In the MMO shooter Destiny , the light level plays a crucial role starting from level 40. What does light mean? How do you increase it?
The level-up, getting stronger in Destiny, works up to level 40 just as you are used to. Like in any other game with a level system, you gain experience and level up by killing enemies and completing quests.
But with level 40, a “new” system is added: the light level. Compared to the first year of Destiny, light now works differently.
What is the light level in Destiny?
The light level is the strength of the Guardian’s equipment. It is determined by taking the attack values of the equipped weapons and the defense values of the other equipped items and averaging them: the light level.
This is not just an “abstract value” that doesn’t matter. It is extremely important:
- Your light value determines how much damage your Guardian deals
- it determines how much damage your Guardian takes
- and it is the only criterion at level 40 that dictates how good the gear you get is. It determines the stats of your loot
Activities and enemies have a specific light level. If your Guardian is significantly below the enemy’s, they won’t take any damage from you and will hit like space horses. The more important realization is perhaps: the loot situation.
Both insights suggest that you should always aim to achieve the highest light level possible with your current gear.
Tips to increase the light level – a small leveling guide
The most important tip in our small leveling guide is, even if it sounds absurd: To increase the light level and level up quickly, you should always strive to have the highest light level possible. And that at the moment when you receive rewards.
And yes, this also means: A blue item with a high light level is better than a legendary or exotic item with a low light level.
Tip 1 for leveling quickly in Destiny: Increase light level to increase light level… and always take your time decoding engrams
This means in practice: If you’re standing in front of the Cryptarch with engrams and want to decode them, you should wear your highest gear. And if you get a stronger item, equip it before decoding more engrams.
If you have eight blue armor engrams and two purple (legendary) engrams, you should start with the blue engrams. Check after each one whether the new item would increase your light level if equipped before decoding the next engram in Destiny. Save the purple ones for last. Because then, hopefully, you will have a higher light level than at the beginning of the engram session.
Colleague Nexoss is doing this with the engrams… suboptimally, but still useful tips in the video, especially on how to get gear through the factions.
Tip 2: Strikes, Strikes, Strikes
Since with a low light level you only get inferior items from random rewards, you should not buy engrams from the Cryptarch for “legendary marks” for now. If you don’t have a high light level, they are of no use. You’d better save the legendary marks for later or to buy items with “fixed stats”. A ghost from the Vanguard is recommended, for example.
On the other hand, exotic engrams have a chance to drop armor pieces and weapons with particularly high light level (310) when you open them with a high light level (300 or above).
Otherwise, roughly speaking: If you have a light level of 250, you will receive items between 240 and 260. So that guarantees no better loot, but gives you the chance for it.
The first steps – reach light level 240
For the first steps, quests are crucial. Do the quests that you can solve without problems and from which you expect gear that helps you progress. Complete the main storyline. Most importantly, have fun!
The long way from 240 to 290 light in Destiny
Once you reach 240, you should start playing mostly strikes in the Vanguard playlist. These are level 36 strikes. You should repeat them over and over, preferably in a row, to activate the engram bonus. With the engrams you collect here, you should reach a solid level of around 290. You can connect this well with further quests.
The Court of Oryx event also drops a lot of blue engrams. And those are your best friends in this phase.
Things get tricky from 290 light onwards
From 290 onwards, it’s time for the King’s Fall raid. You can systematically collect and spend legendary marks, attempt the Nightfall, or start infusing weapons (currently the trick with the Black Spindle still works) to make the last 20 points from 290 to 310 (if you can even reach that high). Here, you switch from blue items to legendary ones, as they can be infused and further enhanced.
At this level, it’s also worth tackling the tough quests that end with exotic items, like the search for an exotic sword or the Raid weapon Malicious Touch.
For the last tricky points and the challenging passage from 290 to 300, we will make separate guides. More demanding activities are necessary for this, for which fixed teams are recommended.
Do you have tips on how to increase the light level? How have you progressed? Share your secrets with us!
