POWER LEVELING IN DESTINY 2 CAN FEEL LIKE A GRIND, BUT KNOWING WHERE TO FIND POWERFUL AND PINNACLE REWARDS TURNS THE CLIMB INTO STRATEGY-HERE’S HOW TO PUSH YOUR GUARDIAN TO THE LIMIT WITHOUT WASTING A SINGLE DROP OF LOOT.
How Power level and gear drops work in Destiny 2
In Destiny 2, Power level averages all equipped gear, vault items, and seasonal artifact bonuses across slots to set damage output and incoming harm against enemies. Gear drops match this average (“at Power”) or exceed it slightly (+1 or +2) from Powerful and Pinnacle sources once past the soft cap of 1950, with Powerful gear pushing to the 2000 cap and Pinnacle gear beyond via weekly activities like vendor bounties, Nightfalls, raids, and playlist challenges. Drops target lagging slots first for balance, so equip highest pieces per category and run multiple characters to funnel account-wide rewards that align with your strongest setup.
Power level in Destiny 2 is a numerical value that determines how much damage you take and deal to your foes – the higher the level, the more damage you deal and the less you receive. Outside of dictating how much damage you deal, know that activities in the game will have a set Power level and you’ll be more effective when you’re close to or exceeding that level.
Players and enemies each have a Power level and they get compared together. Your overall Power level comes from averaging the Power level of your gear, plus any additional levels from your seasonal artifact.
When it comes to gear, Destiny 2 staggers your progress with different Power level caps: the soft cap, the Powerful cap, and the Pinnacle cap. Each of those caps represents a point at which certain types of drops will no longer increase your Power level, and so you have to shift your priorities each week in order to continue increasing your level.
Additionally, a seasonal artifact level is added on top of your gear’s average Power level. This is how you are able to get to a higher level than the Pinnacle or Max cap. You gain artifact levels by playing throughout a season and gaining XP. However, unlike your gear level, your artifact level resets at the end of season. (If you’re looking to gain XP fast, it’s best to farm bounties or Seasonal Challenges, as they provide some of the quickest and easiest XP in the game.)
A change from The Final Shape onwards is the Adjusted Power feature when playing in a Fireteam. When in a party, players will automatically have their power increased to five Power below the player with the highest level – allowing them to join in on endgame activities (such as the raid) without grinding to the required activity level themselves. But even if your Power is adjusted under the Power Leader feature, you’ll still earn drops according to your normal Power level.
Finally, for players with multiple characters, another change starting with The Final Shape is Power drop values are now account wide, meaning if you switch to a lower Power character, any new loot will match that of your most powerful character. As a result, Power Boosts (designed to help lower Power characters skip through the grind) are no longer available.
Max level caps in Destiny 2
Destiny 2’s power system sets distinct maximum levels for each character slot. Soft caps limit natural gains from blue and purple gear to 1750, after which Powerful gear pushes to the hard cap of 1800. Pinnacle gear then carries players to the current maximum of 2000. These caps reset each expansion, with The Final Shape establishing 2000 as the peak until the next major update. Match your gear across all slots to hit these thresholds fastest.
There are three level caps in Destiny 2: the soft cap, the Powerful cap, and the Pinnacle cap. For Episode: Revenant, those caps are:
- Starting power: 1900
- Soft cap: 1950
- Powerful cap: 2000
- Pinnacle cap: 2010
We’ll break down each cap below.
How to reach the soft cap in Destiny 2
Play regular activities like strikes, public events, and patrols to pick up blue and legendary gear drops that boost your average power until hitting 1950, Destiny 2’s soft cap. Complete the Final Shape campaign on Legendary difficulty for a full set at 1960 power right away. Open golden chests in zones such as the Cosmodrome and finish gear-rewarding quests along the way.
The soft cap for Destiny 2 is 1950. What does “soft cap” mean? It means that up until you reach 1950 Power level, pretty much anything and everything can give you a Power level increase. This can be blue drops from the ground or activity rewards; anything that drops for you will be a few Power above your current Power level. Once you reach the soft cap, you’ll no longer get blue drops.
The best way to reach the soft cap is to simply play the game, as regardless of activity, you’ll receive gear up to that Power level regularly.
