Destiny 2 levelling guide: How to get to max level cap

Publish date: 2023-07-04

Each new Destiny 2 expansion and season brings with it a higher Destiny 2 Power level cap to work towards.

Season of the Haunted and Destiny 2's fifth year is no different. The good news is, as of The Witch Queen, everyone now starts at the same base gear level, regardless of when you started playing - and as before, from there, there are multiple level caps and many Gear sources from which to get there.

Learning where to find Powerful Gear and Pinnacle Gear sources is a key aspect of Destiny 2 levelling - and in short, means at points you'll have to change your focus to certain activities to keep levelling, all to help you access and survive end-game content.

It's a slightly overwhelming system to get your head around at first, and this page will explain how to navigate each step of the way.

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How gear levels work in Destiny 2 and the max level cap explained

Destiny 2's levelling system operates with three different caps to work towards, each requiring different sources of gear to level up past. Here's what they are at a glance for Season of the Haunted:

How to reach these caps, and what to do to reach the next one, is outlined on the rest of this levelling guide.

It's worth noting that, technically, the Destiny 2 max level cap goes beyond 1570, thanks to the seasonal artefact. Every new season will give you this item, and by levelling it up with XP, you'll receive a series of bonuses - including temporary additional levels that adds to your Power, allowing you to go beyond the level cap. (Or, if you're not there yet, a slight nudge towards it.)

You can see your current level, and what the artefact is contributing, on the main gear screen:

The end of each season, however, sees many things in Destiny 2 reset and change. This includes the artefact, which will start over, so you have to level up the power level bonus with XP once more. As well as this, the gear cap itself will increase - usually 10 per season.

How to get to Legendary Gear to get to the 1510 Power Soft Cap in Destiny 2

Learning which sources give what Power loot is key to fast and effective levelling. The vast majority of activities in Destiny 2 will drop loot up to the 'soft' Legendary cap of 1510, meaning when you start Destiny 2 or a major new expansion, you simply play the game how you want to level up.

Here's an idea of what this includes:

You are also welcome to complete Powerful Gear and Pinnacle Gear activities, which will benefit you too - though the drops will be in line with your current level than leapfrogging you past that.

We'd also suggest you avoid infusing - which enables you to change the Power of a certain piece of Gear by 'consuming' another one - until you at least hit the Powerful Gear stage, since until then be getting gear so regularly it'll be outstripped by something else very quickly.

In summary, to get to 1510, it's simple a case of playing any activities you like. If you want to speed this up and have completed all story missions, then Crucible matches and Public Events are among the fastest way to do it.

That said, there are methods to get to the soft cap quickly...

Destiny 2 fast levelling: How to reach the soft level cap fast in Destiny 2

If you want to reach the soft level cap of 1510 quickly in Destiny 2, then you can find a grinding spot to quickly get Engram drops. In the past, the fastest was finding a short Lost Sector and repeating it over and over, giving you Legendary Engram drops on each boss completion - however, Bungie has since patched out those methods.

Instead, what appears to be the fastest power level farm is visiting Circle of Bones - an underground area in the Moon - and defeating the Champion there. This will spawn a chest. If you leave the area, then return, the chest will spawn again. You can repeat this a handful of times, and if you get the Champion to die close the door, you can make this process even faster.

Here is Schendzie on YouTube showing how it's done:

Essentially, learning where to kill an enemy in a Patrol zone which drops a chest, and doing that as fast as possible, is the best overall farming method.

Remember to also complete some bounties at the same time (the Destiny app makes it easy to collect these - get them for the planet the farming location is based, as well as Gunsmith and seasonal bounties) which will give you additional XP and help level the artefact - giving you a bonus season-long Power boost when you level it up enough.

Speed levelling to the soft cap will make The Witch Queen story missions a little easier to overcome. Though campaigns are designed to increase gradually in Power Level requirement, there will often be a moment or two where stopping to level is required, and this gives you a fast way to level past it faster than usual.

Powerful Gear Tier sources to get to the 1560 cap in Destiny 2

Legendary Engrams and standard loot will stop at 1510, and so you must seek out 'Powerful Gear'. This means you have to switch and work on specific activities to increase your level.

This is where the grind gets a little more involved. Instead of having each individual activity likely to drop something which can increase your Power level, you now need to focus on completing Weekly Challenges.

These include:

* A welcome change from Year 4 onwards is all playlist activities have a chance to drop Powerful Gear after each completion, even if you have completed their respective weekly challenge.

As well as the above, it's worth knowing completing the Legendary campaign will give you a gear set at 1520. This is some way below the Powerful Gear cap, but if you're just starting out, might be a good step up if you fancy the challenge.

Our recommendation? Focus on the eight Bounties for each vendor. Though many of these are area or activity specific, some such as Banshee in the Tower can be completed while doing any activity. Bounties should be a priority anyway to get you XP to level your artefact and level your season pass for additional drops.

Also, remember you can also earn Pinnacle Gear to boost your level, such as from the Raid, which you should now be strong enough to play.

Season of the Haunted is here! Get up to speed with our levelling guide. For The Witch Queen, learn how to get Exotics including Dead Messenger and Parasite. Late last year, we saw the Bungie 30th Anniversary, which adds the Grasp of Avarice dungeon, Strange Coins and new Exotics, including the Gjallarhorn and Forerunner.

Pinnacle Gear Tier sources to get to the 1570 cap in Destiny 2

Once you have reached the Powerful Gear cap, you then have to switch to Pinnacle Gear to give you the last 10 levels you need to reach the absolute Gear cap.

These are amongst the most challenging or time-consuming activities in Destiny 2. Not only that, there are fewer of them, ramping up the grind.

Here are all the current Pinnacle Gear sources:

* From Season 13 onwards, you have to return to these activity vendors in the Tower to get a Pinnacle engram after you rank up. You can bank these if you so choose, so visit when ready.

** Unlike the most recent Raid or Dungeon, Pinnacles will drop on completion only - not for each individual encounter.

The bread and butter here for solo players is focusing on weekly playlists, as when combined with ranking up, can give you a straightforward source of Pinnacle Gear. If you combine this with earning Triumphs, Seals or Pinnacle Weapons, then you are essentially preparing your character for various end game activities in terms of both level and loot.

However, the best source of Pinnacle gear will always remain the latest raid, if you are high enough level and can find others to join you. Finishing this raid should earn you four Pinnacle drops, giving you a solid levelling boost. A raid completion with practice can be achieved in an evening's play. Dungeon completions, meanwhile, are also useful to practice as they can be reliable fast Pinnacle sources when you know what to do.

It's worth adding that seasonal events - such as Festival of the Lost during Halloween or the final Solstice of Heroes armour set - can offer max level weapons or armour upon completing certain requirements, regardless of your current power level. If you're behind, these are well worth completing to raise your average level quickly.

Ultimately, know getting Pinnacle Gear is a grind. But as mentioned earlier, your seasonal artefact can boost your Gear's Power level as well, so if you're struggling with the above multiplayer-centric activities, then simply playing and getting XP will gradually see your Power level increase.

Though it can be a lot of work, it's worth remembering the Power Level increases by 10 across all caps every three months when a new season arrives, giving you a leg up for the next raise each time.

No matter your goals when it comes to levelling, we wish you the best of luck!

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