Update:

Destiny update 1.0.2 is now live, which alters the engram system in the shared-world shooter.

Bungie also tweaked the time limits for the Bastion and First Light maps in Clash and Control, as well as making them pop up less often in those playlist rotations.

Bungie has given more detail on the changes coming in Destiny's 1.0.2 patch, including big changes to engrams.According to the announcement , starting next week engrams will always decode into their quality level or better. That means Legendary (Purple) engrams will always decode into Legendary or better items, possibly Materials or Exotics. Similarly, Rare engrams will no longer have a chance to decode into Uncommon (Green) items. They'll always be Rare or better. Bungie is also increasing the chances of a Rare engram producing a Legendary item.You'll also have more opportunities to get engrams, since Daily Heroics, Weekly Heroics, and Vanguard: Tiger Playlist activities will also have Rare and Legendary engrams in their rewards.There is one caveat, though. All Legendary engrams you're currently holding will be demoted to Rare when the patch hits, so there's no use in holding onto them hoping for a better result. You might as well decode them now.Yesterday, Bungie announced broad changes to Destiny, most notably removing the popular "Treasure Cave" for loot farming. It also explained that before release, engrams had corresponded directly to the equipment type, but that the studio added a random element to increase the excitement of uncovering loot. It conceded that it didn't "adequately communicate" the randomness, though, and said changes would be coming soon. Those changes, apparently, are to make the random effect serve as a potential benefit, instead of a disappointing drawback.

Steve Watts is a freelance writer who misses the cave already. You can read more of his keen insights by following him on Twitter and IGN