So I found the following on reddit's Destiny subreddit. I linked it but will also copy the text here as well: [quote]Hey guys n gals. I'm not sure if there has been a post on this subject, but its too good for people not to know about. Edit: This is my first post, so I have no idea how to format anything. I'll try to bold the good bits. Before I get into the nitty gritty, let me say why doing this is a good idea: By doing this I make so much glimmer that to keep myself from being maxed I have to buy ~5 heavy synthesis after I do 2-3 Vanguard Heroic Strikes. By doing this I have never needed to earn XP for any of the exotics, or legendaries I want to try out. I max them out immediately using this Motes of Light technique. This technique nets me 5 Legendary Marks per legendary item dismantled instead of 3. So those are the benefits that I get from doing the motes of life technique. How is it done? • Step 1: Save all of the blues you acquire in various strikes, patrols, etc. They are they keys to the Motes of Light castle. • Step 2: When you have ~8 blues of each kind of weapon, and around 5 blues of each kind of armor, and ~20 motes of light, get ready to rumble. • Step 3: Equip your blues in every slot, except the slot with a piece of gear you want to level up. It's possible to level up multiple armor pieces, but you won't get as many Motes of Light back from blues in the process. I've leveled 2-3 legendary peices of gear in tandem before, and you usually end up losing around 10 motes of light if you do. • Step 4: Use motes to level your gear, dismantling the blues when they get enough experience to return 2 motes of light. Dismantle your blue weapons when all the perk bubbles except the last one are filled (turned green), and dismantle your blue armor (head/hands/chest/feet/cloak) when all the perk bubbles are filled, always. Below is an approximation (or known number) of motes required to level up gear to the point of getting 2 motes of light back. Blue gear • Primary/Secondary Weapons: ~10-12 motes • Heavy Weapons: Exactly 5 motes • Head/Hands/Chest/Feet: 16 motes • Cloak: ~12 motes • Artifact/Ghost: ~10 motes (but blues only return 1 mote) So lets say, for the sake of demonstrating the concept that I want to level up a new cloak I got from Kings Fall. Lets also say its takes 32 motes of light to do this (Idk if this is the real value but it's irrelevant in describing how many motes I'll get back). If I use the Mote of Light Technique, consuming 32 motes of light to level this cloak while leveling/dismantling/replacing the other slots with blues, I will get these returns for each slot of gear: • Primary Weapon: +6 motes of light (3 weapons at 10 motes per weapon, returning 6) • Secondary Weapon: +6 motes of light (3 weapons at 10 motes per weapon, returning 6) • Heavy Weapon: +12 motes of light (6 weapons at 5 motes per weapon, returning 12) • Head/Hands/Chest/Feet: +16 motes of light (I'm combining these slots because they all require 16. So you'll consume 2 blues of those four slots and net back 2 motes per blue. 242=16) • Ghost/Artifact: +3-6 motes (i never acquire enough ghosts to really use them in this technique, so lets say 3) Summing these returns, we get 6 + 6 + 12 + 16 + 3 = 41 motes of light back from the blues equipped in all slots but cloak, while charging the cloak we want to level up with 32 motes of light. This means that using this technique has actually gained us 9 motes of light. These are approximations, but I can say from experience that I have ended a cycle of the technique with more motes than I started with. • Purple Gear: Haven't paid as much attention because of bouncing around and dismantling my blues when they're ready, but they seem to consume between 50 and 100% more motes of light to level up. IMPORTANT PURPLE GEAR FACT: Legendary Armor only requires you to give it 50% of the total experience (or 3/6 bubbles filled for armor) to net you the 5 marks and 3 motes of light. • Side note: Legendary Artifacts differ from other armor slots and must be charged 100% to net 5 marks and 3 motes. There is some disagreement regarding the amount of charge needed to get 5 marks out of legendary weapons. I can guarantee that charging legendary weapons up to the last bubble (leaving the last perk uncharged) will net you 5 marks. If someone wants to try it at 50% and let me know I'll update accordingly. If you dismantle all available gear as soon as it will net you 2 motes (or 5 marks/3 motes in the case of legendaries you dont want), you will be able to net back 100% of the motes of light you use in the process. The key to this strategy is having a PLETHORA of BLUE HEAVY WEAPONS. They only take 5 motes of light to charge, and will return 2 motes to you. When you consider the fact that those 5 motes you used to charge the weapon also give you 5 mote charges to every other slot, you will hopefully see what I'm getting at. For those of you interested in the Maximizing Motes of Light scenario (equipping blues in every slot), I'm including it below. Courtesy of /u/netsurfer2132 Equipping one blue in every slot and spending 64 MoL to reach 2 MoL return threshold with every blue, replacing each blue every time it reaches threshold: • 10 from 5 primary at a rate of 2 ea • 10 from 5 special at a rate of 2 ea • 24 from 12 heavy at a rate of 2 ea • 6 from 6 ghosts at a rate of 1 ea • 8 from 4 helmets at a rate of 2 ea • 8 from 4 arms at a rate of 2 ea • 8 from 4 chests at a rate of 2 ea • 8 from 4 legs at a rate of 2 ea • 10 from 5 class items at a rate of 2 ea • 6 from 6 artifacts at a rate of 1 ea = 98 MoL, meaning a net gain of 34 MoL with a requirement of 64 MoL to start, 5 blue primaries, 5 specials, 12 heavies, 6 ghosts, 4 helmets, 4 arms, 4 chests, 4 legs, 5 class items, and 6 artifacts Also, use telemetries and focussed lights to maximize your gains, broh Don't be afraid to try it out if you don't think you'll get as efficient as possible. It's still valuable to level up gear at a net loss of 5-10 motes than a loss of 40. No technique can be taught without first having the student try :) Go into it with a good attitude and hopefully you'll pick it up faster than squidward picked up blowing bubbles... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhJV5gXUXlQ Be efficient out there, guardians https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/3odmkn/the_motes_of_light_technique_never_worry_about/[/quote] I haven't the time to test this theory out yet, but the math comes out right from what I've gathered.