Fastest Ways To Increase Light Level

Power leveling in Destiny 2 works differently from many other games. Following the Shadowkeep update, it revolves entirely around gear. Rather than advancing a character, you must acquire better weapons or upgrade your current items to gain power. Each season raises the minimum and maximum Power scores, usually by 50 levels. While this approach ensures that no Guardian will be left behind entirely, it also means that you may not rest on your laurels even after reaching the last available level. Future updates will render many of your current weapons obsolete and force you to scramble quickly if you wish to remain competitive in PvP and take on endgame content without falling behind.

Light level caps

While their actual numbers may continue to change, there will always be three power caps for you to consider. Starting from the bottom level, the first 150 levels gained will bring you to the so-called Soft Cap. This interval contains Rare and basic Legendary Weapons that can be acquired without too much difficulty through ordinary gameplay. The next 50 levels involve a much steeper climb towards the Hard Cap, revolving around the Powerful Rewards. You will usually need to participate in specific activities to receive them. Finally, there are 10 more levels acquired from Pinnacle Rewards that require taking on the hardest content in the game.

Soft Cap

Moving towards the Soft Cap requires the least planning on your part. Collecting the standard world drops left by enemies or found in containers, plus most prizes given out by whatever activities you prefer will dependably raise your Power Level until you reach the cap. Still, you can do several things to streamline your progression at this stage. For example, given the sheer amount of gear you will receive, it would be unwise to get attached to any of it. Infusions (weapon upgrades that consume other weapons) will not be worthwhile at this stage. Instead, with the possible exception of certain God Roll weapons, you may wish to hang on to, most of your loot should be dismantled once it is no longer useful. The resulting materials will let you improve standing with the Gunsmith Faction, which can help you farm for better gear.

While this phase is more varied in terms of level-up opportunities than the ones that come after it, there are still some optimal PvE activities for you to pursue. Activating the Seasonal Artifact through its quest will raise your effective level, making it a worthwhile investment from start to finish (at which point it will technically let you get past the final power cap). Aside from that, you should generally prioritize finishing the story missions. Once the campaign is complete, you may want to farm Lost Sectors for boss Legendary gear drops or seek out Public Events. The Hellmouth on the Moon is a particularly rewarding world area due to its numerous strong enemies and random events. Although generally less efficient, old raids and dungeons can still yield powerful exclusive gear, making them worth pursuing if you have a good team. Note that while many of them will be already available at this point, the activities that work towards later power caps will still not take you far beyond your level, making them generally less preferable.

One fast leveling strategy that should begin at this stage to be fully effective involves having all three of your available different-class characters help each other progress. Follow the above advice with your first Guardian until you hit the Soft Cap. At that point, you can buy Armor for your next character’s class from Xur and transfer it to the alt together with your best weapons. The second Guardian should go through the same process much more quickly thanks to this early Power boost, and the third one will benefit from it in turn. Once all of them are at the same level, you can pool their resources and opportunities to advance more smoothly to the higher caps. Sharing God Roll weapons and taking on three times as many daily or weekly activities can greatly accelerate your progression.

Hard Cap

Unlike most world drops, Prime Engrams are able to give you a serious push towards the Hard Cap, potentially even providing Exotic Weapons that will never be sunset. However, getting them will typically require a prolonged grind, so quick advancement still requires focusing on regular sources. All playlist activities dependably yield Powerful Rewards, though the guns you get this way will usually not be much stronger than the loadout you already have. The Crucible may be the most straightforward and time-efficient option, rewarding rank-ups and fighting in different basic and special modes. Gambits can sometimes yield stronger loot, but they also take longer to complete. Vanguard Strikes can give you Powerful and even Pinnacle rewards if you switch your subclass to fit the active elemental burn (shown in the lower-left corner of the selection screen). Even after the removal of weekly bounties, those pursuits will continue to augment your gains from related activities. Season pass owners have additional, often superior options available to them, including the brisk Wrathborn Hunts and the quest needed to acquire the Hawkmoon. Other quests that appear after the resolution of the main storyline can also let you leap ahead in Power if you are willing to put in the effort.

Pinnacle Cap

Grinding to reach the Pinnacle Cap is bound to be somewhat grueling and time-consuming, but as always, some options are more efficient than others are. That is especially the case if you are looking to fill a particular gap in your loadout. The standard activities from the playlist become comparatively less rewarding at this point, though they will still be very helpful as you begin the final climb. Once you have risen in Power, more rewarding options will open up. For instance, scoring 100,000+ points will let you get Pinnacle Rewards from Nightfall: the Ordeal Strikes. They also offer plentiful crafting materials like Enhancement Prisms and Ascendant Shards, which are required for you to upgrade your Armor before taking on other challenging content. Master Lost Sectors are the go-to destinations if you wish to assemble cutting-edge Exotic Armor Sets. The Prophecy dungeon and the Deep Stone Crypt raid are farmable high-end content instances with some choice exclusive gear. The crypt is the more difficult proposition, requiring a strong fireteam, unlike the dungeon which can be done solo. Still, a successful raid can also give you Spoils of Conquest – a currency that lets you acquire Exotic Weapons from raids that are no longer in the game.

Other sources may be less optimal, but they may still be useful. Following the completion of the Beyond Light storyline, you will be able to get missions from Variks the Loyal on Europa, including Empire Hunts and the Weekly Exo Challenges. The former gives Pinnacle Rewards by default, while the latter requires the Europan Explorer perks to unlock them first. Both are fairly quick and easy to do, making them good, reliable sources of superb gear. Skillful players can also collect unique prizes from the semi-regular Iron Banner Bounties or by carrying out seven consecutive casualty-free Trials of Osiris runs for the Flawless boost.

The following seasons will bring their own loot sources that may augment or even supplant the sources in this list, though the core activities are likely to remain viable. Even so, it is important to keep an eye out for new options as they emerge. For example, holiday events have often offered solid power leveling opportunities. Powerful weapons like the Adored have often arrived during seasons, offering another boost to those willing to do their quests. Between regular activities and special events, dedicated players will find no shortage of ways to speed up their leveling process.