Destiny 2: Engrams - how to decode? Destiny 2 Guide
Last update: 23 March 2021
In this chapter of the Destiny 2 game guide you will learn how to decode Umbral Engram, Prime Engram and Mnemonic Engram items.
Engrams are a completely new way to acquire powerful Legendary items as well as cosmetic items in Destiny 2. The engrams can be found in the tightly closed and encoded cubes, which have to be decoded in order to obtain the reward. Unfortunately, during gameplay you will not get many instructions on how to decode the Engrams in Destiny 2 so below we have prepared detailed instructions on how and where to do this.
Umbral Engram - how to decode?
An Umbral Engram is the most common type of Engram, which contains a random item with a Power Level corresponding to the Power level of the Engram. However, before you can decode the Umbral Engram, you must first complete several tasks. Once you log into the game during the Season of Arrivals for the very first time, you will receive the Face of Darkness quest. Also, you will be asked to find Eris Morn on the Io planet. After dealing with Savathun's Witnesses opponent, you will receive a new seasonal Artifact - Seed of Silver Wings.
After acquiring the Seed of Silver Wings artifact, you must travel to The Tower and talk to The Drifter. After talking to him, the Face of Darkness quest will be updated. You will have to travel to planet Io once again to perform a public event called Contact.
The Contact Public Event is an end game event in which players with a power level (gear score) of about 1000 can enter, as they have to fight against the strongest opponents, who additionally attack in multiple groups or waves. In order to fight against such strong enemies, additional modifications should be installed in your weapons such as Unstoppable, Anti-Barrier, and Overload Rounds.
The Face of Darkness quest only requires you to complete the Contact event so you can easily go there with even less power. Contact event attracts a lot of strong players (especially during Tuesday's reset at 19:00 CET). Stay close near the event and wait for it to end. You can even die and not rise from the ground, it's important to stay in a certain area.
After successfully completing the Contact public event, you can return to The Tower and talk to The Drifter. For your services, you will receive one Umbral Engram, which you can decode in one of The Drifter's machines.
To pick up the Umbral Engram from The Drifter and move the Face the Darkness quest forward, you must have at least one free slot for the Engrams in your inventory. If necessary, you must destroy one of the previously acquired Engrams to make one slot available.
Next to The Drifter you will find a special machine called The Umbral Decoder in which you can decode all your Umbral Engrams. However, this is not the end of the main quest, as you will have to complete Strike, The Crucible or Gambit in order to unlock access to the next machine - Prismatic Recaster.
After successfully completing one of the aforementioned activities, you will be given access to the Prismatic Recaster machine. Prismatic Recaster uses Twisted Energy, which is essential to increase the level of this machine and customize the rewards received from Umbral Engrams. After completing the task, you will have just enough Twisted Energy to increase the level of the Prismatic Recaster and pick up the first modification, as well as receive access to Bounties.
Twisted Energy can be collected by performing Daily and Weekly Bounties, which can be purchased at Prismatic Recaster for a certain amount of Glimmer.
Prime Engram - how to decode it?
A Prime Engram is a special type of Engram that hides much more valuable items and must be decoded by a specialized Cryptarch. To unlock the Prime Engram you must go to the Master Rahool NPC, who can be found in The Tower.
Mnemonic Engram - how to decode it?
The Mnemonic Engram is a special type of Engram that includes cosmetic items, emojis and accessories from previous seasons of Destiny 2. Mnemonic Engram can be decoded in The Tower by Tes Everis NPC, who runs a cosmetic items shop there.
