The new Witch Queen expansion in Destiny 2 introduces a weapon crafting system to the game. We have prepared this guide to help you understand How Weapon Crafting Works in Destiny 2 Witch Queen. We will also be going over what weapon patterns and other crafting materials do.
How Weapon Crafting Works in Destiny 2 Witch Queen
With the release of the new Witch Queen expansion, a weapon crafting system has finally been introduced to Destiny 2.
This new crafting system gives players the freedom to craft different weapons in the game. Furthermore, when crafting a weapon, you’ll be able to choose exactly what kind of barrels, traits, perks, and Masterwork you desire.
You won’t be able to craft every single weapon in the game, but almost all of the new weapons added to the game with the Witch Queen expansion are craft-able.
The weapon crafting process is quite intricate, so you’ll need to learn about all of its quirks and features before you can start crafting weapons. Below, we’ve listed down all of the information you need to know about this new weapon crafting system.
How to Craft Weapons in D2 The Witch Queen
The first thing you need to know is when you’ll be able to start crafting weapons. This new crafting system won’t be available to you straight off the bat.
To start crafting weapons, you will need access to the Enclave on Mars. To get access to the Enclave, you need to finish the new Witch Queen campaign’s first mission and the mission that comes after it.
Once you’ve completed these two missions, you’ll be granted access to the Enclave. You will then be able to start crafting weapons.
The first weapon you’ll craft will be a Glaive. To do so, you’ll need a thing called a “Pattern.” This Pattern serves as the blueprint for the weapon. Once you’ve acquired the Pattern, you’ll need to get the required crafting materials to be able to craft the weapon.
Crafting new weapons will be quite costly as they’ll require many different materials to be crafted. Below, we’ve listed all of the crafting materials you’ll need to craft weapons in Destiny 2.
- Resonant Alloys: Used for Shaping and Reshaping Frames. It can be obtained through quest rewards or by dismantling Legendary Weapons.
- Ascendant Alloys: Used to unlock Enhanced Perks and craft Exotic Weapons. Can be purchased from Master Rahool and Banshee-44.
- Ruinous Elements: Used when selecting Enhanced Perks related to the damage of your weapon and for crafting Exotic Weapons.
- Neutral Elements: Used when selecting perks, magazines, and weapon frames. Obtained from Deepsight Resonance bounties.
- Adroit Elements: Used when selecting Enhanced Perks related to weapon performance, and also for crafting Exotic Weapons. Obtained from Deepsight Resonance bounties.
- Mutable Elements: Used when selecting Enhanced Perks related to the abilities of your weapon, and also for crafting Exotic Weapons. Obtained from Deepsight Resonance bounties.
- Energetic Elements: Used when selecting Enhanced Perks related to the ammo and reload mechanics of your weapon, and also for crafting Exotic Weapons. Obtained from Deepsight Resonance bounties.
- Drowned Elements: Used when selecting Enhanced Perks related to Raids, and also for crafting Exotic Weapons. Obtained from Raid-Exclusive Deepsight Resonance bounties.
The Weapon Crafting Process
Now that you know all of the pre-requisites of crafting let’s dive into the weapon crafting process itself.
Once you have the Pattern and crafting resources, make your way over to the Enclave on Mars. Interact with the device in the center of the Enclave to open up the crafting UI.
The initial screen of the UI will be very simple. You’ll be given two options to select from: Shape and Reshape.
Shape means to craft a brand new weapon using Patterns and crafting resources. On the other hand, Reshape means to change or add new perks on a weapon you’ve already crafted.
To start crafting a weapon, select shaping and choose your Weapon Pattern. After that, you’ll be asked to select the perks you want on your weapon. Each weapon has 6 different perks that you need to choose for it. These perks are listed below.
- Intrinsic Trait: This trait works as the Masterwork bonus for the weapon.
- Barrel: Enhances the core stats of your weapon, such as stability, range, reload speed, etc.
- Magazine: Determines the capacity of the magazine, range, reload speed, and some other stats.
- Trait #1: First main perk of the weapon.
- Trait #2: Second main perk of the weapon.
- Momento: This trait changes some visuals of the weapon.
Now that you know how crafting (Shaping) is done, let’s talk about Reshaping. If you wish to alter the perks on your crafted weapon, you can go back to the Enclave at any time to do so.
Interact with the central device and select Reshaping and proceed from there. For each Reshape, you’ll have to use some crafting resources.
An important thing to note is that you cannot Reshape weapons that you’ve obtained as drops or rewards. Only crafted weapons can be Reshaped in Destiny 2.
How to Get Weapon Patterns in Destiny 2
There are a few different ways of obtaining Patterns in Destiny 2 The Witch Queen. The most basic way is to complete certain questlines and participate in the various Witch Queen activities.
