Destiny 2: How To Reach 2000 Power Level Quickly (2024)

Every new expansion in Destiny 2 raises the Power level cap by a certain amount. Seasons used to raise the Power cap by a small amount, but the more recent episodic model has opted for less persistent Power grinding. The major spikes in Guardian Power now come from expansion launches, including the likes of Final Shape.

In other words, everyone starts off at the same Power level when the expansion starts. Everyone's brought up to a new floor, and the new Power max remains relevant for the entire year. To help you reach that cap, we'll go over how Power level works, the Power increases you can expect from each activity, and some strategies you can use to level your main and alternate characters quickly.

Updated June 4, 2024, by Charles Burgar: Destiny 2: The Final Shape has streamlined the leveling process by removing bloat while streamlining the bounty system with Pathfinder. We've updated this article with all current sources of Powerful gear, and we've updated our Power leveling breakdown to reflect current Power bands.

How Does Power Level Work?

Power level determines two key things in Destiny 2:

• How much damage you deal
• How much damage you can take

The higher your level is, the greater both of these bonuses are. If your Power level is lower than the activity's recommended level, you will be taking substantially more damage from enemies and deal less to combatants.

To increase your Power level, you must obtain new weapons and armor with a higher Power level rating. All non-sunset loot you obtain will increase your Power level until you reach the "soft cap." This cap changes each expansion. For Episode: Echoes, the soft cap is 1,940 Power.

Once you reach the soft cap, you will need to obtain Powerful Gear rewards from weekly milestones and activities to obtain gear with a higher level. Your Director will list every activity that grants Powerful Gear. We'll list all of these activities later in the guide.

If you reach a Power level of 1,990, you have hit the "hard cap" for your character's level. Unfortunately, that isnot the actual cap; you can further increase your Power by obtaining Pinnacle Gear from Destiny 2's most demanding content (raids, Trials of Osiris, et cetera). This is called the "pinnacle cap" and is currently set to 2,000.

The only means of increasing your Power level past 2,000 is by leveling your Seasonal Artifact. Artifact leveling occurs passively as you earn XP in Destiny 2.

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Episode: Echoes Power Level Bands

Episode: Echoes' Power level bands are the following:

• Soft Cap: 1,940
• Hard Cap: 1,990
• Pinnacle Cap: 2,000

Soft Cap

The soft cap can be reached by obtaining any non-sunset gear. This includes:

• Rares
• Legendaries (non-sunset)
• Exotics

Obtaining vendor packages is a reliable way to reach the soft cap in a short period of time.

Hard Cap

Powerful Gear rewards from activities are the main method of reaching the hard cap. Prime Engrams can also assist you in achieving this cap.

Pinnacle Cap

Pinnacle Gear rewards are the only way of increasing your gear's Power past 1,990.

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All Power Level Sources

You can find every source of Powerful and Pinnacle Gear below. These activities are listed by the reward type. Note that these activities are character-bound. If you have more than one character, you can level your second and third characters to increase your Power level even faster.

General Power Source

• Seasonal Artifact: This grants Power level based on how much XP you've earned.
  • Artifact Power is disabled in contest mode raids and Trials of Osiris.
• World Drops (Soft Cap Only): If you aren't at the soft cap, any items you find will increase your Power level.

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Powerful Gear Sources

See Also

How to unlock armor Exotics with Rahool reputation in Destiny 2

The sources listed below will grant +3 to +5 Power. Most of these sources are weeklies found on your Director.

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Pinnacle Gear Sources

These sources drop +6 levels higher than your current Power. If you hit the hard cap, these sources will grant gear +2 higher than your current Power, up to the pinnacle cap.

*Despite being listed as Powerful T2, this actually gives Pinnacle Gear.

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Activity Sources

If you haven't played Destiny 2 in a bit or don't own all the game's DLCs, you might be confused about where some of these activities originate from. We've listed the episode or DLC tied to each activity in the tables below.

