New Player. Questions on weapons, mods and a bunch of other random questions

[jamoke57]

Just picked up the game over the weekend and trying to get acclimated to all the systems.

I was reading some guides and they said to keep all armor pieces with total stats over 60, but I'm trying to figure out the weapon system.

1. Are all the weapons really that unique from one another? It looks like there's over 800+ different weapons to collect.

2. So I had a few of the same legendary weapons and it looks like all the mods are different for each variation of the weapon. Is there a guide on what mods roll for each weapon and what i should be on the look out for?

3. I really don't understand weapon farming. What's the best way to farm a weapon? Is there a guide that shows you what kind of weapons drop from specific content? I'm currently free to play at the moment, but was going to pick up the legendary collection.

4. Just trying to wrap my mind around the modding system. From what I understand the weapons base power is indicated by the light level, but outside of that the majority of the weapon's power comes from the mods rolled on the weapon? Is there anything I should be looking for as a Warlock? In addition, I watched a youtube video and they said to buy all the mods I did not have from people in the tower. Do I just buy them once and I own them forever?

5. Is all the content worth engaging in? Like the dungeons for example (These are different than strikes?) should I try running these at all? Are drops guranteed or do you have to run it multiple times to get a specific drop? What about open world content? I jsut kind of run around doing public events, but is there anything else I should be doing? I've mainly just been doing strikes and public events, since there isn't much story unlocked for a free to play account.

6. Should I try to farm exotic weapons?

7. What exactly are orbs of light and how are they created? What are warmind cells? What are all the different orbs/cells that are player created? I'm just running around and shooting stuff and have no idea what this stuff is that is dropping/being created.

That's all that I can think of at the moment. Thanks for the help!

[EckyThump]

Hey there, welcome!

Originally posted by jamoke57:

1. Are all the weapons really that unique from one another? It looks like there's over 800+ different weapons to collect.

Mostly? You can get a few that do feel a bit samey, but weapons generally differ in the following ways, even if we're just looking at, say, Pulse Rifles,
Frame - you can have things like Aggressive Frame (4-shot burst), Rapid Fire Frame (more reserves, faster reload), etc
Element - kinetic or energy damage, with solar, void, arc, all effective against different kinds of shield, and there's stasis weapons too.
RPM - slower fire with more damage per shot or faster fire with less damage per shot,
Perks - some perks/perk combinations are unique to certain weapons.
That's all before looking at the weapon's individual statline - some can have longer range, some handle better, some have less recoil, etc. Experiment!

2. So I had a few of the same legendary weapons and it looks like all the mods are different for each variation of the weapon. Is there a guide on what mods roll for each weapon and what i should be on the look out for?

If you are talking about the abilities a weapon can randomly roll with, these are traits and perks. Mods are something completely different. Light.gg will show all perk and trait combinations for every weapon.

3. I really don't understand weapon farming. What's the best way to farm a weapon? Is there a guide that shows you what kind of weapons drop from specific content? I'm currently free to play at the moment, but was going to pick up the legendary collection.

Some weapons have fixed drop sources, farming just means to repeatedly play that one activity, etc, to get as many copies of that weapon as possible. For example a popular Hand Cannon is Eyasluna which drops from the 30th anniversary dungeon, Grasp of Avarice. I'm not sure if there's a full guide on everything that is currently available from every source, in a single place. People are usually interested in dungeon/raid loot, and drops that you get while playing Crucible, Gamibt or Vanguard Operations/Nightfalls.
Weapons that drop from any source are harder to farm, most people prefer something with a consistent source.

4. Just trying to wrap my mind around the modding system. From what I understand the weapons base power is indicated by the light level, but outside of that the majority of the weapon's power comes from the mods rolled on the weapon? Is there anything I should be looking for as a Warlock? In addition, I watched a youtube video and they said to buy all the mods I did not have from people in the tower. Do I just buy them once and I own them forever?

So again, the things that roll on a weapon are perks and traits. Traits that increase damage are generally a good bet, Rampage, Kill Clip, Frenzy, combined with something that makes you reload faster.
Weapons can be fitted with a single mod, a mod which can be changed freely. It is a good idea for new players to grab every one that is available to them, from Ada-1 and from Banshee, both at the Tower. Yes, you only need to buy them once, they are unlockables not consumables.

5. Is all the content worth engaging in? Like the dungeons for example (These are different than strikes?) should I try running these at all? Are drops guranteed or do you have to run it multiple times to get a specific drop? What about open world content? I jsut kind of run around doing public events, but is there anything else I should be doing? I've mainly just been doing strikes and public events, since there isn't much story unlocked for a free to play account.

It is true that there isn't much for F2P, it's pretty much a demo.
For me, Raids and Dungeons are the highlight of the game. Dungeons are scaled for three players and are a lot longer and more mechanically intensive than a Strike. A typical Dungeon will have 3-4 set encounters as well as platforming and other exploration in between. Unlike a raid, the content is designed to allow a solo completion but it's incredibly tough, not something to be attempted lightly.
Each Raid and Dungeon encounter has a fixed loot list, with new drops being possible only on the first completion per character per week, and any further completion giving rerolls of items you already have.

