In the weekly Bungie blog, the developer officially detailed the upcoming transmogrification system for Destiny 2. Officially called Armor Synthesis, the new feature will arrive with the game’s next season. Transmog, or the ability to switch aemor looks interchangeably regardless of stats, is something Destiny players have been asking for since the release of the original game. Unfortunately, Bungie’s proposed system has been particularly poorly received, even by Destiny standards. As we’re about to break down, Destiny 2’s Armor Synthesis transmog system is limited, not easy to understand, requires a lot of work, and involves the Eververse in-game premium store in a significant way. To turn the appearance of a piece of armor into Universal Armor Ornaments that can be used with any other piece, players would need to defeat enemies to get Synthstrand, which is spent on bounties to generate Synthcord, which is then converted into Synthweave at the Loom in the Tower. Synthweave is what you also use to convert any unlocked armor appearance from your Collections into a Universal Armor Ornament. When it launches, you’ll find five categories of Armor Synthesis bounties, which reward Synthcord. They are Vanguard, Crucible, Gambit, Destinations, Raids, and Dungeons bounties. Given that Synthstrand is a limited resource, you should be careful when picking which bounties to spend it on. Bungie said it will refund some of that cost if you decide to abandon a bounty, but not all of it.
Though this already looks to be more trouble than it’s worth, Bungie somehow found more ways to make it worse. Players can only earn up to ten Synthweave per class, per season. This limit will be raised to 20 in Destiny 2’s next season, as a way of celebrating the launch of the feature. Assuming you earn all 20, you’ll be able to convert four full armor sets, or 20 individual pieces. Universal Ornaments can only be applied to Legendary armor. Exotic armor, unsurprisingly, cannot have the look of a different piece of armor. Another exception covers certain Year 1 Armor Ornaments. Due to “technical constraints”, you won’t be able to transmog Year 1 Armor Ornaments for Vanguard, Crucible, Iron Banner, Faction Rallies, Prestige Raids, or Trials of the Nine armor - but Bungie is working on a solution. The Eververse store has a part to play in this, too, if you’re not too fond of the grind. You’ll be able to buy Synthweave Templates, available a la carte or as part of a five-piece bundle. A single Synthweave Template will cost you 300 Silver, and the bundle will run you 1,000 ($10). Unlike traditional Synthweave, however, those templates can be applied to any class.
