Destiny 2 has introduced a new difficulty level for Nightfall: The Ordeal – Grandmaster. This is supposed to be the ultimate challenge for this PvE endgame activity. We explain what makes Grandmaster Nightfalls special.
Finally new info: Some time ago, Bungie announced that a harder difficulty for Nightfall was on the way. However, there were no details until now. The studio has finally revealed in the current “This Week at Bungie” blog what Grandmaster, as it is officially called, will entail.
What’s in the new Grandmaster Nightfall
What exactly is Grandmaster? It is a new difficulty level for Nightfall: The Ordeal (Nightfall: The Ordeal) – a special Nightfall format that was introduced with the Shadowkeep expansion and has existed alongside the regular Nightfall since then.
After the difficulties
- Master (recommended Power Level 750, with matchmaking)
- Hero (recommended Power Level 920, with matchmaking)
- Legend (recommended Power Level 950)
- and Grandmaster (recommended Power Level 980)
Grandmaster will soon become the new most challenging level in The Ordeal.
Bungie says this new difficulty will test your fireteam’s coordination, communication, builds, and skills like no other activity in Destiny 2. In short: this will be the new ultimate challenge in Nightfalls.
Here are the requirements for Grandmaster: To start a Nightfall at Grandmaster difficulty, you need at least Power Level 1,025. This is 15 levels above the current power cap, but 25 levels below the activity level. Because Grandmaster is set at Power Level 1,050.
Bungie hasn’t explicitly commented on matchmaking, but it’s safe to assume that there will be no player search for Grandmaster and you’ll need a pre-made fireteam.
Additionally, note: Grandmaster will feature a slightly modified competitive mode that Bungie introduced with the “Crown of Sorrow” raid to ensure more fairness in the World-First race.
In the case of the new difficulty, it means that you will not have any additional advantage if you exceed Power Level 1,025. Bungie does not want players to feel forced to put a lot of effort into leveling up the activity.
When does it start? The Grandmaster difficulty is set to launch on April 21, still within the ongoing Season 10.
What else makes Grandmaster special: Bungie has also discussed some key points that define Grandmaster. The studio has set the following goals:
- Grandmaster will build on the existing Master level but will be significantly more challenging.
- After reaching a certain level (likely Power Level 1,025), the challenge will be to perfect builds and loadouts, communication within the team, and execution.
- Grandmaster is expected to push build crafting to its limits and be really impressive.
- Success will primarily be measured by whether you can complete the activity rather than by points, a timer, or other criteria within the Nightfall, such as “Defeat all champions”.
- The primary rewards will be distributed after the first weekly completion.
- In addition to some familiar modifiers, some new modifiers will also be introduced – for example, Extinguished and Limited Revives.
With Extinguished active, you will be thrown into orbit if your fireteam is completely wiped out. Limited Revives means that you will start The Ordeal with only a small stock of team revives. However, you can earn additional revives by defeating champions.
Additionally, note: This is not everything that Grandmaster Nightfalls have to offer. Bungie doesn’t want to reveal everything yet, as some new aspects should be discovered by you yourself.
What about rewards? In Grandmaster, you have a higher chance of receiving exotic armor pieces or Masterwork materials.
But the real highlight is a new seal including the title – Conqueror. You will receive this if you have completed each of the Nightfall The Ordeals at Grandmaster at least once during the season.
Bungie wants this to be the hardest title to achieve. Whether there will be any actual changes in the title ranking remains to be seen.
What do you think? Is the new difficulty level something for you and your team? Or does Grandmaster leave you completely cold?
