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8/19/2026 9:22:23 PM
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0/8 Specialist Swordmaster Rolls With Specialist Armorer Equipped — 40+ Hours of Grinding Wasted
I’m posting this because at this point I genuinely don’t know if this is horrible RNG or if something is wrong with Specialist Armorer when focusing Swordmaster armor at Zavala.
I spent the last 5 days grinding from 476 Power all the way to 520 specifically so I could finally start getting the Tier 5 Swordmaster armor I wanted. I’ve probably put over 40 hours into this grind just getting myself to this point.
After finally reaching 520, I then realized I needed Vanguard Engrams to focus Swordmaster armor at Zavala, so I started another grind specifically for Vanguard reputation and engrams.
I have Specialist Armorer equipped on my Ghost and have now spent a total of 8 Vanguard Engrams on focused Swordmaster armor at Zavala.
My results:
8 focused Swordmaster armor purchases
Specialist Armorer equipped on my ghost for all 8
0 out of 8 rolled Specialist.
Not one.
I understand that the Ghost Armorer mod is supposed to increase the chance of receiving its selected archetype rather than guarantee it, and I understand that bad RNG happens. But going 0/8 while specifically focusing armor with Specialist Armorer equipped feels ridiculous enough that I’m starting to wonder whether the Ghost mod is actually affecting Zavala’s focused decoding at all.
The frustrating part isn’t simply getting eight bad pieces of armor. It’s the amount of time required to even get those eight attempts. I spent five days and 40+ hours getting from 476 to 520, then had to grind Vanguard reputation for the engrams, only to have every single focused Swordmaster purchase completely ignore the archetype I’m focusing with my Ghost and go completely to waste.
I’m specifically trying to build a Tier 5 Specialist Swordmaster set, and right now it feels like all of that time has gotten me absolutely nowhere (which it has).
Can Bungie please confirm whether Specialist Armorer is supposed to affect Swordmaster armor obtained through Zavala’s focused decoding? If it is supposed to work, then either I have encountered an unbelievably bad RNG streak or something may not be functioning correctly.
I don’t mind grinding for gear. That’s Destiny. But after 40+ hours of progression and farming, going 0 for 8 on the archetype I’m specifically focusing makes the entire grind feel like wasted time.
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15 RepliesEdited by viiTactiiCZz: 8/20/2026 9:45:51 AMThe Ghost mod only pushes it up to a roughly ~25% chance. [quote]The frustrating part isn’t simply getting eight bad pieces of armor. It’s the amount of time required to even get those eight attempts. I spent five days and 40+ hours getting from 476 to 520, then had to grind Vanguard reputation for the engrams, only to have every single focused Swordmaster purchase completely ignore the archetype I’m focusing with my Ghost and go completely to waste.[/quote] ̶F̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶e̶n̶g̶r̶a̶m̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶f̶a̶r̶m̶ ̶l̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶s̶e̶c̶t̶o̶r̶s̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶n̶g̶r̶a̶m̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶a̶u̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶r̶y̶p̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶t̶i̶n̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶g̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶l̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶f̶o̶c̶u̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶p̶e̶c̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶r̶y̶p̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶ ̶g̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶l̶u̶d̶e̶s̶ ̶S̶w̶o̶r̶d̶m̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶9̶.̶7̶.̶0̶.̶1̶,̶ ̶d̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶S̶w̶o̶r̶d̶m̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶a̶r̶m̶o̶r̶ ̶v̶i̶a̶ ̶V̶a̶n̶g̶u̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶O̶p̶s̶/̶Z̶a̶v̶a̶l̶a̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶l̶o̶w̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶.̶ ̶ [quote]C̶h̶a̶n̶g̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶r̶m̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶e̶t̶s̶ ̶a̶v̶a̶i̶l̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶W̶o̶r̶l̶d̶ ̶P̶o̶o̶l̶ ̶E̶n̶g̶r̶a̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶T̶e̶c̶h̶s̶e̶c̶,̶ ̶S̶w̶o̶r̶d̶m̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶B̶u̶s̶h̶i̶d̶o̶ ̶S̶e̶t̶s̶.̶[/quote]ht̶t̶p̶s̶:̶/̶/̶w̶w̶w̶.̶b̶u̶n̶g̶i̶e̶.̶n̶e̶t̶/̶7̶/̶e̶n̶/̶N̶e̶w̶s̶/̶A̶r̶t̶i̶c̶l̶e̶/̶d̶e̶s̶t̶i̶n̶y̶_̶u̶p̶d̶a̶t̶e̶_̶9̶_̶7̶_̶0̶_̶1̶ Edit: strike-through'd outdated info - see jhermannITJ responses.
