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The War Table vendor makes its annual return in Lightfall's Season of Defiance, complete with upgrades, rank rewards, Engram decoding. Things are a bit different this time around now that Umbral Engrams are out of the picture, so you might have some questions about how the new War Table works. If you're wondering how to earn and spend Defiant Engrams, how to upgrade the table and which upgrades to choose, or how to earn War Table reputation, you've come to the right place.

If you are still holding Umbral Engrams from last season, you won't be able to decode these at the War Table. You should take them to Rahool in the tower as soon as possible and decode them, they won't be used for anything in the future.

How To Upgrade The War Table

defiant war table upgrades destiny

If you've played previous seasonal content in Destiny 2, the War Table vendor will be pretty familiar. Bungie is taking things back to basics, however, so there are far fewer upgrades and only one new mechanic to manage. You can view the War Table upgrades by visiting the table at the H.E.L.M and clicking on the Upgrades tab at the top. There are three rows of upgrades separated by their function. The first row is Favor Attunement. These three upgrades unlock the ability to generate Awoken Favor in seasonal activies, which provide additional stats or ability recharge to you and your teammates. The second row are the Defiant Vestments, which all relate to focusing and earning Defiant Engrams. The third row is Queensguard Vows, which are all related to earning and spending Defiant Keys in the Defiantt Battleground.

To unlock upgrades you need to earn War Table Upgrades by completing Seasonal Challenges. You can find your challenges at the top of your quest log. Each week, a selection of challenges (usually two or three) will offer War Table Upgrades as a reward. There are only so many upgrades you can earn per week, so you need to be selective about which ones you choose. In Season of Defiance, you will be able to unlock all of the upgrades at the War Table by Week 4.

Related: Destiny 2: Ascendant Scepter Artifact Guide

For this week, you'll need to start by unlocking one of the three Favor Attunements. In order to progress the seasonal storyline, We Stand Unbroken, you'll need to collect Favors in Battleground missions. One of this weeks War Table Upgrades is earned by finishing the first part of the storyline, so you need to start by unlocking a Favor Attunement first. Which one you choose is up to you, but make sure you using the right damage type in your Defiant Battlegrounds in order to generate the Favors you need. I chose Exmplar Of Zeal, which is the Favor that increases grenade recharge for Heavy Ammo kills, and I brought a sword into the Defiant Battleground to maximize the number of Heavy Ammo kill I could get.

For your next upgrade, you'll either want Defiant Armor focusing or Battleground Riches. getting high-stat seasonal armor early will allow you to stack the Queen's Favor buff, which allows you to generate more Favors and complete storyline missions easier, but Battleground Riches increases the amount of Defiant Engrams you earn, which will make grinding patterns easier in the long run.

Deepsight Decoding is likely the most important upgrade this season because it will help you collect the weapon patterns you need in order to craft all of the seasonal weapons. This upgrade is available starting in Week 3, so make sure you grab this one early so that you have more weeks to earn extra patterns.

How To Earn Defiant Engrams And What To Spend Them On

defiant engram destiny

Definat Engrams are a new type of seasonal engram that replaces Umbral Engrams from previous seasons. You don't need to worry about earning seasonal Energy in order to decode seasonal weapons and armor this time. Once you've unlocked the corresponding upgrade at the War Table, all you need Defiant Engrams and Glimmer and you can focus any seasonal weapons or armor you want. Individual weapons cost four Defiant Engrams, while armor pieces cost two.

You will earn a Defiant engram every time you complete a Defiant Battleground, and once you've unlocked Battleground Riches, there's a chance you'll earn an additional Defiant Engram every time you use a Defiant Key at the end of a battleground. Week 3's upgrade, Vestian Ward, can also earn you extra Defiant Engrams if you manage to collect all three Favors and use a Defiant Key at the end of a battleground. You also have a chance to earn Defiant Engrams from other, non-battleground activities.

Using your Defiant Engrams to focus high-stat armor is a good idea since the seasonal armor will increase the number of Favor you generate in battlegrounds, but you're probably better off spending your Engrams on weapons. There are other sources of high-stat armor in Destiny 2, but if you want seasonal weapons, this and the battleground are the only places to get them. The most interesting seasonal weapons are Prodigal Return, an Arc grenade launcher that has the coveted Voltshot perk in its pool, and Perpetualis, a Strand auto rifle that will be great for breaking green shield and suppressing Overload Champions.

How To Earn War Table Reputation

war table rank destiny

Vendor Reputation is one of the oldest systems in Destiny 2, and even though Bungie says future seasons won't feature a rep grind, you'll still need to earn ranks with the War Table during Season of Defiance. To do so, all you need to do is complete Defiant Battlegrounds missions in the playlist. Each battleground you complete will reward you with vendor reputation that tracks at the War Table, and as each rank increases, you'll unlock new rewards like seasonal weapons, Defiant Keys, and Ascendant Shards. When you complete Rank 16 an collect all of your rewards, you can then reset your rank and start over, collecting a new round of rewards for each reputation level you earn. As a final note, there are daily bounties you can purchase from the War Table, but these bounties only reward experience, not vendor reputation for the War Table.

Next: Destiny 2: Defiant Battlegrounds, Engrams, And Key Guide