If you want to get past the soft cap quickly, and you are just starting The Final Shape, then it’s worth considering playing the Legendary campaign, which will give you fixed gear at 20 Power above the soft cap upon completion (1960). This is a challenge, however, especially for new players – so consider playing other activities instead while you familiarize yourself with the game.
How to reach the Powerful gear cap in Destiny 2
To reach the Powerful gear cap, first push your character to the soft cap through general play, then focus exclusively on activities flagged as Powerful or Pinnacle rewards, such as ritual playlists, weekly milestones, and vendor challenges that grant higher-tier drops. Prioritize completing all available Powerful challenges each week before turning to Pinnacle sources, so you steadily raise any slots lagging behind your average Power and avoid wasting higher-value rewards on low-level gear. Keep an eye on your character screen after each drop, swapping in upgrades as soon as they appear, which ensures subsequent Powerful rewards roll at a higher level and carry you to the cap more quickly.
The Powerful cap for Destiny 2 is 2000, meaning that between 1950 and 2000, the only way to increase your Power level is to get a reward fromactivities that grant Powerful or Pinnacle gear.
Starting with The Final Shape, the range of Powerful gear sources has expanded to most activities in the game – with the aim to “help players gradually reach the Powerful Cap no matter what activities they choose to play”, even if they are not tied to the weekly reset, according to Bungie.
Examples of activities and sources with Powerful gear drops include:
- Completing eight vendor bounties for Banshee-44
- Complete ritual activities
- Gambit, Vanguard, Crucible, and Banshee rank rewards
- Give out five Commendations
- Prime and Exotic Engrams, which drop at random
- Completing old episode activities, like stuff from Episode: Echoes
- Ranking up Ghost in the Pale Heart
- Exotic missions like Dual Destiny and Encore
If you are trying to be as optimal as possible, you’ll want to save all of your powerful rewards until after you get to 1950. Though Powerful loot drops are no longer as limited per week as they once were, you don’t want to waste Powerful or Pinnacle drops when you can still get levels from unrestricted rewards.
How to reach the Pinnacle / Max Power cap in Destiny 2
Reach the Pinnacle cap of 2010 Power after hitting the Powerful cap at 2000 by completing weekly Pinnacle gear activities. Focus on raids like Salvation’s Edge, dungeons such as Vesper’s Host, Trials of Osiris at 7 wins, Nightfall strikes with 200,000 score, and ritual activities including Iron Banner challenges. Collect drops only when all gear slots match your average to gain +2 Power increases each week until maxed.
The Pinnacle cap for Destiny 2 is 2010, meaning that between 2000 and 2010, the only way to increase your Power level is to get Pinnacle rewards. Similar to Powerful rewards, if you are trying to maximize the effectiveness of the Pinnacle rewards, you won’t want to collect them until after you have reached Power 2000, as these loot drops are limited per week.
Activities with Pinnacle gear drops include:
- Complete the Crucible, Vanguard, and Gambit Pathfinders
- 200,000 Nightfall score across the week
- Complete the Exotic rotator mission twice
- Salvation’s Edge, the latest raid
- Vesper’s Host, the latest dungeon
- Complete the featured Cooperative Focused mission in The Pale Heart
- Iron Banner Challenges (when the event is active)
- Final encounter of the raid and dungeon highlighted in the weekly rotation
- Complete current Episode activity challenges, like Onslaught: Salvation
It’s worth mentioning that there’s no point in saving Pinnacles if you’re not going to reach 2000 on that character by the end of the week. We recommend just doing all Powerful rewards on a character first, and then tackling Pinnacle activities.
When is the best time to open Engrams in Destiny 2?
Prime Engrams drop at a fixed power level based on your Guardian’s level when obtained, so decrypt them right away to claim gear matching your current progress toward the Powerful cap. Hold off on Pinnacle gear until you hit that cap, as it only provides gains there and risks dropping below your average if opened too soon. Equip your highest-power armor and weapons before focusing the engram on your weakest slot for maximum benefit.
Until you hit the Powerful cap, you should turn in Prime Engrams immediately after you pick them up. These are considered 1 Powerful rewards from when they drop, meaning their Power does not increase as your Power level does. If you continue to level up without turning the Prime Engram in, you’ll essentially waste it. If you’re struggling in the raid and you get a Prime Engram, it’s always worth taking a quick Tower break to decrypt it.
