Unlocking the latest Exotic armor in Destiny 2 now hinges entirely on your reputation with Master Rahool, the Tower Cryptarch. With the release of The Final Shape expansion, the traditional grind through Lost Sectors is gone-your path to the most coveted armor pieces requires maxing out and resetting Rahool’s reputation by decrypting Exotic and Prime Engrams. Only after reaching Legend rank and performing a full reset can you access Novel Focusing, allowing you to claim any new Exotic armor, including the freshest episode releases. Prepare to farm engrams and resources strategically each season, as Rahool’s loyalty program resets regularly, making this a recurring challenge for Guardians hungry for the best gear.
Rahool has a reputation bar that resets each episode – Bungie’s updated term for seasons, which last four months and have significant updates every six weeks – and you’ll only be able to unlock your new Exotics once you’ve made your way through the Cryptarch’s loyalty program.
In this Destiny 2 guide, we’ll walk you through how to level up Rahool each episode, how to focus Exotics, and where you can get some Exotic Engrams each week.
How to focus new Exotic armor pieces from Master Rahool
To focus new Exotic armor pieces from Master Rahool in Destiny 2, you first need to reach Rank 16 with him by decrypting Exotic and Prime Engrams to earn reputation points. Once at max rank, you reset Rahool’s reputation using an Exotic Cipher, unlocking Tier 3 Exotic focusing. This allows you to focus any Exotic armor piece, including new ones, by spending an Exotic Engram and an Exotic Cipher. There is no weekly cap on focusing, so you can acquire multiple new Exotic armor pieces as long as you have the required resources. To efficiently level up Rahool’s reputation, use higher-cost decryptions like Precision Decryption, which grants the most reputation per use but requires Ascendant Shards and Glimmer. Focusable Exotic Engrams can be obtained from activities such as Lost Sectors, playlists, and campaign rewards.
Once you reach Rank 16 with Master Rahool and reset his reputation, you’ll gain access to another page of his menu: tier 3 focusing. Here, you’ll be able to focus any Exotic armor pieces in the game, including pieces you don’t own and haven’t discovered yet.
When you’re ready, hover over the new Exotic you want – be it from The Final Shape or another release that you may have missed – and spend an Exotic engram and an Exotic Cipher to get your first roll of an Exotic of your choice. As long as you have more Exotic Ciphers and Exotic engrams, you can keep doing this; Rahool doesn’t have a weekly cap for tier 3 focusing.
Here are the new Exotic armor pieces you can tier 3 focus in The Final Shape:
- Wishful Ignorance, Exotic Titan gauntlets
- Hazardous Propulsion, Exotic Titan chest
- Gifted Conviction, Exotic Hunter chest
- Balance of Power, Exotic Hunter boots
- Speaker’s Sight, Exotic Warlock helmet
- Mataiodoxia, Exotic Warlock chest
How to level up Rahool’s reputation in Destiny 2
To level up Rahool’s reputation in Destiny 2 efficiently, focus on decrypting Exotic Engrams using Rahool’s decryption services regularly. The fastest method is Precision Decryption (Tier 2 focusing), which grants the most reputation but requires resources like Exotic Engrams, Ascendant Shards, and Glimmer. Advanced Decryption (Tier 1 focusing) is a slightly cheaper alternative, while simply opening Exotic or Prime Engrams also contributes to reputation gains. It is recommended to start each episode or expansion with a full inventory of Exotic or Prime Engrams to maximize reputation gains quickly. Reaching Rank 16 with Rahool allows you to reset his reputation and unlock Tier 3 Exotic Focusing, enabling you to obtain any Exotic armor piece using Exotic Ciphers and Engrams. Keep in mind that Rahool’s reputation resets every season, so this process must be repeated regularly.
After years of scamming Guardians in the original Destiny, Master Rahool has a new game: his “Engram Ensiders” (groan) loyalty program. While Rahool might have a cute name for it, this update essentially just gives him a reputation track that works similarly to Banshee, Shaxx, or Zavala. The big difference here is that you’ll only be able to focus new Exotics once you reach Rank 16 and reset back to Rank 1.
To reach Rank 16 as quickly as possible, you’ll just need to regularly avail yourself of Rahool’s services.
Ideally, you’ll want to start each episode or expansion with an inventory full of Exotic or Prime engrams. If you don’t, you’ll need to farm a bit or just play the game naturally until you have some engrams to turn in. If you’d like to really focus on this, keep reading this guide for info on how to easily farm Exotic engrams.
According to Bungie, you’ll need “a little more than a full stock of Exotic engrams” to cap Rahool’s reputation. That means you’ll need to tier 2 focus 10 to 12 Exotic engrams in order to gain the ability to tier 3 focus any new ones (which also costs an Exotic engram, so you’ll likely need 11 to 14 engrams to get all the new Exotics for your class each episode).
When Bungie announced this change, it revealed that certain actions increase Rahool’s reputation faster than others. Here they are, from most to least reputation:
- Precision decryption (tier 2 focusing)
- Advanced decryption (tier 1 focusing)
- Opening an Exotic engram without focusing
- Opening a Prime engram
Your best bets here are tier 2 focusing and tier 1 focusing, both of which can be expensive. Tier 2 focusing will allow you to specifically target any armor piece you already have unlocked in your collection, and it’ll cost you an Exotic engram, 60,000 Glimmer, and two Ascendant Shards. If that’s a little rich for your blood, you can do tier 1 focusing, which allows you to pick armor from a specific expansion and roll the dice on what you’ll get. This level of focusing costs an Exotic engram, 30,000 Glimmer, and 10 Enhancement Prisms.
