The lack of a friendly UI in Bungie’s Destiny has led to a confusion concerning important things like vanguard marks, vanguard reputation, and faction reputation.
For more help on Destiny, read our Hunter Class Tips, PvP Loadouts and Titan Class Guide.
Destiny Vanguard Marks, Reputation and Faction Rep
There is no vivid explanation of how each of things work and exactly how a player earns them. In this guide, I’ll briefly elaborate each one of these things and how they work!
Vanguard marks
First off, note that vanguard marks become accessible after level 18. However, it’s recommended that you seek them out after reaching level 20. Here’s how it works:
After reaching level 18, a strike playlist will be unlocked in the orbit. Every strike mission from all the planets will be available in this strike playlist. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve unlocked a specific planet or not, all strike missions are readily available in the strike playlist.
There is level 18 strike, level 20 strike, level 22 strike, and level 24 strike missions, all of which require fireteam of three players.
To earn vanguard marks, you must complete these strike missions – level 18 yields no marks, level 20 yields 2 marks, level 22 yields 3 marks [Thanks Ian Carlson for the correction], and level 24 yields 6 vanguard marks. Furthermore, you also get vanguard reputation for completing these missions.
This is not all!
At level 20, daily heroic strike and weekly heroic strikes unlock. These strikes are highly customizable and provide a number of options to alter the gameplay.
Completing a weekly strike [which resets on every Tuesday] gives you 3 marks, 150 reputation points, and 3 strange coins to buy gear from Black Market vendor.
Vanguard and Faction Reputation
Prior to reaching level 20, every patrol mission in explorer mode only gives you vanguard reputation points. Other than this, strike missions and bounties also award you with these reputation points.
After reaching level 20, you’ll be able to acquire class-specific faction gear that [when equipped] will convert vanguard reputation points into faction reputation points.
As long as you’re equipped with faction gear, you’ll not receive vanguard reputation points, but only faction reputation points.
Patrol missions
Each planet in the game contains an exploration mode which contains green-lit beacons. You can use your Ghost to interact with these green-lit beacons and start one of many patrol missions.
These missions are fairly straightforward ranging from controlling an area or assassinating a key target. For completing each patrol mission, you receive +10 vanguard reputation points before hitting level 20.
After hitting level 20, you’ll be able to acquire faction gear that will allow you to convert vanguard reputation points into faction reputation points.
We have compiled a separate guide on patrol missions; check it out for more detailed information on these missions!
Trading materials
Random material found on different planets can be traded with vendors to earn these marks and reputation points, depending upon the vendor.
After acquiring a total of 50 material of your choice, head over to the crucible quartermaster in the Tower or vanguard quartermaster in the docking area to trade in these materials for vanguard marks or reputation points.
If you found anything missing or confusing, let me know in the comments below!