Destiny 2 also uses a slot leveling system, meaning that gear drops per slot and is based on your current average Power level. A sticking point of this system is that some of your gear slots may fall behind. For example, your overall level could be 1995 while your Hunter’s Cloak could be stuck at 1992 and your helmet is at 1998
To make the most of your Powerful and Pinnacle drops, try to keep your items within a few Power levels of each other, which can be done by collecting items that drop “at Power.” “At Power” means the gear drops at your current average Power level, which can help bring up some pieces that fall behind (bringing your cloak up to 1995 and raising your overall average without using a weekly Powerful or Pinnacle reward drop). This can increase your overall Power level and make those Powerful and Pinnacles more impactful.
Fastest way to hit 2020 power with one character
The fastest solo path to 2020 Power on one character starts with the Legendary campaign for an instant 1960 soft cap gear set, then prioritizes all Powerful rewards to hit 2010, followed by every weekly Pinnacle source.
Step 1: Soft Cap (Up to 1960)
Complete the latest expansion campaign (e.g., Final Shape or Heresy equivalent) on Legendary difficulty solo or with fireteam help-this drops a full 1960 set across slots. Supplement with world drops, strikes, or patrols if needed, equipping highest-Power items regardless of perks.
Step 2: Powerful Gear (1960-2010)
Farm ~20-25 weekly Powerfuls in order of speed (1-2 hours total):
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3 matches each in Vanguard Ops, Crucible, Gambit (Tier 1 drops).
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3 Dares of Eternity runs.
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Nightfall (any score), 8 Gunsmith bounties.
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Prime Engrams, vendor rank-ups (Zavala/Shaxx/Drifter), ritual Pathfinders (first 3 weeks).
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Seasonal activities like Excision, Co-op Focus, Pale Heart reps.
Decrypt and infuse to balance slots; alts help indirectly via weapon transfers but aren’t required solo.
Step 3: Pinnacle Gear (2010-2020)
Knock out 8-12 limited weeklies (2-4 hours, group up for raids/dungeons):
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Raid encounters (current + weekly rotator, x2 drops).
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Dungeon (e.g., newest like Sundered Doctrine).
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Trials (7 wins/Lighthouse, 50 rounds).
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Iron Banner (4 challenges), Exotic missions (2x weekly), Kell’s Fall.
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Excision, Onslaught waves, 5 Vanguard comms.
Prioritize +2 drops in low slots; repeat weekly until capped. Artifact XP then adds 20+ effective Power.
Solo Tips
Save Pinnacles until Powerful cap for bigger jumps; track via Director map. Expect 1-2 weeks reset-wide solo, faster with LFG. Dismantle extras for materials.
Best Pinnacle activities for 2010 to 2020 power
The best Pinnacle activities for progressing from 2010 to 2020 Power focus on high-reward endgame content that drops +1 to +2 Power gear weekly, prioritizing those with multiple drops per clear for efficiency.
Top Multi-Drop Sources
Raids and dungeons offer the biggest jumps due to multiple pieces:
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Current Raid (e.g., Salvation’s Edge): All encounters drop Pinnacle gear (+2 each).
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Weekly Rotator Raid: Final encounter only (+2).
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Current/Newest Dungeon (e.g., Vesper’s Host or Sundered Doctrine): All encounters (+2 each).
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Weekly Rotator Dungeon: Full clear (+2).
Quick/Accessible Singles
These are easier solo or via LFG, ideal for filling gaps:
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Ritual Pathfinders: Complete Vanguard, Crucible, Gambit tracks (+1 Pinnacle engram each).
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Iron Banner Challenges: 4 daily during event weeks (+2 each).
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Exotic Mission Rotator: Highest difficulty, 1-2 runs (e.g., Kell’s Fall Expert) (+2).
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Legendary Pale Heart Weekly Mission: One clear (+2).
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Nightfall 200k Score: Weekly (+2).
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Trials of Osiris: 7 wins or Lighthouse chest (+2).
Priority Order
Start with raids/dungeons for 4-6 gear pieces in 1-2 hours, then rituals and weeklies. Track gold Pinnacle icons in the Director; aim for 8-12 total weekly. Save until exactly at 2010 to maximize +2 drops in low slots.
