Destiny's companion app was always well-made and fun to flip through, but its ultimate usefulness was up for debate. You could read Grimoire cards and see what your Guardians currently had in their posession, but the addition of remote Vault access has turned the app's necessity on its head.
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Going back and forth to the Tower to access the Vault in an effort to switch gear across characters was a real pain, and I was excited when we reported the news that the app had been updated to allow remote access. The feature has turned out to be even more useful than I anticipated, and it works like a charm.
No matter which character you're logged into in-game, you can transfer items in and out of the Vault on the app at any time. If you remove something from the Vault on the app while you're in the middle of Crota's End, it will instantly pop in to your inventory in the game. You can do this while in transit to a new location, in Orbit, and even if you're not currently playing Destiny. You select which character you want to look at, go over to the inventory, and use the option button to equip an item or move it to the Vault. Switching to another character to withdraw something only takes a second, and it definitely beats going back to the Tower.
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It's worth noting that the web browser version of the app on Bungie.net is even more useful if you sit in front of your computer when playing Destiny, because the UI is more efficient on the big screen. Obviously if you don't have your computer at hand the mobile app is the way to go, but the browser version displays the Vault in a sidebar on the right at all times--you don't have to flip from your inventory to the Vault page. Simply click and move.
It sounds like a small feature, especially to those who don't play Destiny, but fans know how irritiating the process was. More ofthen than not, it was easier to not bother going to get something out of the Vault you forgot, especially if you already hopped into a Raid. Running multiple weeklies and Nightfalls across characters is much easier--just switch in any weapons you need with the app while you load. This is better than implementing Vault access from Orbit only: thanks for listening, Bungie.