Destiny Strategy Guide: How to Farm Glimmer Fast

In early days of Destiny, few players gave Glimmer a second thought. It was one of a many number of currencies in the game, and one that was arguably the easiest to come by. Kill an Ultra or Major enemy, complete a quest, break down a piece of armor – it all gave players Glimmer, and it wasn’t really until they hit the 25,000 Glimmer cap that players even noticed how much they were earning.

With the introduction of Destiny’s new exotic upgrade system, however, that has all changed. Where Glimmer was seemingly insignificant before, it is now as important as Ascendant Materials, if not more. That’s because trading an exotic to Xur in exchange for an upgraded version requires least 7,500 Glimmer per item. It’s certainly a lot to ask, but with many players wanting to upgrade several exotics in a single weekend, getting Glimmer and getting it quickly has become extremely important. Especially considering the Glimmer cap prevents players from simply stockpiling.

While most players have their own go-to Glimmer farming spots, one of the best we’ve seen is on Mars. What players need to do is load up the ‘Exclusion Zone’ mission with the “Heroic” modifier turned on. We’d recommend just picking level 18, as the enemies can become a nuisance due to their numbers, but those who do go higher will be rewarded with more XP for armor and weapons. They won’t be rewarded with any more glimmer, though.

After loading up the level, players need to head through the very first section by opening the door down into the installation, and then activating the terminal for Sparrow Link. Once they’ve done that a big door in front of them will open, revealing a drop ship and a large group of Cabal. Players will want to clear these enemies out, and then move onto the second group of enemies, which will include about 7 or 8 Cabal Majors. These are the money-makers, or in this case Glimmer-makers.

This is where things obviously get grind-y, but what players want to do is use a Resupply Code – a Destiny consumable that increases Glimmer gains on Cabal kills – and run through this short section as many times as they can in 10 minutes. The only key is that they must not kill all of the enemies, as doing so will trigger a checkpoint. Rather, players will want to make sure at least one Cabal is left alive and either let it kill them or kill themselves. Then lather, rinse, and repeat.

Depending on how quickly players can kill the Cabal, they should be able to generate a few thousand Glimmer, at minimum. Not only will every Cabal kill give them Glimmer, but each Major has a chance of dropping either a Resupply Code or a Network Key as well. These Network Keys can be exchanged for 200 Glimmer at the Cryptarch, so it’s important to keep an eye out for them after every Cabal Major kill. Once the Resupply Code’s effect has worn off, use another one (players should get at least one during this run).

Plenty of other areas in Destiny will do just fine for Glimmer farming, but this is easily one of the most lucrative. Any mission that features Majors will do the trick for farming Glimmer, like the ‘House of Winter’ mission on Venus or the new ‘Siege of the Warmind’ mission from The Dark Below, as long as players use the right consumable. However, we’ve found that because there’s a large amount of enemies in such a small area and because it’s so quick to get to the farming spot, the Exclusion Zone is our favorite.

It’s just important to remember the key steps:

• Use a Resupply Code


• Kill every Cabal but one


• Check for Network Keys


• Trigger respawn with death

This is obviously not the most glamorous of Destiny experiences, but it has become an essential part of the game. Until Bungie raises the Glimmer cap, we anticipate players will become plenty familiar with the Exclusion Zone mission.

Have you found any better Glimmer farming spots in Destiny? What should Bungie raise the Glimmer cap to?

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Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina

Destiny Strategy Guide: How to Farm Glimmer Fast