How to get focusable Exotic engrams in Destiny 2
To get focusable Exotic engrams in Destiny 2, you need to acquire Exotic Engrams that no longer auto-decrypt but instead remain in your inventory for focusing. These engrams can be obtained from activities such as Master and Legend Lost Sectors, playlist activities, and random drops. Once you have these engrams, you take them to Master Rahool, who offers different focusing options: Daily Decryption (free, focusing by armor slot), Advanced Decryption (focusing by expansion for a cost), and Precision Decryption (focusing on the exact Exotic armor piece you want, requiring more resources). To unlock the ability to focus any Exotic armor piece, you must reach Rank 16 with Master Rahool and reset his reputation, unlocking tier 3 focusing, which allows focusing on any Exotic armor, even those not yet discovered. This system requires Exotic Engrams and resources like Ascendant Shards, Glimmer, and Exotic Ciphers, and focusing Exotic Engrams also helps increase Rahool’s reputation faster.
In order to fuel Rahool’s reputation system, you’ll need a steady stream of Exotic engrams. As of The Final Shape, there are a few different places you can get them: Lost Sectors, playlist activities, and random drops.
Master and Legend Lost Sectors – which rotate daily – will no longer give you Exotic armor pieces when you complete them. Instead, they’ll just give you Exotic engrams that you can take to Rahool. This is one of the harder ways to get Exotics, as you’ll need a decent build to make it through and the drop rates can be brutal if you’re unlucky. However, it’s also the only reliable source that’s permanently farmable. So if you notice an easy Lost Sector is active and you have a couple of hours to kill, it’s a great way to fill out your Exotic collection.
If you don’t want to grind Lost Sectors – and who could blame you – you can run playlist activities each week to get a handful of Exotic engrams. By completing a certain amount of Strikes, Gambit games, or Crucible matches, you’ll be able to earn multiple Exotic engrams per class per week. You will eventually exhaust this method, so don’t expect to spend all week playing Strikes if your main goal is Exotics.
But what if you don’t want to do ritual activities – or you’ve already collected them all for the week – and you don’t want to run Lost Sectors? Well, you can always get lucky. Exotic engrams always have a chance to randomly drop on the ground, and some of them are focusable at Rahool. Others, unfortunately, will automatically decrypt in your inventory once you pick them up.
How can I maximize Rahool’s reputation to unlock new exotic armor fast
To maximize Rahool’s reputation quickly and unlock new Exotic armor fast in Destiny 2, follow these key strategies:
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Stockpile Exotic and Prime Engrams before an episode or expansion launch to have enough to decrypt immediately, as you need around 10-14 Exotic engrams to max Rahool’s reputation each season.
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Decrypt Exotic Engrams using Precision Decryption whenever possible, as it grants the highest reputation per engram (500 points), though it requires 60,000 Glimmer and 2 Ascendant Shards per decryption.
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If Ascendant Shards are limited, use Advanced Decryption, which gives 250 reputation points per Exotic engram but costs 30,000 Glimmer and 10 Enhancement Prisms.
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Regular Exotic Engram decryption (random) grants 150 reputation points for free, so use this if you want to conserve materials but it’s slower.
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Prime Engrams also contribute, granting 100 reputation points each, so decrypt these alongside Exotic engrams to accumulate reputation faster.
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Manage your inventory cap by keeping a full stock of Exotic engrams (up to 10 per character, with 20 in the postmaster) to avoid missing out on reputation gains.
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Spread engram decryptions evenly across your characters to unlock Exotic armor for all classes, since Rahool’s reputation is account-wide but focusing Exotic armor unlocks are character-specific.
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Farm seasonal activities, Nightfall strikes, and legendary Lost Sectors to gather Exotic and Prime engrams efficiently.
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Remember that after reaching Legend rank (Rank 16, 6,000 reputation points), you must reset Rahool’s reputation by claiming an Exotic Cipher to unlock Novel Focusing, which allows you to choose any new Exotic armor piece.
By combining these approaches-farming engrams, using the highest reputation decryption methods you can afford, and managing your inventory-you can maximize Rahool’s reputation gain and unlock new Exotic armor as fast as possible each season.
What are the most reputation-efficient actions to level up Rahool quickly
The most reputation-efficient actions to level up Master Rahool quickly in Destiny 2 revolve around how you decrypt Exotic and Prime Engrams:
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Precision Decryption (Tier 2 Focusing) is the top method, granting 500 reputation points per Exotic Engram decrypted. It requires one Exotic Engram, 60,000 Glimmer, and 2 Ascendant Shards per use, making it costly but the fastest way to gain reputation.
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Advanced Decryption (Tier 1 Focusing) is the next best option, giving 250 reputation points per Exotic Engram, costing fewer resources than Precision Decryption but still more than regular decryptions.
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Regular Exotic Engram decryption yields 150 reputation points and is free in terms of materials, so it’s a decent fallback if you want to conserve resources.
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Prime Engrams provide 100 reputation points each and can supplement your reputation gains alongside Exotic Engrams.
To maximize reputation gain:
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Maintain a stockpile of Exotic and Prime Engrams before starting to decrypt, as you need about 10-12 Exotic Engrams focused at Tier 2 to fully rank up Rahool each season.
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Farm activities that drop Exotic and Prime Engrams efficiently, such as strikes, Gambit, Crucible, and Master Lost Sectors.
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Use the highest focusing method you can afford to speed up reputation gain, prioritizing Precision Decryption when possible.
In summary, the most reputation-efficient way is to use Tier 2 focusing (Precision Decryption) on Exotic Engrams, supplemented by Tier 1 focusing and regular decryption of Exotic and Prime Engrams to quickly accumulate reputation with Rahool.