6. Should I try to farm exotic weapons?

Not really. While you do want to fill out your Exotics quickly, Exotic Engams drop on a very fixed schedule based on the amount of enemies killed. More kills means more engrams of course but it's better to just let it happen passively instead of deliberately killing thousands of enemies just for an exotic engram. There is an easier way.
On Friday's reset, until Tuesday's reset, Xur will appear in one of a few locations in the game. He always has an exotic weapon for sale as well as a piece of armour for each class. It is easier to fill out your Exotic collection using him. He also sells an exotic engram which gives new gear, if any world drop exotics are remaining to be collected.

7. What exactly are orbs of light and how are they created? What are warmind cells? What are all the different orbs/cells that are player created? I'm just running around and shooting stuff and have no idea what this stuff is that is dropping/being created.

Orbs of Light are created by Supers and Super kills (these can't be picked up by the person who made them, only other players) and are also generated by 'siphon' mods that fit on your helmet, anyone can pick these up. They restore a tiny bit of Super energy when you pick them up, and there are armour mods that can do special things when you do so, to get various effects like immediate healing or ability cooldowns.

Warmind Cells are glowing balls also created by armour mods under certain circumstances. They can be shot, and will explode, damaging nearby combatants. Further Warmind mods can affect this, like let the cell be picked up and moved, or apply weakening effects to enemies around it.

You may also see Elemental Wells, they're little glowing balls with something shining up from it. Picking them up will restore some ability energy, but like Orbs of Light there are a set of mods that help create them and give other effects when you pick them up.

That's all that I can think of at the moment. Thanks for the help!

No problem.

[Nakos]

Originally posted by jamoke57:

2. So I had a few of the same legendary weapons and it looks like all the mods are different for each variation of the weapon. Is there a guide on what mods roll for each weapon and what i should be on the look out for?

You can find a list of vetted Companion apps here: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/registration/apps

Light.gg is good, as EckyThump mentioned. I also recommend DIM. DIM has a "compare" function which uses a curated "wishlist" showing you what the curators think are optimal perks for each weapon.

Originally posted by jamoke57:

3. I really don't understand weapon farming. What's the best way to farm a weapon? Is there a guide that shows you what kind of weapons drop from specific content? I'm currently free to play at the moment, but was going to pick up the legendary collection.

Depends ... some weapons drop from specific activities, some just drop in general. Some are created at the Relic (on Mars). Light.gg can help you figure out where a given weapon drops. Some are fairly easy to obtain, some are more difficult. Some can even be purchased from Vendors.

The goal is to find weapons that have a combination of perks you like.

Originally posted by jamoke57:

...but outside of that the majority of the weapon's power comes from the mods rolled on the weapon?

Yes. Two identical Legendaries with the same Light Level, but different perks, will perform quite differently.

Originally posted by jamoke57:

Is there anything I should be looking for as a Warlock?

I don't personally think class makes that much of a difference.

Originally posted by jamoke57:

In addition, I watched a youtube video and they said to buy all the mods I did not have from people in the tower. Do I just buy them once and I own them forever?

Those are Armor mods. You can get them from doing Bounties, and quests. You can also buy them from Ada-1 in the Tower Annex. Banshee-44 used to sell mods as well, I'm not sure if he still does or not, his stock may have shifted over mostly to weapons.

Those mods from the above sources are yours forever once they're in your Collection, you need to equip them on open slots in your armor to use them.

There are ALSO Seasonal mods which are unlocked by leveling up the Seasonal Artifact. Those are NOT yours to keep forever. They change each season and you must relevel the new Seasonal Artifact each time. Generally, the Seasonal mods cover the same jobs, but in each season they do it in a slightly different way.

Originally posted by jamoke57:

5. Is all the content worth engaging in? Like the dungeons for example (These are different than strikes?) should I try running these at all? Are drops guranteed or do you have to run it multiple times to get a specific drop? What about open world content? I jsut kind of run around doing public events, but is there anything else I should be doing? I've mainly just been doing strikes and public events, since there isn't much story unlocked for a free to play account.

Activities have a chance to give you rewards as you complete them. There are things you can do to boost your chances at rewards. Visit the War Table in the H.E.L.M. that'll offer you some upgrade chances that can impact what gear you get when you do Battle Grounds.

Usually there's one vendor each season that has bounties, and as you work with them, you'll gain the chances to boost what loot you get.

Additionally, right-click on your Ghost Shell and take a look at it. Your Ghost can ALSO have mods equipped. Among these are mods that boost rewards from activities, including: Glimmer boosts, rewards boosts from Vanguard, Crucible, and Gambit activities. Also, your Ghost can equip a stat boost mod which will impact armor drops, to be more to your liking. You can boost your chances of getting any given stat, but only one at a time.