In theory, you'd think they'd drop at the same rate that the unique strike reward items used to drop on their own (thus keeping the overall progression the same, while allowing you some influence over WHICH items drop). But I'm starting to suspect the rate is lower.

I have 3-4 keys among my characters right now. And have opened at least a half dozen chests.

What parallel universe is everone else from. :(

No clue. Maybe they're secret PS Exclusives.

Seriously though, where are Skeleton Keys even (supposedly) dropped from? The only one I've EVER seen is the first "gimme" one you get.

They drop from strikes. Pretty dang low drop rate though.

If you are light < 365 right now, you can get upgrades from:

Heroic Strikes (the two blue drops at the end), Archon's Forge, blue engrams that decrypt into purple items, purple engrams, faction rep packages, nightfall, raid, crucible, trials drops and bounties, weekly crucible bounty. Purple engrams will be your main source of upgrades (you get two for doing the weekly shiro-4 quest, and 1 from the first public event you do each day, plus you should get a bunch to drop just as you play). Save any exotic engrams you may get from 3oC usage until you're 365 light or higher. Save your skeleton keys until you are 365 light or higher.

If you are light 365 or greater, you can get upgrades from:

Decrypting exotic engrams from your 3oC use, archon's forge, crucible, nightfall, weekly crucible bounty, trials and trials bounties, faction rep packages, the raid, and from heroic strike skeleton key chests (set loot, look up what items drop where before opening so you're only getting things you need).

You should always wear your max light gear when decrypting engrams, and you should also decrypt engrams in order of your lowest light level pieces first, one at a time, equipping new, higher light gear as you go. At 365+ 3 of Coins is your best and fastest source of light level upgrades. You should be spending all of your strange coins on 3 of Coins each week until you're max light, pretty much. Archon's Forge is great for very quick upgrades, though it doesn't drop items for every slot, as far as I'm aware. Crucible is also great for quick upgrades and you don't need to win to get them. If you're 350 light +, you should be fine to do the raid. The very last fight might be hard on you, but up to that point you'll be okay. Iron Banner is amazing for leveling up and it's a shame you missed it last week.

The major roadblocks are ghosts and relics. If you don't get lucky with relic drops, you can always (ugh) farm eris mourne rep by running court of oryx over and over (be sure to have an empty bounty slot when you start so you get the court bounty from your first boss kill). Ghosts can't be reliably farmed but do come from almost every source.

Good luck!

PS: This game is NOT all about your light level. Because you can easily get upgrades from rep packages, I strongly recommend just playing to have fun and collecting those packages along the way.

I kinda like the way SIVA Chest Keys work where you can make them out of parts you pick up along the way. It would be neat if you got one Strike Key Part for normal Strikes and two for Heroic and Nightfall Strikes and could then combine ten of them into a Strike Chest Key. Or something like that...

Avateur's hyperbole aside, he is right. The Key drop rate feels far too low and some minimum observable progress towards your next one would be very nice.

The fact that it's a total joke that this hyperbole bothers anyone aside (literally worse than Hitler drops aside as well), I actually fully agree with you. Strike Key Parts or something similar to the SIVA Chest Keys would have been a far better system. Then again, knowing Bungie, I'm sure those drops would have been negative-odds-drops beyond even the non-existent Hitler ones.

Yes, but four light in an average. I'd still have to get a legendary for every other part of my body and arsenal to help make any major difference--If I get one with four light, and IF I even get (more than) one Legendary at all.

And this is everyone's experience in the game. My main point is if you expect more than that you are playing the wrong game. Destiny after year 2 is about slow but steady improvement to your character's light. It's not about big jumps in light and level. If you're unsatisfied with that, you're never going to be satisfied with the game. It's a HUGE improvement over year one progression, but it's still a process to level up you have to go through, and I SERIOUSLY doubt that will ever change.

So you're saying you'd rather play the activity you don't want to play because it gives a very small amount of extra light than an activity you enjoy? That sounds like a YOU problem more than anything (and my experience is completely different, I leveled up to 382 and have only done a handful of Heroic strikes, and only beaten the Raid once).

You're right, it is a ME problem--you've gotten to 382, sounds like without any major changes to your playstyle; Claude's got more Skeleton Keys than seemingly half of DBO combined; Avateur's got so much max light gear that it takes him 20 minutes to press X(ironically, both in the same thread) and I'm getting brightly colored rocks.

