Yes it does. I intentionally dropped to 0 cores before drifter to see how "hard" it was to get them. By the time I hit 700 I had over 300. Now everything is 700 light and i'm starting to accumulate a stockpile even though I waste them constantly fully masterworking weapons.. my intake out weighs my output greatly. I mean.. you get 21 guranteed cores a week from Hawthorne alone for just playing normally. You actually earn them faster then motes of light... that's what is sad. It costs 0-3 cores to infuse an item. The 21 from Hawthorne a week alone means you can fully infuse every item equipped once every week with cores to spare if you were to so choose. Kind of a waste but you could do it.