Gamebreaking loot farm exploit forces Destiny 2 devs to disable private Crucible match rewards

No more Prisms for you.

Vex-like structures overgrown by red foliage in Destiny 2.
Image via Bungie

Bungie has been quick to disable the ability to receive rewards from private PvP matches after Destiny 2 players uncovered a loot farming exploit that allowed guardians to get showered in Legendary gear, Enhancement Prisms, and even red-border Deepsight weapons for little effort.

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The developers disabled drops from private Crucible matches on June 23, sharing the news through a post on X (formerly Twitter). The team said it was due to “an issue,” which has since been confirmed as an item exploit used by players to bolster their resources and weapon collections. The method to the exploit was shared by several Destiny content creators including Cheese Forever, who went in-depth into how to best use the trick.

A screenshot of a private match setup in Destiny 2.
Players were using private Crucible matches to farm for rare materials. Screenshot by Dot Esports

In short, Bungie allowed the completion of Pathfinder activities in Crucible matches—both in regular matchmaking and in private lobbies. Combined with Ghost mods, guardians could further refine and tweak the types of rewards they’d receive after the private lobbies concluded, from extra Glimmer to “rare” Enhancement Prism drops.

But, unlike matchmaking, guardians can adjust the parameters of their private lobbies and shorten the length of matches to a couple of minutes, then enter alone and let the timer expire. This counted as a completion and had a chance to reward players with resources. Afterward, players could repeat the process just by hitting Launch, with many choosing to set up macros or manually clicking the button while doing something else. The result: A fully stocked character with everything needed to enhance armor or craft new weapons.

It’s far from the first time we’ve seen an exploit like this in Destiny 2. From free Artifice armor to the occasional infinite Legendary Shard glitches over the past couple of years, guardians have been quick to jump on board abusing the exploits to avoid earning these valuable resources from time-consuming activities.

No timeframe has been given on when rewards will be enabled in private Crucible matches again, but given the exploit has been available since the beginning of The Final Shape, it’s likely those who were lucky enough to discover it have well and truly cashed in.

Author
Image of Nicholas Taifalos
Nicholas Taifalos
Weekend editor for Dot Esports. Nick, better known as Taffy, began his esports career in commentary, switching to journalism with a focus on Oceanic esports, particularly Counter-Strike and Dota. Email: nicholas@dotesports.com