However, the main method of obtaining Patterns in Destiny 2 is through Deepsight Resonance.
When you first get access to the Enclave, you’ll be given a new ability known as “Deepsight.” With this new ability, you’ll be able to find weapons in the game that have a unique trait known as “Deepsight Resonance.”
Deepsight Resonance is a randomly assigned trait to weapons that acts as a bounty. Each weapon with Deepsight Resonance presents a unique bounty that can be completed to extract crafting resources and, in some cases, the Pattern from the weapon.
When you complete the bounty, the weapon will give you three choices when it comes to the crafting resources you’ll be extracting. Any three of the following materials will be presented to you to choose from:
- Ruinous Elements
- Adroit Elements
- Mutable Elements
- Energetic Elements
- Drowned Elements
These crafting resources will allow you to unlock perks for the weapons you’ll be crafting.
Weapons having Deepsight Resonance will have a red border around their UI icon to indicate their trait. To view the bounty, simply just inspect the weapon.
How to Unlock Perks on a Weapon in Destiny 2
When you craft a weapon, it won’t come with that many perks initially. To unlock more perks on your crafted weapon, you’ll need to level it up. The more you use your weapon, the faster you’ll be able to max out its potential.
As you level up your crafted weapon, it will unlock new perks and features. To see what new perks have been unlocked, head over to the Enclave and select the Reshape option on your weapon.
But these perks will come at a cost. Once the perks become available, you’ll need to use the resources you acquired from completing Deepsight Resonance objectives to actually unlock them.
How to Get Enhanced Perks
The last thing you need to know about the weapon crafting system is the new type of perk known as the “Enhanced Perk.” Each perk in D2 now has an upgraded version called an “Enhanced Perk” that can only be given to crafted weapons.
You’ll need to do quite a lot of leveling for your crafted weapon to unlock the Enhanced Perks options for you, but it’ll be worth the wait.
With these new perks, a new currency has also been introduced to Destiny 2 called Ascendant Alloys.
To get an Enhanced Perk for your weapon, you’ll need to craft it using an Ascendant Alloy. You can acquire this new currency from Master Rahool and Banshee-44 or from the weekly campaign missions.
The upgraded effects of each Enhanced Perk in Destiny 2 are listed below.
| Perk | Enhanced Perk Effect |
| Adagio | Increased duration |
| Adaptive Munitions | Enhanced damage |
| Adrenaline Junkie | Increased duration |
| Ambitious Assassin | Overflows for extra rounds |
| Archer’s Tempo | Increased duration |
| Auto-Loading Holster | Quicker activation |
| Chain Reaction | Larger ammo reserves |
| Chill Clip | Stability increased by +5 |
| Clown Cartridge | More Overflow rounds (on average) |
| Compulsive Reloader | Increased strength of Perk effect |
| Cornered | Stability increased by +5 |
| Danger Zone | Blast Radius increased by +5 |
| Demolitionist | Provides extra grenade energy |
| Disruption Break | Increased debuff duration |
| Dragonfly | Reload Speed increased by +5 |
| Dual Loader | Reloads three shells at once (up from 2) |
| Elemental Capacitor | Increased strength of Perk effect |
| Encore | Increased duration |
| Ensemble | Increased strength of Perk effect |
| Explosive Head | Accuracy increased by +5 |
| Explosive Light | Velocity increased by +5 |
| Eye of the Storm | Stability increased by +5 |
| Feeding Frenzy | Increased strength of Perk effect |
| Field Prep | Larger ammo reserves |
| Firing Line | Range increased by +5 |
| Firmly Planted | Increased strength of Perk effect |
| Focused Fury | Increased duration |
| Fourth Time’s The charm | Increased grace period |
| Frenzy | Increased duration |
| Genesis | Kinetic weapons overflow from reserves |
| Golden Tricorn | Increased duration |
| Grave Robber | Reload Speed increased by +5 |
| Harmony | Increased duration |
| Headseeker | Stability increased by +5 |
| Headstone | Stability increased by +5 |
| Heating Up | Increased duration |
| Hip-Fire Grip | Increased strength of Perk effect |
| Impulse Amplifier | Increased strength of Perk effect |
| Kill Clip | Increased duration |
| Killing Wind | Increased duration |
| Lasting Impression | Increased strength of Perk effect |
| Lead from Gold | Increased ammo for equipped ammo |
| Moving Target | Provides extra aim assist |
| No Distractions | Quicker activation |
| One For All | Increased duration |
| One-Two Punch | Increased duration |
| Opening Shot | Increased strength of Perk effect |
| Outlaw | Increased strength of Perk effect and duration |
| Overflow | Increased overflow limit |
| Perpetual Motion | Quicker activation |
