Tips for increasing your light level (Destiny)

by Kahzgul, Saturday, September 09, 2017, 11:08 (2449 days ago)

Engram power levels work differently in D2 than they did in D1. So what changed?

- First, the power level of an engram is determined when it drops, not when you decrypt it.

- Second, the power level of an engram is based on the gear you character has available, be it actually equipped, in your inventory, in the vault, or even on another character (in the case of weapons or same-class armor).

- Third, the power level of reputation turn ins is determined at the time you earn them.

- Fourth, the power level of quest rewards is determined at the time you turn in the quest.

We can use this information to come up with "best practices" for maximizing power level gains.

- Pick up any blue or green engrams as soon as possible. They automatically decrypt, which means that if they are a power level boost for your character, that will immediately factor in to any other future engram drops. Here's an example of what I mean: If you are power level 10, and a green engram drops, it is based on power level 10. If you pick it up right away and it contains an item strong enough to raise your overall power level to 11, then any future drops will be based on power level 11. If you leave the green engram there, and do not pick it up, then any future drops will still be based on power level 10, until you collect them. You need not equip the items at all, but be sure to collect any engrams you see on the ground immediately.

- When returning to the Farm, the ideal order for visiting vendors is this: Collect anything from the postmaster first. Then decrypt any engrams you have at the cryptarch. Then turn in your rep items, and finally turn in any quests you have completed.

There are also LOTS of activities to partake in within D2. So is there an optimal order? Well, sort of. Finishing the main story unlocks a LOT of reward items, which will boost your power level quite a bit. I personally jumped from 145 to 220. So that boost is huge and well worth it. You also get a sparrow if you weren't lucky enough to have one drop through random gameplay, and having transport is hugely helpful as well. So I recommend finishing the campaign as your top priority.

After that, Adventures and lost sectors and public events all drop basically the same quality gear, so go for those. And then the many quests which unlock after finishing the main story all drop "powerful" reward level gear, so I'd say to hit those last, or if you feel like you've hit a power level plateau, as those will certainly get you over the hump.

Speaking of plateaus... At light 200 green engrams stop dropping, and you can't buy vendor greens above this level. I strongly encourage you to spend some glimmer as you level up on vendor greens as they are often 10-15 power higher than you are until they hit the 200 plateau. Blues and Purples generally cap at 265 power, at which point you need to rely on quests and rewards which feature 'powerful rewards'. Because of this, some players are postponing turning in any powerful reward missions until they hit 265 via other means. Just note that many missions are on a weekly reset, so don't wait too long or everything will reset!

Good luck, guardians!