Understanding Destiny 2's Armor 3.0 in The Edge of Fate

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The revamped Armor 3.0 system in Destiny 2 is set to offer players a fresh approach to gear, introducing new Gear Tiers alongside some significant changes that will alter gameplay. This system is aimed at enhancing build diversity, giving players the flexibility to customize their experience in new ways. Armor 3.0 is expected to be as impactful as the previous update, Armor 2.0, which launched with Shadowkeep. Here’s what you need to know about how Armor 3.0 will function in Destiny 2 when The Edge of Fate launches.

What is Armor 3.0 in Destiny 2?

(Image credit: Bungie)

Armor 3.0 represents a significant overhaul of Destiny 2’s armor system, introducing new stats and upgrade options. Like the previous major revision in 2019, this update applies to all players and exclusively affects new armor pieces. Existing gear from before The Edge of Fate launch—both Legendary and Exotic—won’t receive these benefits but will still be usable.

With Armor 3.0, players can expect changes across three main pillars:

New Stats: The traditional six base stats have been rebranded and now come with unique benefits. Gone are the stat tiers; now, every point counts, and you can push each stat up to a cap of 200. Furthermore, the stats are influenced by the new Gear Tiers, meaning higher-tier armor grants better stats.
Armor Archetypes: These will determine how stats are distributed across armor pieces, allowing players to target specific gear that complements their preferred builds.
Set Bonuses: Wearing multiple pieces from the same armor set grants additional benefits, further enhancing customization and tactical options.

Bungie aims to move away from a small number of dominant builds, encouraging more experimentation. For instance, even if I enjoy my melee Hunter setup, several friends have adopted similar builds for some time now.

Destiny 2 Armor 3.0 Stats

Destiny 2 armor 3.0 new grenade stat effects — (Image credit: Bungie)

The previous six stats in Destiny 2 have been fully revamped with Armor 3.0:

Discipline, Intellect, and Strength will now be referred to as Grenade, Super, and Melee. These still affect the cooldowns of those abilities.
Mobility, Resilience, and Recovery are being replaced with Weapons, Health, and Class, each featuring new effects.

Armor pieces will now only have points in three of the new stats, though all five pieces of armor will combine for an overall total in each stat. For example, if you have three pieces with a Weapons score of 30, your total would be 90.

This total influences cooldowns and other benefits, now extending up to a maximum score of 200 for even greater bonuses. For instance, boosting your Health stat from 1 to 100 grants healing and flinch resistance, while surpassing 100 with additional points leads to benefits like increased shield capacity and faster recharge times—perfect for solo Dungeon runs.

Here’s a detailed look at the effects of each stat:

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Stat	1-100 effects	101-200 effects
Health	Grants 0-70 healing when picking up an Orb of Power. Grants 0-10% flinch resistance.	Shields start recharging 0-25% faster and take 0-50% less time to fully recharge. 0 – 20 additional shield capacity against enemies.
Class	Improves base cooldown of your class ability. Enhances class energy gained from external sources.	Grants a 0-40 health overshield (0-10 in PvP) on casting your class ability. Duration varies based on the ability used. For instance, Dodge and Thruster last 5s; Barricade and Rift last 10s.
Weapons	Enhances weapon reload and handling speeds. Increases damage against minor and major enemies (0-15% for primary and special; 0-10% for heavy).	Grants a chance for ammo bricks to provide extra ammo. Improves damage against bosses (0-15% for primary and special; 0-10% for heavy). Boosts damage against players in PvP (0-6% bonus weapon damage).
Melee	Reduces cooldown of your melee ability. Increases melee energy gained and any melee regeneration speed.	0-30% increase in melee ability damage, including powered and unpowered attacks.
Grenade	Shortens cooldown of your grenade ability. Boosts grenade energy gained and regeneration speed.	0-65% increase in grenade ability damage.
Super	Enhances Super energy gained from damaging targets. Does not change the base cooldown of your Super.	0-45% boost in Super ability damage.

As for the Mobility, Resilience, and Recovery stats, these will be standardized across all characters. Titans and Warlocks will have a Mobility set at 30, while Hunters will have 40. Both Resilience and Recovery will be fixed at 100 (or their equivalent in the previous system). Players can enhance Recovery via the new Health stat, while Mobility can be improved with a dedicated leg armor mod called ‘Enhanced Athletics’, allowing for agile Guardian builds.

Overall, this system makes it easier to optimize your stats to complement your preferred playstyle without wasting points on undesired attributes.

Destiny 2 Armor 3.0 Armor Archetypes

Destiny 2 armor 3.0 exotic class items — (Image credit: Bungie)

In The Edge of Fate, players will discover six armor archetypes on Legendary armor pieces, providing insights into their stats from the outset. Each archetype features:

Paragon: Super primary, Melee secondary
Grenadier: Grenade primary, Super secondary
Specialist: Class primary, Weapons secondary
Brawler: Melee primary, Health secondary
Bulwark: Health primary, Class secondary
Gunner: Weapons primary, Grenade secondary

These archetypes simplify the process of identifying which armor is suitable for your playstyle without needing to crunch numbers extensively. For example, if you prefer a Titan build centered around melee combat, you’ll want gear from the Brawler and Bulwark archetypes.

Destiny 2 Armor 3.0 Set Bonuses

Destiny 2 armor 3.0 aion renewal armor set bonuses — (Image credit: Bungie)

New armor sets in The Edge of Fate will come with two unique perks, which will only activate when you have two or four pieces of the same set equipped. For instance, equipping two pieces might enhance reload speed for final blows with primary weapons. Equipping four pieces grants both the two-piece bonus and an additional four-piece bonus, even triggering effects like concussive shockwaves when you break an enemy’s shield with kinetic damage. You can also mix and match pieces from different sets to create custom bonuses.

This flexibility opens up even more possibilities for players looking to craft unique builds with Armor 3.0.

Destiny 2 Armor 3.0 FAQs

What about Masterworking?

With the Armor 3.0 system, Masterworking is being updated. The good news is that once you acquire an armor piece, you won’t need to spend materials to unlock mod slots; all 10 mod slots will be accessible from the start. Instead, masterworking will enhance stats that aren’t affected by the armor archetype. Thus, even if you can’t transform a Gunner piece into a Brawler one, you can still improve some of its stats. Completing a full set of armor through masterworking will yield an additional 25 stat points. However, this change won’t apply to existing gear and will only be available for new armor in The Edge of Fate.

What will happen to my current armor?

The big question is whether your existing armor will be rendered obsolete after The Edge of Fate. Fortunately, your current armor won’t be useless since Bungie will adapt it to the new stats system. However, players will still be encouraged to seek out new armor for set bonuses and enhanced stats through the new Gear Tiers.

What about Exotic armor?

Destiny 2’s Exotic Class Items, introduced in The Final Shape, will receive custom stats retroactively. This is particularly beneficial for those who already have their ideal versions and wish to keep them. However, other Exotic armor pieces will not convert automatically to the Armor 3.0 system. Instead, Bungie will introduce refreshed versions of 28 Exotic weapons and 15 Exotic armor pieces for each class that will comply with the new system, including all new Exotics from The Edge of Fate. More information is available in a recent article on Bungie’s website.

These new Exotics will be marked as ‘Featured’ with Armor 3.0 benefits, but the selection will evolve with each expansion and major update.