Yes, all drops scale to your level (Destiny)

by Kahzgul, Saturday, September 09, 2017, 01:09 (2716 days ago) @ Funkmon

Where does the scaling stop, you may wonder?

Vendor items: Stop scaling at power 200. Buying these is a great way to bump up your early power level. Don't sweat the glimmer, you'll have more than you need almost all the time.

Green engrams: these will stop dropping at power 200 and you'll never need to worry about them again.

Blue engrams: The highest I've seen one drop is 265, which was higher than my power level at the time. I expect they can still drop higher than that, though they're definitely more likely to be below my power level than above it since I hit around 220. This category includes most adventure and lost sector rewards.

Purple engrams: These scale, always. Of note: After you beat the game, certain quest chains end in awesome purple weapons being doled out. Those are given out at *dramatically higher power level* than you currently are. IE: When I was power 245, I got a power 272 exotic from a quest chain. Still my highest light kinetic weapon and I'm now power 265.

Exotic engrams: These scale, always. They're always higher than your current power level as far as I can tell.

Bright engrams: Always power level 10, it it's an armor item at all.

When completing activities:

- Rare Reward means a scaled blue engram.

- Legendary Reward means a scaled purple engram.

- Powerful reward means an overscaled purple engram or exotic engram (meaning much higher power level).

IMO: Finish the campaign first. Then come back for the adventures, lost sectors, etc.. The quests that open up after you finish the campaign often say they require 260 light, but they're actually doable (if hard) at less than that. I did the one on Nessus at power 220.

Also of note: When you beat the game, you're going to get a CRAPLOAD of engrams. This will dramatically increase your light level (I went from 165 to 220) which will make all those adventures and lost sectors and public events worth that much more. Another reason to beat the game first.