.” Until then, with a little bit of focus and patience, you can keep your swelling collection to tolerable levels.

Do you have any tips for lightening the vault load? What weapons can you just not live without? Share your tips for keeping your arsenal manageable in the comments below. If you found this guide helpful, and would like to see similar tips for Armor, let us know!