What is Glimmer used for?

Outpost vendors are where most of it goes. In beta 3 the same pile of Glimmer covered shop stock, cosmetics, quality of life materials and event items, so it is a general-purpose soft currency rather than something locked to one system. NPCs will also exchange items for it directly.

The clearest price point to plan around is the Sparkling Cube at 1,500 Glimmer. You can also pay for one with premium currency instead, or get there the long way by buying 100 Sparkling Crystals and trading them in at an Outpost vendor. Three routes to the same item, which is the pattern to expect from Glimmer purchases generally.

Where the Glimmer comes from

Almost everything pays out. Quests, daily tasks, events, elite training, boss battles, chests, puzzles, branch activities, the battle pass and the Holo Battle Simulator all drop it.

That breadth is a little misleading. Daily tasks and events are far and away the most efficient farm, so if you are short of something specific at a vendor, that is where to go rather than grinding bosses for it.

Glimmer against the paid currency

Lumin Crystals are the separate premium currency, bought with real money and spent on cash shop items. Where the two overlap, as with Sparkling Cubes, you are choosing which one to spend.

The monthly pass drips currency out across 30 days, and what it actually pays is not settled yet. It has appeared as 3,000 Glimmer, as 300 premium currency, and as 330 Lumen crystals. Do not build a budget around any one of those figures.

Not settled: The beta 3 spending list is the most detailed picture of what Glimmer buys, and vendor stock has not been locked down since. The monthly pass payout in particular still varies by build.