Trading in Destiny 2 in 2024 – What Are the Options?

I‘m often asked as a passionate Destiny 2 guide creator – is direct player-to-player trading possible in Bungie‘s vast multiplayer universe? The straight answer is no, players can‘t directly trade weapons, armor, or other items between each other. Bungie intentionally designed the game this way to promote balanced progression via looting and prevent gear score inflation.

But while you can‘t just open a trade window with random guardians, there are still a few workaround options to score exotic gear from others or share some inventory in limited cases. Let‘s explore everything you need to know about maneuvering trade restrictions in 2024!

Why No Direct Trading? Developer Philosophy & Game Design

Unlike MMORPGs like World of Warcraft with open in-game economies, Bungie views Destiny 2 as a looter shooter first and foremost. The core gameplay loop centers on blasting aliens and monster bosses to slowly upgrade your arsenal over time. If players could simply trade the best weapons directly, it would undermine months of grinding progression.

There‘s also the risk that an unchecked trading system could enable black markets around purchasing gear for real money. This could create an unbalanced experience where wealthier players leap ahead while others fall behind.

While the lack of direct trades can be frustrating, Bungie‘s intent is preserving the rewarding feeling of your personal guardian growing in power through dedication. Let‘s examine available alternatives that partially fill the trading void without jeopardizing this core engagement.

Dropping & Sharing Inventory – Hand Off Unwanted Items

The most flexible way to exchange goods is dropping unwanted weapons, consumables or materials for your fireteam to grab. Have extra raid banners or mod components taking up vault space? Leave them on the ground before jumping to orbit! Make sure your allies are close by when dropping though – loose loot left alone for too long disappears.

I regularly stock up my two alternate characters by having my main guardian drop unneeded enhancement cores, upgrade modules, and other valuable currencies. With a shared account-wide inventory and quest log via the API, it‘s simple to transfer almost anything minus certain keys and tokens.

But while drops enable low-stakes transfers between your own heroes, you still can‘t directly hand other players raid exotics this way. Only mundane items not flagged as account-locked can be dropped for teammates in this fashion.

Gifting Exotic Gear – Special Events Only!

Occasionally during limited-time festival events, Destiny introduces special exotic items that can be gifted once to another player. For example, during 2021‘s 30th Anniversary celebration, players could bestow the colorful streetwear armor set via gifting.

However, regular exotic weapons and gear cannot be gifted – this ONLY applies to specific holiday event items flagged for sharing. And your friend can‘t already own the exotic in question, preventing duplication. Other restrictions also apply, like receiving guardians only having two gifted exotic slots.

So in summary:

• Can only gift special event-exclusive exotics, not normal ones
• Recipient can‘t already own the item being shared
• Friends can only hold 2 gifted exotics at a time before decrypting

It‘s a narrow exemption to standard trade locks, but can let you surprise a Destiny buddy who missed out on cool holiday swag!

Breaking Down Extras – Dismantling Exotic Gear

Rather than letting exotic gear collect dust, you can always break it down via the dismantle button. This destroys the item outright but gives you a couple useful resources in exchange:

• Exotic Shards – Used to purchase new exotic items from the Tower‘s Monument to Lost Light kiosk
• Glimmer – The standard currency for miscellaneous costs like applying weapon/armor upgrades
• Legendary Shards – Needed to buy gear from the Cryptarch and other special vendors

Here are examples of how much you can earn by salvaging some exotic item types:

So while dismantling extras doesn‘t let you directly trade them, it does provide resources to buy different exotics from the Tower‘s Monument to Lost Lights. I generally break down duplicates beyond what I need for loadout flexibility or to build up a stash for purchasing selections like Always On Time.

Just know exotic dismantling is permanent, so only scrap what you‘re comfortable with!

Understanding Vendors Like Xur – Buy Exotics Strategically Each Week

The single best renewable source for new exotic gear is undoubtedly the weekend vendor Xur. This mysterious merchant arrives every Friday, hawking an exotic cipher quest plus one randomly rolled exotic weapon and a piece of exotic armor tied to each guardian class.

Make visiting Xur a routine habit, as his inventory rotates weekly. I generally buy any weapons I don‘t own already for the exotic cipher alone. Even duplicates can be broken down into more exotic shards. Just have Legendary Shards on hand for purchasing.

If chasing a specific new exotic, buying Xur‘s Fated Engram guarantees something you haven‘t previously acquired, though random otherwise. I spend most Legendary Shards funding Fated Engrams when not targeting a particular weapon or armor piece from Monument to Lost Lights.

Other key vendors include Banshee-44 for mods and materials, Ada-1 for weapon/armor crafting, and the Cryptarch for Prime Engram focuses. Master Rahool can decode Prime Engrams into exotic items directly every 4 hours or so based on your playtime.

Lost Sectors, Nightfalls & More – Expert Tips for Farming Exotic Drops

While purchasing options help expand your armory, optimized farming is key for exotic item quantity and rolls. Here are my top tips for actively chasing elusive gear:

Lost Sectors

• Focus daily Legend and Master Lost Sectors when helmet drops are featured – exotic chance jumps to ~25% at Master!
• Bring champion and shield mod builds for match game shields and stunning overseers
• Nightstalker invisibility excels for solo flawless runs to the boss room

Nightfall Strikes

• Farm higher difficulties like Legend and Master with LFG teams
• Rotate subclasses each run to capitalize on increased drop rates
• Equip prosperity mods on ghost to boost streak rewards
• Shoot for platinum ranks for enhanced exotic drop chance at the boss

Other Notable Sources

• Always open Prime Engrams at the Cryptarch for the best shot at exotics
• Cash in any exotic engrams immediately!
• Join an active clan for extra engram clan rewards
• Complete story missions on hard difficulty for extra shots
• Finish off-playlist activities whenever possible for hidden chances

With hundreds of potential weapon/armor combos, the exotic chase never ends! Optimizing multiple avenues through content and vendors is vital.

Avoid Account Sales & Risky Trades – Play the Odds Instead!

When chasing god rolls or rare exotics, it can be tempting to take shortcuts by purchasing entire Destiny 2 accounts – but I strongly advise against it! The risks around being scammed, banned, and enabling shady account farms vastly outweigh any benefit.

Instead, maximize legitimate routes by combining purchased vendor exotics, optimized farming, and occasional gifted event items. Statistically speaking, with hundreds of potential items in the pool, dedicating dozens of hours across multiple exotic sources WILL gradually complete your catalogue over time.

Have reasonable expectations rather than burning out on grind alone. Pursue multiple paths in parallel across days and weeks, not just repeating the same activity endlessly in one play session. This measured marathon mentality will serve you far better in the long run than risky quick fixes!

At the end of the day, while directly trading weapons with other players won‘t ever be an option, Destiny 2 still offers some creative alternatives:

• Drop unwanted inventory for fireteam members to grab
• Gift special holiday exotics during limited events
• Dismantle extras for materials to buy different items
• Optimize multiple exotic farm sources in parallel
• Always visit Xur on weekends to expand your collection

So although you can‘t forcibly fill out your guardian‘s arsenal via trades, leaned-in hobbyist grinding pays off over time. And you can occasionally surprise a buddy with gifted event items! Accept the developer intent of a purely looted progression journey, while still creatively navigating the best legitimate opportunities.

What exotic weapon or armor do you have your eyes on next? Let me know in the comments which routes you prioritize in the endless search for the perfect roll!