So you hit level 20 (congratulations!) and now you need better gear. Well, to get blues, my advice is to compete in PvP. Strikes guarantee a piece of loot, but PvP matches are much shorter, and even if you loose, you still have a chance to get something. Additionally, PvP grants Crucible marks. Why is that important? Well, you can cash them in for legendary weapons and armor from faction quartermasters, and I am of the opinion that they can be ground out much faster that their PvE counterpart, Vanguard marks. "Sweet, so I just get enough marks and I'm good, right?", you may be saying; well, there is a catch... You also need reputation. You can get this by completing challenges, dailies, bounties, etc. HOWEVER, your reputation gains get spread across the board by default. PvP gives Crucible rep, PvE gives Vanguard, and patrols/dailies give rep to various factions. It's my opinion that the fastest path to those purple powerhouses requires you to [b]focus all your rep on a single faction[/b]. "How?", you ask. Well, Guardian, let me fill you in. There are three major factions in the game to chose from at the moment: [b]Future War Cult[/b], [b]New Monarchy[/b], and [b]Dead Orbit[/b]. Each focuses on two of the three stats in the game: [i]Intellect[/i] (super cooldown), [i]Discipline[/i] (grenades), and [i]Strength[/i] (melee ability). Each takes Crucible marks as a currency for their legendary equipment. The stat focuses are as follows: [b]Future War Cult[/b] - [i]Intellect[/i] and [i]Discipline[/i] (Quartermaster in the Hangar) [b]New Monarchy[/b] - [i]Intellect[/i] and [i]Strength[/i] (Quartermaster near the Speaker) [b]Dead Orbit[/b] - [i]Discipline[/i] and [i]Strength[/i] (Quartermaster in the Hangar) Depending on your playstyle, you may find that one faction has the stats that fit you best. [b]To champion a faction, buy and equip its mark; all reputation gains, PvP or PvE, will be applied to that faction as long as their mark is equiped[/b]. In this way, you can focus all your efforts on a single faction and get those purps before the rest of your compadres who spread that rep around. You can purchase the mark for 2500 glimmer from a faction representative. Emblems are available at rank 1 (1500 rep), gear at rank 2 (+2000 rep), and weapons at rank 3 (+2500? rep) from each faction. A WORD OF CAUTION: You will not be well balanced if you follow this guideline. The Vanguard/Crucible gear has a mixture of all three stats available. Furthermore, Crucible offers a wider selection of weapons (in particular), material exchange, and sparrows compared to the other factions. If you find yourself in need of all three abilities equally or appreciate a diverse weapon arsenal, you may want to carry on with the default reputation trajectory, but note that it may take more time to get those purples. Behold, All of You; The Hour of Reckoning is at Hand, and You Bare Witness as Our Guardians. Summon Courage Knowing Darkness is Strongest Before the Dawn. Follow the Light, Be Brave, Become Legend!