Also, your complaint about legendary is that they only go up by up to FOUR light?!? REALLY?!? What you want them to drop a 10 light increase on you? What game have you been playing the last 2+ years?

Yes, but four light in an average. I'd still have to get a legendary for every other part of my body and arsenal to help make any major difference--If I get one with four light, and IF I even get (more than) one Legendary at all.

Edit: Also, you basically just said in your reply that Heroic strikes are a terrible way to level up after saying in the previous post that they are the only way to level up, now you've just completely confused me.

Yeah--there's only one seemingly clear way to really level up, and that way is terrible.

All the activities you've suggested are decent ideas, but if they all trickle light like a dead tap, aren't they just all the same then?

So you're saying you'd rather play the activity you don't want to play because it gives a very small amount of extra light than an activity you enjoy? That sounds like a YOU problem more than anything (and my experience is completely different, I leveled up to 382 and have only done a handful of Heroic strikes, and only beaten the Raid once).

Also, your complaint about legendary is that they only go up by up to FOUR light?!? REALLY?!? What you want them to drop a 10 light increase on you? What game have you been playing the last 2+ years?

Edit: Also, you basically just said in your reply that Heroic strikes are a terrible way to level up after saying in the previous post that they are the only way to level up, now you've just completely confused me.

Yes... why would it be otherwise? Most drops you get are 2 per strike (not counting 3 of coins or chest). They aren't promising that you're going to shoot up 10 light levels in an hour, just that you can progress.

True, but only one of them has a snail's gamble. Whenever I go through a Heroic strike, I get the one obligatory Purple(on very rare occasions, I might get another one killing enemies), dozens of useless Greens(as we're all forced to endure through now) and exactly three Blues. No less, and buff after buff after buff, no more. Two of them are always below whatever my highest is. Always. The third one may or may not be higher. By higher, I mean 2 LL. Since the first light increase, Heroic strikes have dropped one single blue that was 3 LL higher, and one single blue that was 4. All others were 2,1, or zero/negative. Combined with the fact that it could be an armor piece or a weapon, that means you have 1/10th of a chance to get something higher for an equip you need. I disagree on that as a viable option to progress.

How are they the only way? You even quoted multiple ways!

What I meant by that statement is that all those methods and options they had flaunted and displayed and showcased have all ended and are now void. I don't think that page even exists any more. All those multiple ways have basically become buried under the one solution: Heroic Strikes.

Since you mentioned Heroic strikes that means you mean to level 365/385 (before and after Tuesday) which has MANY MANY ways to get to. Such as: all legendary engrams (of which you have multiple guaranteed sources every day and week), all exotic engrams, all faction packages, all of Crucible, Trials, IB when it's active, Nightfall, Archon's Forge, Prison of Elders Elder Sigil (at least for 365, not sure if it's being increased to 385).

Legendary engrams are good, but they're a 0-4 LL difference--almost the same as Rare. Thank god they don't go negative.

Exotics are good--if you actually get them. Since RoI dropped, I've gotten two Exotics. One of them I bought from Xur. It was 350 though, so that helped a little bit.

Faction packages, I can agree with you on--I have to admit, I'm always excited to level up there. That is something to look forward to helping me with!

Crucible, single mote of light. Marks, if I'm doing the highlights.

Trials of Osiris.

Iron Banner I also agree with, but the prizes I get from that are--well, I don't remember what light level I was the last time I played that, so I'll have to take your word for it.

I'm not high enough light level for Nightfall. I can barely live through Heroic as it is--not to be rude, but that's really the whole point.

Archon's Forge is great, but so far all I've gotten from them is Class items. They are a higher light level, but if that's the only thing they offer, it's just situational.

All the activities you've suggested are decent ideas, but if they all trickle light like a dead tap, aren't they just all the same then?

Anyone that attended the Twitch stream know what this is talking about?

2. Never tease a secret code without alerting the community to the fact that not all amusing Easter Eggs hatch to reveal Exotic Weapons.

I didn't realize that this type of Bungie Bounty event would be archived on their Twitch channel. I tuned into the 10/12/16 archive this afternoon

At around 1:24:00, Derek Carroll mentions the code on Last Exit. He must be referencing this code?
Fun Easter Egg - Part Deux (Last Exit)

Possibly, yes.

