I tend to think of it more as a chance to roll a legendary (Destiny)

by iconicbanana, C2-H5-OH + NAD, Portland, OR, Wednesday, January 14, 2015, 10:48 (3403 days ago) @ Cody Miller
edited by iconicbanana, Wednesday, January 14, 2015, 10:52

Literally. Reward was a single engram, which decoded into energy.

First of all, why do engrams still decode to shards or energy? This is dumb, because if I wanted shards or energy I'd DISMANTLE THE ITEM. You only ruin someone's day.

Second of all, you shouldn't get engrams at all for nightfall, but an item read and decoded.

I think last week I ended up with shards on both of my runs. This week I rolled two legendary guns, and I think this is the strength of Nightfall's rewards: it offers a chance at a random roll. Most of the time I shard the guns because the roll isn't good, but that isn't the point.

The point is that this is one of highest odds-on for a random pull in the game: in a given week, a usually average at least one legendary item in the 2 attempts I play. In terms of rewards and not purchases, that's pretty good. The only other source that's close to that reliable is ranking vanguard/crucible/faction, and you get a healthy amount of experience to help you out there as well when you complete Nightfall.

Throw in the fact that nightfall usually offers an interesting and novel challenge, and I'm okay with not pulling down something great every week. The anticipation of a sweet roll is worth more than the reward itself to me anyway.

It's all about the sweet roll.