This post explains why you should stop complaining about Commendations, calculates how fast you can get Commendations, and gives (what I hope to be) a pro-tip at the end. [b]This is a VERY long post, but extremely useful in my humble opinion. It is worth your time, I promise.[/b] [b]Background on Myself[/b] I see a lot of forums complaining about how Commendations are a terrible addition to Destiny, and how hard it is to rank up a vendor. I've been playing this game for 6-7 weeks. I'm a level 30 hunter. I have Vanguard and Crucible almost Rank 5, New Monarchy Rank 11 and Dead Orbit Rank 3. You might say [i]"Duke, you're a "no-lifer" living in his parents basement"[/i]. Actually, I make good money, live with my girlfriend and regularly exercise. So how have I gotten so much reputation and why am I not worried about these Commendations? [b]Getting the Commendations You Need[/b] It's pretty darn easy to rank up a vendor. You need 2500 Rep. The most efficient way to do this is to complete the Nightfall Strike as soon as you turn your console on each Tuesday for the 25% bonus. The Nightfall itself gives you 500 Rep... Look at that, you're 20% of your way to a Commendation (Com for short). Run the Weekly right after that on level 28, and you get 500 more Rep with your Nightfall Bonus (NB), subject to change after the expansion. Wow, 40% already. Vanguard Bounties range from 50-100 Rep. Let's call it 75 for simplicity. 6 Bounties each day at 75 a pop is 450 Rep. With the NB, that's 562.5 (call it 500 to be conservative). Look! 60%. Crank those Crucible bounties next. They generally go for more than 75 on average, but some are tedious and annoying such as killing 10 Guardians on vehicles (in my humble opinion). So let's say doing 4-5 with the NB also gives you 500 Rep. Wow, we're almost there at 80%. So you wait until Wednesday (or grind strikes). You repeat the bounties. After doing Vanguard bounties on Wednesday, you've successfully ranked up your preferred Faction (New Monarchy in my case). OR you're well on your way to Vanguard and have a respectable start towards Crucible. Was that really so hard? It took you barely more than 24 hours. For a full week, you're looking at a possible 8,000 Rep: - 500 from the Nightfall - 500 from the Weekly Strike (NB included) - 3,500 from Vanguard Bounties (NB included) - 3,500 from Crucible Bounties (NB included) Don't forget about additional Rep from bounties being worth more than I stated (I was conservative) and the Rep from actually playing crucible games, strikes and patrol missions. That's enough for THREE vendor Coms. Here's where the hate comes in: [b]Reason 1 Why the Above May Not Work For You[/b] "How the heck can I do all that?! I have a life you know?!" Okay, relax there big guy. I get that most people can't do everything above, including myself. So how can you optimize your playing time? Well, if you can only play on the weekend, cherry pick bounties throughout the week. I'm assuming most people can sign on for 3 minutes and accept the best bounties (i.e. 100 Rep for minimal work). So do that. Then when you finally find time Saturday morning, crush the bounties you saved during the week and then hammer Saturday's bounties. Sure, you won't be decked out in new gear in the first week, but you can't expect that if you're a weekend gamer. [b]Reason 2 Why the Above May Not Work For You[/b] "I'm not a high enough level to run the Nightfall or the Weekly on level 28! I'm screwed! Bungie favors higher leveled players and discriminates against lower levels!" No, we all had a tougher time at a lower level. You're just putting your time in before you can enjoy the fruits of being high 20s/30. That's the game. We were all there. Obviously getting Rep is going to be easier at a higher level. Even still, you can ask people for help. The most awesome thing about this community is how willing people are to carry others through. I ran the Nightfall 6 times this week for my friends' lower leveled characters. Never be afraid to ask! [b]Reason 3 Why the Above May Not Work For You[/b] "I get crushed in PVP! There's no way I can complete the bounties each day!" I hear you, friend. I too was getting smoked in PVP early on. I had a KDR of 2.2ish in most Call of Duty games. I'm barely above 1.0 in Destiny, NOW. I was well below 1.0 at the start, so I feel your frustration. I would suggest you follow my first tip, and make sure you cherry pick the easiest bounties. You can "complete" games of any type, you can cap control nodes. Can't get a kill? Make sure you pick up the assist bounty whenever it comes up, and save it for when you have time. There is hope for you weaker PVP players (btw, you WILL get better, I did, so you can). EDIT: Something I learned after this post. There are three crucible bounties that relate to killing 25 Hunters/Titans/Warlocks in Crucible. If you get the assist on a kill, you actually get credit for a kill as far as the bounty is concerned. I have personally confirmed this. [b]If You Have 99 Problems and Destiny is All of Them[/b] Lastly, maybe you have all of the above problems. Well guess what? You STILL can't complain. Think about how mad you are that you can't rank up fast because you're not skilled in PVP, have limited time and are a low level. Now multiply that frustration by 10. That's how frustrated us players would be if guys like you could hit level 30 (or 32 after expansion) without putting in the time we put in. Bottom line: Bungie made this game the way it is. Play the game. When they make it harder, casual gamers are going to be upset. When they make it easier, non-casual gamers are going to be upset. There's no way to make everyone happy. So just enjoy the aspects of the game that you can, and look forward to what you'll unlock in the future. [b]Pro Tip (I HOPE!)[/b] You get Coms for upgrading a Vendor and opening the package from the Postmaster. So how can you get 3 Coms in under half an hour when the expansion hits? Easy, set yourself up. Rank up Vanguard, Crucible, and your preferred Faction up to 2400/2500 Rep before your next rank. Then, don't play Destiny until the expansion hits, or pick up a different Faction's class item. When the expansion hits, do a bounty for the three factions you have at 2400/2500. Now you've ranked up three factions. Open the three packages and BOOM, you have 3 Coms. There are a variety of reasons why this may not work, which I won't list out because this post is already WAY to long. But you have nothing to lose by trying this, so I suggest giving it a try. Sincerely, a guy who loves this game, is tired of non-stop complaining, wants a positive forum post once in a while and wants to help, - Duke