Like any MMO, reaching the maximum Power Level in Destiny 2 can be challenging. With careful planning and commitment, you’ll be on your way to max Power Level in no time at all.
We will be going over the different level caps, as well as how best to approach Power Leveling to make the most out of every drop.
Recommended Read: How to Create Orbs of Power in Destiny 2
To reach Max Power Level in Destiny 2, you will need to first reach the Soft Cap of 1750. Any gear that drops will increase your Power Level before reaching 1750. Beating the Lightfall Campaign on Legendary difficulty will award a complete set of 1770 Power Level gear.
You can reach the Power Cap of 1800 by completing every activity that grants Powerful Gear, such as playlist activities and vendor bounties. Even out below-average pieces of gear by completing activities with targeted rewards, such as Exotic Quests and Vendor Weekly Challenges.
To reach the Pinnacle Cap of 1810, you will need to complete end-game activities such as Raids, Nightfalls, Dungeons, and Weekly Missions.
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How to Reach Max Power Level in Destiny 2
Reaching the maximum power level of 1810 is what all players in Destiny 2 should strive towards.
As with any MMO, it’s no easy task to reach the power cap in Destiny 2, so here are all the progression steps to get there over time.
Getting Started
Whether you are a completely new player or a returning player to Destiny 2, you will find that your character will start at 1600 Power Level.
This is the lowest Power Level any piece of gear can be. Anything lower that was kept from previous seasons will be raised to this Power Floor.
When starting out, your only goal is to get gear to drop. How you do this doesn’t matter, as every piece of gear you obtain will push you closer to the Soft Cap of 1750.
Completing campaign missions as well as Crucible games, Strikes, public events, and patrols are all great sources for fast gear drops.
If you are up for a challenge, you can bypass the Soft Cap entirely by completing the Lightfall Campaign on Legendary difficulty.
This will reward you with a complete set of gear at 1770 Power, as well as a +5 Exotic. Be sure to bring a couple of friends along, as this is no easy task.
An important note for those wanting to level their Power efficiently, don’t complete any Weekly Challenges before reaching 1750. You will need these to get over the Soft Cap.
Soft Cap
Now that you are at or above 1750, you have hit what is known as the Soft Cap.
This means that everyday drops will no longer increase your Power Level. You will now have to focus on acquiring Powerful Gear.
There are three tiers of Powerful Gear. Tier 1 drops will always be +3 Light Level higher than your average Power Level, Tier 2 will drop +4, and Tier 3 will drop at +5.
There are plenty of ways to obtain Powerful Gear.
Powerful Gear Tier 1:
- Vendor Bounties: Completing eight Gambit, Crucible, Strike, or Gunsmith bounties. You will need Glimmer to purchase all of these bounties.
- Dares of Eternity: Completing three Dares of Eternity.
- Neomuna Reputation: Increasing your Neomuna Reputation.
- Vanguard Strikes: Complete Playlist Strikes with the same Subclass as the weekly Elemental Surge, higher difficulty levels grant more progress.
- Gambit: Complete three Gambit matches.
- Crucible: Complete three Crucible matches.
- Prime Engrams: Prime Engrams will drop periodically while killing enemies. Be sure to open them as soon as possible, as they drop at a set Power Level.
Powerful Gear Tier 2:
- Clan Rewards: Clan Bounties and Clan Engrams.
- Weekly Commendations: Giving out 20 Commendations.
- Seasonal Activities: Currently, Salvage rewards Tier 2 gear.
Powerful Gear Tier 3:
- Seasonal Activities: Currently, Deep Dives grant Tier 3 rewards.
Note that every new Season in Destiny can bring with it new activities that drop Powerful Gear, so be on the lookout.
You will want to acquire as many of these rewards as you can every week, as once Tuesday Reset hits, all of them will be refreshed.
Exotic Missions will also grant Exotic weapons and armor as Powerful Gear, though you may want to save these for easier leveling later on.
To maximize your Power Level gains, you will want to pay attention to what pieces of gear are lagging behind and try to target your drops for them.
Tools such as Destiny Item Manager or Destiny Recipe are great resources that you should definitely take advantage of during your Power Level grind.
Power Cap
It may take some time, but eventually, you should reach 1800 Power Level. This is known as the Power Cap, as Powerful Gear will no longer increase your average Power Level, though it can still be helpful in certain scenarios.
The only way to increase your Power Level now is through Pinnacle Gear. Pinnacle Gear drops from a variety of end-game activities.
Here is a quick list of ways you can earn Pinnacle Gear:
- Raids: The final boss of the newest Raid, as well as the weekly Featured Raid, both drop Pinnacle Gear.
- Dungeons: The final boss of the newest Dungeon, as well as the weekly Featured Dungeon, both drop Pinnacle Gear.
- Dares of Eternity: Completing Dares of Eternity with a score of 250,000.
- Nightfalls: Accumulate 200,000 points across any number of Nightfall Strikes, higher difficulty levels grant more progress.
- Weekly Campaign Mission: Complete the weekly Lightfall Campaign mission.
- Partition: Weekly Mission on Neptune.
- Trials of Osiris: Winning seven matches and winning 50 rounds total both grant Pinnacle Gear.
- Seasonal Activities: Currently, Salvage Legend grants Pinnacle Gear.
Getting past the Power Cap and into the Pinnacle Cap will take some time.
Just make sure you are doing all of your Pinnacle activities every week. Again, it is important to try and target any pieces of gear that are lower than your average and upgrade them first.
If a particular piece of gear is far below your average, you may be able to use Powerful Gear drops to bring it up to your Power Level.
Pinnacle Cap
The Maximum Power Level you can achieve in Destiny 2 is known as the Pinnacle Cap.
Currently, the Pinnacle Cap is set at 1810. No further Pinnacle Gear will bring your Power Level beyond this number.
The only way to increase your Power Level past Pinnacle Cap is by using your Seasonal Artifact.
By gaining experience through kills, activity completion, and bounties, your Artifact will grant you bonus Power Levels, though most activities should be much easier once you are at Pinnacle Cap.
Evening Out
For those looking to reach the max Power Level as efficiently as possible, there are some tips and tricks you will want to use. First, the concept of evening out your gear.
In Destiny 2, your Power Level is determined by your average Gear Score plus any levels granted by your Seasonal Artifact.
If every piece of gear you have on is very close in Gear Score to your Power Level, then you will want to get a Pinnacle drop to increase your average.
It only takes a couple of Pinnacle drops to get your Power Level higher than your average piece of gear.
Once this happens, you will want to chase Powerful drops to even out your gear again. Rinse and repeat for efficient gains. This is a great strategy for reaching the Powerful Cap.
If you notice that a specific piece of gear is dragging down your average, try to find a mission, vendor, or Exotic Quest that rewards gear for that specific slot.
This can save you a lot of time and protect you from the RNG that comes with Power Leveling.
One last tip. For players who are Power Leveling their second or third character on their account, be sure to swap over your highest Power Level weapons from your first character to your other characters. This will give them a much-needed jumpstart in Power Level.
Now you should have everything you need to get on the right path toward Pinnacle Cap.
Let me know in the comments how your Power Leveling journey is going. Feel free to share any tips you have for efficient Power Leveling!
