Catalyst farming tips?

[Partycrasher]

Loved this game when I started playing earlier this year, but am getting rather burned out running Strikes over and over in the hope of getting Catalysts for the exotic weapons I want to use (particularly Sweet Business, Hard Light and Graviton Lance). I've lost count of the number of Strikes I've done but the only catalyst I've picked up doing these is for a weapon I don't particularly like (Lord of Wolves).

What's annoying is that I feel I can't use the weapons I want to until I get catalysts for them, due to the fact that they can't generate orbs of light without a catalyst.

Any tips for this (apart from doing pvp modes, which aren't my thing)? Do the number of kills in a Strike make any difference to your chances of getting a catalyst? Are there any particular strikes that are better for getting these catalysts? Does it make any difference if you're using the weapon you want to get a catalyst for?

[MOSLEY]

They're really rare drops. Trying to farm them is a complete waste of time. Just be patient and they'll be a nice surprise when they magically appear. The random drop ones typically aren't a game changer, they just make the weapon a tiny bit better.

[Partycrasher]

Thanks - but the trouble is that they only drop in game modes that I wouldn't normally choose to play much (Strikes or pvp) - so if I want a chance to get them I have to play those modes.

Good to know that the catalysts don't make that much difference - might just try to forget about them and use the non-catalyst weapons anyway, and get back to enjoying the game - I guess there's always someone else who can generate orbs.

[Lusus Symphonia]

Run with a clan mate to get that extra chance of catalysts farming, that being said, I always run with my clan and rarely get catalysts so actively seeking them out is unhealthy.

Sweet business and hard light catalysts are also completely useless outside of the orb generation too. (On M&K)

[MOSLEY]

If you don't play PVP then you don't need the catalysts that drop in PVP. Most of those weapons are only useful there (if at all).

You'll end up running strikes a fair bit whether you like it or not, lol. A lot of weeklies revolve around strikes, if you're looking for powerful gear to increase your power level or bright dust for the Eververse store. I don't think I've ever gone out of my way to run a strike and I must have done hundreds at this point.

[mark1971]

Several catalysts dropped for me at Sorrow's Harbour, incl. Ornaments. Nightfall Strikes are also a good source.

Edit: There is also a section in Triumphs about it.

[Fiveacross]

i did hundreds of strikes and got nothing but when i started doing strikes through Playlist Strikes in Vanguard section, i got Exotic drops and catalysts every 10 to 15 runs. I think the drop rate is better this way. Got my Sunshot catalyst just now.

[Partycrasher]

Thanks for the info - going to take a break to preserve my sanity. Then might try running some playlist strikes.

[zOldBulldog]

I understand the frustration with strikes. Especially because of the crazy rushing.

I can suggest:

- If you can do it with Nightfalls instead of 750 strikes, try the 920 Ordeals. The added difficulty makes people slow down, and the good drops are more common.

- If you MUST do Strikes, instead of "grinding" them try to make them fun. For example, equip all 750 gear plus a 0 mask from Halloween. That will royally confuse matchmaker and throw you into a strike solo. It will be extremely hard, but you can keep your distance and wear them out slowly. And if you get stuck you can equip your good gear to wipe them out, although that will probably bring in some rushers and end the strike quickly.

[Lusus Symphonia]

Originally posted by zOldBulldog:

I understand the frustration with strikes. Especially because of the crazy rushing.

I can suggest:

- If you can do it with Nightfalls instead of 750 strikes, try the 920 Ordeals. The added difficulty makes people slow down, and the good drops are more common.

- If you MUST do Strikes, instead of "grinding" them try to make them fun. For example, equip all 750 gear plus a 0 mask from Halloween. That will royally confuse matchmaker and throw you into a strike solo. It will be extremely hard, but you can keep your distance and wear them out slowly. And if you get stuck you can equip your good gear to wipe them out, although that will probably bring in some rushers and end the strike quickly.

The main goal is to smash the strike as fast as possible, why would OP find it fun running the same strike solo? You don't do this for fun, you do it to get what you want be it satisfaction or specific loot.

Though if bungie decided to fix the chat system, players could make their own fun easily by being in contact with their fireteam, if you have played an MMO grinding your weekly currency, you make your own fun by socialising with the players you meet.

[Fromage]

Catalysts used drop fairly frequently for me, am new light player. MAKE sure to finish your catalysts. I serious believe that if you have too many incomplete catalysts, their drop rate drops real low. I used to basically finish a catalyst then another one would drop. Right now, I refuse to start the catalyst for DARCI and prospector, b/c its not fun. Now I haven't had any catalysts drop for me in a while.