And visible progress is pretty much always preferable for things like that. And the building keys is nice. Though I do wish there was a 100% drop of a key on your forst nightfall completion, if building keys isn't a future change.

Anyone that attended the Twitch stream know what this is talking about?

2. Never tease a secret code without alerting the community to the fact that not all amusing Easter Eggs hatch to reveal Exotic Weapons.

I didn't realize that this type of Bungie Bounty event would be archived on their Twitch channel. I tuned into the 10/12/16 archive this afternoon

At around 1:24:00, Derek Carroll mentions the code on Last Exit. He must be referencing this code?
Fun Easter Egg - Part Deux (Last Exit)

With this increase, many reward sources will also increase their maximum Light. Strike Hoards, Nightfall, Exotic Engrams, Trials of Osiris, Crucible, and Iron Banner will now provide rewards up to 400 Light. Archon’s Forge, the Heroic SIVA Strike playlist, and Legendary Engrams will now provide rewards up to 385 Light.

SuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRE. Answer me this: will it still be 1/4th of a light level increase per high-light level strike?

Yes... why would it be otherwise? Most drops you get are 2 per strike (not counting 3 of coins or chest). They aren't promising that you're going to shoot up 10 light levels in an hour, just that you can progress.

For those striving to reach Heroic Wrath of the Machine or even attempt their first run at Normal Wrath of the Machine, players should find more paths and options available to them to reach the recommended Light.

I still don't like the fact that Heroic strikes are the only way to advance to the raid other than the raid.

How are they the only way? You even quoted multiple ways! Since you mentioned Heroic strikes that means you mean to level 365/385 (before and after Tuesday) which has MANY MANY ways to get to. Such as: all legendary engrams (of which you have multiple guaranteed sources every day and week), all exotic engrams, all faction packages, all of Crucible, Trials, IB when it's active, Nightfall, Archon's Forge, Prison of Elders Elder Sigil (at least for 365, not sure if it's being increased to 385).

With this increase, many reward sources will also increase their maximum Light. Strike Hoards, Nightfall, Exotic Engrams, Trials of Osiris, Crucible, and Iron Banner will now provide rewards up to 400 Light. Archon’s Forge, the Heroic SIVA Strike playlist, and Legendary Engrams will now provide rewards up to 385 Light.

SuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRE. Answer me this: will it still be 1/4th of a light level increase per high-light level strike?

For those striving to reach Heroic Wrath of the Machine or even attempt their first run at Normal Wrath of the Machine, players should find more paths and options available to them to reach the recommended Light.

Anybody 'member that page Bungie had before the April Update that had that whole table on how to get to the highest light level with all those options to get there? I guess those weren't really "more" now were they?

I still don't like the fact that Heroic strikes are the only way to advance to the raid other than the raid.

Everyone's telling me "Oh it's only a crawl once you get to 365, ooh!"

So a quarter of a light level per 2o minute strike(which is now hard as hell since I'm only one light level ahead of the minimum instead of seventy-five) isn't?

I always have one or two keys on me, but then again, there's not really any loot that interests me from the bosses (though I am happy with my Phogoth Hive Abomination gauntlets), so I don't usually spend them the minute I get them (Pro-tip, save them for the Spindle-class Sniper that you can get from SIVA bosses).

You had me st Spindle. Which strikes include SIVA bosses? Any new ones that were part of ROI?

According to Eurogamer, these strikes give you a chance at Devils Dawn:

Sepiks Perfected
The Abomination Heist
The Wretched Eye

(So, same list Korny gave you. ;) )

I posted the link because I've found it useful in the past.

I always have one or two keys on me, but then again, there's not really any loot that interests me from the bosses (though I am happy with my Phogoth Hive Abomination gauntlets), so I don't usually spend them the minute I get them (Pro-tip, save them for the Spindle-class Sniper that you can get from SIVA bosses).

You had me st Spindle. Which strikes include SIVA bosses? Any new ones that were part of ROI?

I know for sure that the Wretched Eye and Sepiks Perfected drop them. Not 100% sure about the Hive Abomination strike (though one would imagine that it would).

I always have one or two keys on me, but then again, there's not really any loot that interests me from the bosses (though I am happy with my Phogoth Hive Abomination gauntlets), so I don't usually spend them the minute I get them (Pro-tip, save them for the Spindle-class Sniper that you can get from SIVA bosses).

You had me st Spindle. Which strikes include SIVA bosses? Any new ones that were part of ROI?