Destiny 2 Armour 3.0: Stat changes and archetypes in The Edge of Fate

As its name suggests, Armour 3.0 is yet another sweeping overhaul to the way your armour works in Destiny 2. Third time’s the charm, right? Armour 2.0 was introduced with Shadowkeep back in 2019, and I’d say it’s time for a change anyhow. Armour 3.0 is a total makeover, bringing major changes to all new armour in The Edge of Fate and beyond, which includes brand new stats and armour archetypes.

Armour 3.0 isn’t the only shakeup in Destiny 2 The Edge of Fate, as it also introduces armour set bonuses and new gear tiers for both weapons and armour, encouraging you to progress through world tiers to upgrade your equipment. Of course, there’s also a suite of new gear, including exotics like New Land Beyond, which also add new perks.

Destiny 2 Armour 3.0 explained

(Image credit: Bungie)

Armour 3.0 brings the following changes to all new armour earned in The Edge of Fate era—both legendary and exotic quality:

Overhauled stats: The six stats you’re used to have been renamed and generally given new purposes, too, letting you further specialise into specific playstyles and builds.Archetypes: There are now armour archetypes, which are essentially categories to convey how stat groupings are distributed. Pick an archetype that matches your build and playstyle.Set bonuses: Like other MMOs, we now have armour set bonuses, which give you additional perks if you wear multiple pieces of the same armour type.Gear tiers: Technically not specific to the Armour 3.0 changes, but just as important, you now have to progress through gear tiers to earn increasingly more powerful weapons and armour. For armour, the higher the tier, the higher the total stat points.

Any gear earned prior to The Edge of Fate won’t have all the bells and whistles that new drops do, but it will have its stats converted to the new system. You’ll still want to replace it eventually, but your current build will likely see you through the new story campaign.

Destiny 2 Armour 3.0 stats

Arguably the largest change coming to gear in The Edge of Fate is overhauled armour stats. The six stats we’ve come to know and love (or ignore) have been completely changed, with new names and effects. In fact, Mobility has been removed entirely in favour of a weapon-focused stat, which let’s face it, is so much more appealing. Stats can now also be increased all the way up to 200.

The impact of these changes is that, at low stat investment, your abilities and durability will feel weaker than they used to, but at high stat investment, they’ll feel even stronger. You’ll need to better prioritise stats for your build, as there are now more tradeoffs in ignoring stats.

These are the Armour 3.0 stats in The Edge of Fate:

Broadly, this is how Bungie classifies the new stats, which is important when it comes to your old armour being converted to the new Armour 3.0 stat system:

Mobility is now WeaponsResilience is now HealthRecovery is now ClassStrength is now MeleeDiscipline is now GrenadeIntellect is now Super

The stats that have been removed in the new system have been set to a fixed value for all players:

Mobility is fixed to what 30 once was for Titans and Warlocks, and 40 for Hunters, but there are new leg armour mods to increase this now-unofficial stat.Resilience is fixed to what 100 was in the previous system.Recovery is fixed to around what 60 once was in the old system.

Destiny 2 armour archetypes

Armour 3.0 introduces six armour archetypes that dictate how the stats above are distributed, with the goal of making it easier to figure out at a glance how an armour piece can fit into your build. Each drop has a randomly selected armour archetype, which has a fixed primary stat and a secondary stat, as well as a tertiary stat randomly selected from the remaining four options.

Here are all the armour archetypes, and what they focus on:

Paragon: Super primary, Melee secondaryGrenadier: Grenade primary, Super secondarySpecialist: Class primary, Weapons secondaryBrawler: Melee primary, Health secondaryBulwark: Health primary, Class secondaryGunner: Weapons primary, Grenade secondary

I imagine Gunner and Bulwark will be the most popular archetypes. The former focuses on pure weapon and grenade power, which are generally the most useful damage stats in endgame activities. Meanwhile, the latter is perfect for survivability. Of course, you can also get tertiary stat rolls to further min-max.

Destiny 2 Armour 3.0 exotics and the biggest changes

(Image credit: Bungie)

While new gear automatically drops with all the bells and whistles of Armour 3.0, you’re likely wondering what’s going to happen to your current builds. Here’s what you need to know:

Masterworking now adds points to the stats not affected by your armour archetype, to help raise uninvested stats.Pre-The Edge of Fate armour is being converted to use the new armour stats, though you’ll still be incentivised to earn new armour to take advantage of set bonuses and gear tiers.Ada-1 offers 20 free focused exotic armours available through the Year of Prophecy that allow you to focus any non–class item exotic to an archetype of your choice.Exotic class items are the only armour from before The Edge of Fate that are fully converted to the new system, with maximum stat rolls and archetypes.15 existing exotic armour pieces (and 28 exotic weapons) have been updated to the new gear tier system, with more coming in future updates, but all your exotic armour will still have their stats converted to the equivalent of Tier 2 rolls.

If you’re curious, these are the exotic armours being fully converted to Armour 3.0 with The Edge of Fate: