Once again, Power Levels have been remixed in the latest Destiny 2 DLC — Beyond Light pushes your PL up to 1250+, and if you’re aiming to prepare for the new Raid, you’ll need to reach at least 1230 PL. Here we’re going to discuss the best methods for grinding to the top tier.
The methods are pretty similar to the past, but Destiny 2: Beyond Light is designed specifically to introduce new players to the long-running Live Service Game. If you don’t really understand how the end-game works in Destiny 2 works, that’s totally okay — I’ll explain exactly what you need to know below.
More Destiny 2: Beyond Light guides:
How To Get The Salvation’s Grip Grenade Launcher | Exotic Guide
Reaching The New Softcap | 1200 PL
The “softcap” is the Power Level you can reach simply by leveling up and completing quests. The softcap currently is 1200 PL. As you level up, you’ll find better and better gear — the higher your level, the better Power Level gear will drop to match.
This is the easy part when it comes to grinding — any activity will reward you with XP, but there are ways to earn XP faster.
Go to the Tower and collect your Artifact for this season ASAP. The Artifact is a special item that works like a Battle Pass. You can unlock tiers for free, or purchase (with real cash) to unlock bonus tiers, and a special box that gives you an instant Large XP Boost.
- Methods For Earning XP Faster
- Purchase the S12 Pass to gain a free Large XP Boost. Level up the Artifact to gain more rewards.
- Leveling up the Artifact will give you a “Shared Wisdom” buff — the more you complete the Season, the better this buff becomes. This buff increases XP of anyone on your fireteam — so join friends with this buff to instantly earn more XP.
- Fully upgrade your Ghost to Masterwork to gain a permanent +10-12% XP boost.
The Masterwork Ghost may have bonus perks that increase the amount of Legendary drops you find while completing activities. Not useful for gaining XP, but will be useful for the hardcap.
If you’re looking for an easy PL strategy, try hunting Wanted enemies. They will always drop Legendary weapons — guaranteed.
- How To Easily Grind PL | 1200 Or Below PL Farming
- Travel to EDZ and enter the Lost Sectors here Any of them will work. The Widow’s Walk in Trostland is the shortest.
- The regular enemies that spawn in EDZ Lost Sectors are easy, but the boss is considered a “Powerful” enemy.
- The boss will always drop Legendary loot that is guaranteed to increase your PL up to 1200.
This is easy to do Solo, can be completed in less than 60 seconds per run, and you’ll also get a chance at plenty of Rare drops that will also increase your PL while grinding the softcap.
Leveling Up To The Hardcap | 1200-1250 PL
At 1200 PL, you won’t be able to increase your Power Level anymore by those standard methods from before. Random drops and standard quest rewards will NOT increase your PL past 1200. This is where increasing your PL becomes complicated — and you’ll need at least 1230 PL to enter the new Beyond Light raid.
XP no longer matters. At this point, you’ll need to unlock specific rewards that drop slightly higher PL gear. Reaching the softcap is a breeze. Grinding even a few PL higher than 1200 can be challenging.
- How To Level Up Past The Softcap | 1200+ PL
- The only way to earn high PL is with Powerful drops and Pinnacle drops.
- Check the directory to find which activities will reward you with Powerful / Pinnacle drops.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Random enemies will now drop Legendary loot at your average PL. It will not be higher, but there is a chance it will match it, even beyond 1200+. This is very, very important for grinding — if you have lots of loot that’s dragging down your average, you can complete Lost Sectors or any other standard softcap activities to help equalize your PL.
More Hardcap PL Tips | Using Season Pass Tiers & Competitive PvP
Your Infamy Rank in Gambits (both Standard & Competitive) will drop Powerful gear when you reach each progression tier. You can now earn multiple Powerful drops as a single reward for completing certain activities and increasing your tiers.
PSA: If you’re just starting Beyond Light, I highly recommend waiting until you reach 1200, then playing just a few games of Gambit / Crucible on Competitive and Normal. Just earning the first few tiers is enough to get you ridiculous rewards.
You can also use the Season Pass to improve your PL. As you complete reward tiers, you’ll be able to select which items you want — don’t bother removing anything until you’re 1200+ PL. While these items won’t be higher than your current average PL, they WILL match your current average PL.
- How Season Pass Drops Work: You can use the Season Pass to replace any items you have equipped that are holding you back — if you’re at 1220 PL and your boots are 1205, you can select a Season Pass boot drop to instantly gain a 1220 PL boots.
That’s the basics for leveling up to 1230+ PL in the Beyond Light expansion. As you can see, grinding is a little easier this time. You can use random enemies and standard activities to give yourself a quick boost — but you’ll still need to focus on those important Powerful and Pinnacle rewards you’ll find in the Director menu.
