In Season 5, the power level of Destiny 2 was increased for all Forsaken owners. We show you how to quickly and efficiently reach the new level cap of 650.
Since December 4th, it has been possible to reach the new max power level of 650 in Destiny 2 – provided you own the Forsaken expansion. For many, this means it’s time to level up again.
We answer these questions in the guide:
- But which activities will advance you the most after 600?
- And how do you level up best beforehand?
You will find out in our level guide.
Leveling faster from power level 600 – How to reach the new cap of 650
These activities will advance you faster after 600: Guardians who have already reached or exceeded the former level cap of 600 have limited options if they want to make large jumps with powerful gear.
While each piece of powerful gear will be 2-3 points above your overall power level, you will only receive items that are above that level from the following sources:
- Drops in the new Raid Scourge of the Past
- random exotic drops
- Prime Engrams
- weekly quest from Ada-1
- weapons from radiant weapon bounties by Ada-1 (forged weapons)
Only these items provide a significant power boost, as they are usually between 5 and 7 levels above your average. For instance, if your character has a power level of 600 and you decrypt a Prime Engram, the reward will typically be somewhere between 605 and 607.
Powerful rewards from all other sources will only give you rewards that are 2-3 points above your average.
Also note that the height of the reward is calculated based on your maximum possible power level. You do not necessarily have to have the highest items equipped.
What you should consider when playing multiple characters: If you play multiple characters, you should get the forged weapons as late as possible on your first Guardian.
By transferring the weapons, you can push your second or even third character further and get the most out of leveling.
The recommended order for activities: This strategy is generally recommended for all players who are in the leveling process – not just for Guardians above 600.
If your power level is balanced, meaning all parts are relatively close together (for example, between 640 and 644), then you should use a source that will give you a significant boost. In such a case, it is best to open a Prime Engram. That will advance you the most, and the remaining powerful rewards, which do not provide such large boosts, may already turn out to be higher.
If your power level is somewhat far apart (for example, between 616 and 624, but with a single item at 600), then you should first complete activities that provide “low” powerful items as rewards, hoping that the right item (in this case, the class item) is among them. An item with a high boost would be wasted here and would result in little or no upgrade for your power level.
If you have comparatively little time and cannot pay attention to such details, then simply try to complete as many milestones as possible each week, which reward you with powerful rewards.
Leveling faster up to power level 600 – Here’s how
Different activities in Destiny 2 have different soft caps, meaning intermediate limits that determine how high the rewards can be.
If you are new to the game or simply have not progressed to 600 as an established player, you should focus on the following activities to reach the hard cap, which is the current max power level:
Sources for strong powerful rewards (+5) under 520:
- all daily milestones
- the flashpoint
- weekly crucible, strike, and gambit milestones
- clan engrams
After 520, these activities no longer provide such big boosts, but are still effective. All subsequent activities also provide significant boosts up to your respective soft cap and can be used for leveling earlier.
Sources for strong powerful rewards (+5) under 540:
- Nightfall strike
- Nightfall strike with 100,000 points
- weekly story mission from Petra Venj
Sources for strong powerful rewards (+5) under 560:
- Reset of the infamy rank in Gambit
- weekly quest from Petra Venj
Sources for strong powerful rewards (+5) under 580:
- Forsaken Raid Last Wish
- Ascendant Challenges
- weekly heroic mission in the Blind Well
- Iron Banner bounties (may scale up to 600 in Season 5)
Sources for strong powerful rewards (+5) under 600:
- Shattered Throne
- Non-quest-bound exotics (drops from engrams)
- Prime Engrams (you will receive more of them until 600)
- Engram for 5,000 clan XP
Can you level further when everything is done?
If you have completed all milestones that provide you with powerful gear as a reward, there are still some ways to progress in level until the next weekly reset:
Grinding for rank rewards: You can dive into PvP or Gambit and grind there for rank-ups. For this, you will receive loot that will significantly advance you up to 520.
Afterwards, you can only advance a few points. Remember that only full rank-ups provide high rewards. The intermediate ranks do not give you power drops.
Leveling with additional characters: You can level with a second or even third character parallel, which is roughly at the same level as your main character.
This way, you can just switch weapons after you have maxed out one character and continue leveling with your next lower Guardian, who receives a significant boost from the high-level weapons. If you even do this with a third character, you can make a significant jump upwards – and that within a single week.
Keep in mind that you need different character classes for this. Characters of the same class will not advance you further. This method is most effective if you play all three Guardian classes.
Fast leveling to 650 – a video guide: You will find more valuable tips and detailed explanations of individual leveling mechanics in this video by Datto.