Active DLC

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General Leveling Tips

Complete The Final Shape Legendary Campaign

The Final Shape campaign has two difficulty variants: Normal and Legendary. You'll want to play on Legendary. Completing the Final Shape campaign on Legendary grants a full set of gear at 1,960 Power. This bypasses a large majority of the Power grind. If you own the Final Shape expansion and have the skill and/or friends to clear the campaign on Legendary, we highly encourage you to do so.

Additional Tips

Complete Pinnacle Gear challenges whenever your items have a similar Power level. This will grant a major boost to one slot, making Powerful Gear rewards "even out" your other slots. Be sure to complete bounties while completing weeklies, as the XP they provide can greatly accelerate your Artifact's progression. The more XP you earn, the more Power level you'll receive.

If you have more than one character, you have even more sources of Powerful gear you can leverage. Your highest Power is tracked across your entire account. For example, if your Hunter is at 1.960 and your Warlock is at 1,900, your Warlock's first few items are going to be considerably higher than usual to help them fast track to 1,960. Consult the April 25 TWID for more information.

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Reaching 1,990 Power Quickly

Reaching the soft cap in Destiny 2 can be a painful process, but understanding how to mix-max your Powerful drops can make this grind much faster. If you're new to Destiny 2, you'll need to do some serious grinding to reach the hard cap this season.

Before you obtain any Powerful Gear, make sure that you hit the soft cap first. Clearing the Final Shape campaign on Legendary difficulty is the fastest way of doing so, as you'll receive a full set of gear at 1,960 Power when the campaign is finished.

For leveling quickly, you'll want to obtain Powerful Gear rewards that offer the largest Power level jump. If you haven't played the episode at all, completing one or two Pinnacle Gear sources isn't a bad idea, as these will give you a +6 item.

From there, you'll want to complete weeklies that grant minor Power level increases. These items will almost always drop in your other gear slots and "even out" the Power level distribution on your gear. When obtaining a +3 item becomes less impactful, complete another challenge that grants a massive boost.

The leveling process should look something like this:

• Claim a Pinnacle Gear reward.
• Complete three or four Powerful Gear weeklies.
• Claim a Powerful Gear (+4 or +5) reward.
• Complete three to four Powerful Gear weeklies.
• Claim a Powerful Gear (+4 or +5) reward.
• Complete three or four Powerful Gear weeklies.
• (Optional) Play the Competitive Crucible Playlist to even out your gear.
  • If you dislike Comp, complete seasonal activity and vendor challenges at the H.E.L.M.

If you're really far behind on the Power level scale, consider replacing the T2 and T3 Powerful Gear rewards with Pinnacle sources instead.

You can complete whatever content you prefer for the Pinnacle and Powerful rewards, but you should complete them in that order. Obtain a reward that grants a massive Power jump, then level your Crucible Glory rank or complete seasonal weeklies to even out your gear quickly. If you do this right, you can reach the hard cap one or two weeks into the current episode.

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Reaching 2,000 Power Quickly

Reaching 2,000 Power will boil down to RNG. If you are lucky enough to get drops in the slots you need, you can reach the Pinnacle cap three weeks into a new expansion.

For this episode, there isn't any particular order you need to complete these weeklies. With that said, we do have a few suggestions:

• Complete the Final Shape Campaign: This bypasses a large chunk of the Powerful grind for you.
• Complete Seasonal Challenges: Seasonal Challenges grant an absurd amount of XP. That XP directly contributes to your Artifact's Power level, allowing you to reach the Pinnacle Cap and beyond without grinding for weeks on end. This won't assist with Trials of Osiris, but those chasing max Power to complete Master Nightfalls or Master Lost Sectors should keep this in mind.
• Complete Pinnacle Dungeons: Each encounter in the current Pinnacle dungeon drops +2 Power upgrades. Get a fireteam before trying this.
  • An additional dungeon is also chosen as a Pinnacle activity each week, dropping a single +2 Power upgrade when cleared.
• Clear the Pinnacle Raid: The most recently-released raid will always drop +2 Pinnacle gear per encounter.
  • An additional raid is also chosen as a Pinnacle activity each week, dropping a single +2 Power upgrade when cleared.