Patrols Patrols are the open world exploration of planets and moons. They have some relation with quests, but there are differences to note and missions to be aware of. Please understand that Patrols have changed a bit since year 1 and that this post is for year 2. Updates will follow in reply should any happen. Patrols vs Quests. Though Patrols are open to the full map of the planet, moon, Dreadnaught you are on, it doesn't mean you actually can reach every location and see what you see during quests. There are areas you reach on quests that you cannot get to on Patrol. And there are some patrol locations you can't reach on quests. Keep this in mind; quests are progressions and make it seem like you have been there done that, so when you enter patrols it gives you a sense of "hey I've opened this location". An example of this would be the House of Devils strike. You can make it to the Prime, but on Patrol you can only make it as far as the Devil Tank. I will say not all is lost. Some patrols allow a "secondary" method to reach points further inside. Example would be the Dreanaught. On the Strike "Shield Bothers" and mission about the Cabal Signal you can reach the bridge area and you can get to the core of the Dreadnaught. This hallway leading there is closed off on Patrol. Well just look up and jump left to crouch down and now you have gained entry into this area again. The bridge will be shut off, but you can make it off the ship and fight a Ultra Knight. Also note a fragment is in this room. While on a quest you still interact with players on patrol or quests themselves and can enter events as they appear. Once you go into an area based off of your quest, you will be by yourself unless with a fireteam. This is nice because you can be questing and get an extar bonus to cap off your quest by entering events nearby. Be mindful at lower levels as patrols follow the same level requirements as quests. One area can have level 4 mobs and entering another might jump it up to level 8. Also from year 1 there are some high end mobs roughly level 20+ are still around. Not to say a low level couldn't handle them, but your low level weapons won't do much to them. A good thing to know about patrols are patrol bounties. Not to be confused with town bounties, these are given by patrol beacons spread throughout the patrol area. Patrols are broken down into different areas and each area has roughly 2-3 beacons. These are random and can be repeated over and over. Well as long as a beacon is lit it can be. Each beacon will have a random type and a random mission per that type to it. Going to orbit resets and randomizes the beacons. Which is good for those needing to to quests involving patrols. Example would be the high target missions. You go in and can't find any, just go to orbit and go back down, the beacons will change and reset. Patrol missions are also great for glimmer farming. Types of Patrols (Currently there are 7 types) Survey Mission → Icon looks like a double pin odometer. These require you to stand in a specified location until your gauge fills up. Item Mission → Icon looks like a Triangle, personally it reminds me of Assassin Creeds symbol. You must kill certain enemies to collect items they drop to complete the mission Kill Mission → Icon looks like a diamond with triangles around it. This requires you to kill a certain set of mobs or a singular type of enemy to complete Scan Mission → Icon looks like Ghost. This is similar to Survey, but requires you to scan an object with Ghost while standing still. As in you can't move, like walk or run. VIP Mission → Icon is a circle with a Star. Also known as high priority missions, these require you to locate a specially spawned boss and kill it. These bosses are joined by a squad of minions. Energy Spike Missions → Icon looks like a clock. These will have you travel across the area over what looks like blue energy spots. Suggested to use your sparrow and quickly move from one to the next. You do not have to spot to collect, just simply ride over them and keep moving. You will get a percentage added to your gauge which begins to diminish so you have to stay moving. Remnants of Darkness → Icons look like a Skull. This is like the VIP mission, but is designed for Taken. These missions will put you up against an elite squad of spawn, or a group of Spawn and a Taken Boss. These bosses are related to the Taken Bosses you fight in Taken events on Patrols. If you are solo this could take a while. I'm not sure if this patrol will stick around or is just a year two only. Patrol Missions are a good way to gain rep for your faction and vanguard. Also a good farming method for glimmer should you need any. These also count towards your Grimoire bonuses. Most require 50 completions to gain the bonus.