[zOldBulldog]

Originally posted by Red Monk:

Originally posted by zOldBulldog:

I understand the frustration with strikes. Especially because of the crazy rushing.

I can suggest:

- If you can do it with Nightfalls instead of 750 strikes, try the 920 Ordeals. The added difficulty makes people slow down, and the good drops are more common.

- If you MUST do Strikes, instead of "grinding" them try to make them fun. For example, equip all 750 gear plus a 0 mask from Halloween. That will royally confuse matchmaker and throw you into a strike solo. It will be extremely hard, but you can keep your distance and wear them out slowly. And if you get stuck you can equip your good gear to wipe them out, although that will probably bring in some rushers and end the strike quickly.

The main goal is to smash the strike as fast as possible, why would OP find it fun running the same strike solo? You don't do this for fun, you do it to get what you want be it satisfaction or specific loot.

Though if bungie decided to fix the chat system, players could make their own fun easily by being in contact with their fireteam, if you have played an MMO grinding your weekly currency, you make your own fun by socialising with the players you meet.

I play everything in this game for fun, I hate blind grinding. The only things I did that were not fun were the Glory-based quests, but the weapons they gave me were worth it.

Smashing anything "as fast as posible" is no fun at all to me. If that was all this game was about and the only way to play it I would have left it ages ago. But the game is flexible enough that I Caan play it my way and enjoy it.

Heck, I have even enjoyed going into a lost sector with a single-shot scout rifle and the explicit personal goal of killing everything with a headshot. I didn't even have a bounty, I just did it for fun and to see if I could do it.

Regarding strikes, I usually don't touch the 750s unless forced to by a bounty that does not work on Nightfalls, and then I only do 920/950/980 depending on whether I am solo or with a fireteam. The added difficulty slows down the game to the point that it becomes fun.

[zOldBulldog]

Originally posted by Fromage:

Catalysts used drop fairly frequently for me, am new light player. MAKE sure to finish your catalysts. I serious believe that if you have too many incomplete catalysts, their drop rate drops real low. I used to basically finish a catalyst then another one would drop. Right now, I refuse to start the catalyst for DARCI and prospector, b/c its not fun. Now I haven't had any catalysts drop for me in a while.

Agreed. Except that I don't grind catalysts, I work on them through my normal quests/bounties one at a time. Then they are not as painful, even the DARCI, that I have brought up to halfway.

[Partycrasher]

Originally posted by zOldBulldog:

I understand the frustration with strikes. Especially because of the crazy rushing.

I can suggest:

- If you can do it with Nightfalls instead of 750 strikes, try the 920 Ordeals. The added difficulty makes people slow down, and the good drops are more common.

- If you MUST do Strikes, instead of "grinding" them try to make them fun. For example, equip all 750 gear plus a 0 mask from Halloween. That will royally confuse matchmaker and throw you into a strike solo. It will be extremely hard, but you can keep your distance and wear them out slowly. And if you get stuck you can equip your good gear to wipe them out, although that will probably bring in some rushers and end the strike quickly.

I did find the 'crazy rushing' annoying at first, but after doing so many strikes for the nth time, am starting to want to get through them as soon as possible too. Will consider Nightfalls, but am not sure if they would necessarily increase the chances of getting the catalysts I need/want.

I assume that all the information here is necessarily anecdotal, but some things I really would like to know:
1. does using the exotic weapon you want the catalyst for make any difference to the chances to that catalyst dropping?
2. does the strike you do make any difference to the chances of a specific catalyst dropping?
3. does the number of kills or what you kill during the strike make any difference to your chances?

When I started playing this game, I would have been happy to use my favorite exotics irrespective of catalysts, but now I've got so used to masterwork weapons generating orbs of light that I feel 'gimped' using a non-catalyst exotic. Maybe it's just a case of psychological readjustment!

[Lusus Symphonia]

Originally posted by Partycrasher:

1. does using the exotic weapon you want the catalyst for make any difference to the chances to that catalyst dropping?
2. does the strike you do make any difference to the chances of a specific catalyst dropping?
3. does the number of kills or what you kill during the strike make any difference to your chances?

1. No
2. No
3. No

The only buff to the drop rate IIRC is the clan buff that increases the chances of a catalyst dropping while running the same activity with a clan mate.

Once the activity finishes, the game rolls a number, RNG.

[Partycrasher]

Thanks - that's useful to know. Now if only the activity you were doing didn't make a difference either..