The Final Shape looms in Destiny 2, and as you work your way through the Pale Heart of the Traveler, you’re going to want to improve your power level if you hope to stand a fighting chance against the Witness and its legions. Like previous expansions, Destiny 2: The Final Shape will put all players on equal footing when they start the adventure, and progress will help you increase your overall power. This will happen organically, but with the Salvation’s Edge raid kicking off just days after the expansion launches, there’ll also be a rush to hit the Power cap as quickly as possible.
Bungie has also made a few changes to Power and how it works, and you can read more below on these changes. If you’re looking to square up for that titanic battle against the Witness, here’s how you can quickly increase your Power in The Final Shape. You can also check out the highlights of the massive patch, that has gone live for The Final Shape.
Power cap starting level
For The Final Shape, all Guardians will start at 1900 Power. As a reminder, Power is the total of your weapons and armor, and bonus Power can be obtained by leveling up the Seasonal Artifact.
How to reach the Power soft, Powerful, and Pinnacle caps
Power floor: 1900Soft cap: 1940Powerful ap: 1990Pinnacle cap: 2000
First off, the quickest way to get raid-ready will be to play The Final Shape campaign on Legendary difficulty, as you’ll be rewarded with an entire gear set at 1960 Power–this is +20 into the Powerful band–for your efforts.
The soft cap is set at 1940–only 40 power from the starting level and much less than the usual 150 required–and you’ll receive engram drops and gear to help you reach this point quickly.
Once you hit 1940, your gains will begin to decrease as you work your way toward the Powerful cap of 1990. Once you reach the Power cap, this is where the grind really kicks in. You’re going to want to prioritize Pinnacle engram drops as you work your way toward the 2000 hard cap, as Powerful engrams won’t be enough.
How Activity Power works
Starting with The Final Shape, Bungie is making it easier for the Power level of activities to be understood. Activities will be divided into two categories: Power Disabled and Power Enabled. Power Disabled activities can be played by everyone regardless of their Power level and activities include campaigns, Seasonal story missions, free-roam destinations, Crucible, and some legacy content. Power Enabled activities will help you improve your Power and include Vanguard playlists, Nightfalls, Seasonal activities, Exotic Mission Rotators, Trials of Osiris, raids, and dungeons.
For example, the standard difficulty tier of Vanguard Ops, Seasonal activities, Exotic missions, raids, and dungeons Power Enabled activities will help you grow your Power level to the Powerful and Pinnacle caps. Advanced–formerly Hero–is set at 1995 Power, Expert is set at 2005 Power, and Grandmaster is set at a challenging 2020 Power.
Difficulty TierActivity Power CapHow to MasterExample ActivitiesStandard1945Focus on growing your Power level to the Powerful and Pinnacle caps.Vanguard Ops, Seasonal activities, Exotic missions, raids, and dungeonsAdvanced
(Previously Hero)1995Optimize your individual buildcrafting for Nightfall-style gameplay, while still matchmaking with other players.NightfallsExpert
(Previously Legend)2005Optimize your fireteam composition and rely on your ability to work together as a team.Nightfalls, Lost Sectors, Seasonal activities, Exotic missionsMaster2010Optimize your execution, leveraging the skills built by engaging with other tiers of difficulty.Nightfalls, Lost Sectors, raids, and dungeonsGrandmaster2020Tie it all together and demonstrate true mastery to overcome pinnacle challenges in Destiny 2.NightfallsContest Mode1965A unique, limited-time challenge where each raider will have to demonstrate their gameplay. In this mode, Fireteam Power will not apply.Raid during the first 48 hours
How Fireteam Power works
So you haven’t done too much grinding, and you’re worried that you’ll be under-leveled for the raid or a new dungeon. Not to worry, because Bungie is introducing Fireteam Power to help even the odds. The way that this works, is that the player with the highest Power level in the fireteam will become the Power Leader, and all other players in the fireteam will be brought up to five Power below the Power Leader if their power isn’t already higher.
It’s worth noting that Fireteam Power only affects activity difficulty, and your unadjusted Power level will still determine the Power of your rewards. If you are the Power Leader, you’ll also gain a boost to any commendations earned at the end of the activity.
Dust off your legacy gear
As part of Bungie’s efforts to bring Guurdians new and old into The Final Shape, Power limits found on older gear items are being removed. If you have any old weapons gathering dust in your vault that were once your go-to guns, this will be a great time to dust them off, join a fireteam, and take on the Witness.
Or leave them in your vault! A lot of this gear won’t have Origin Traits, and their perks might not be as good as newer weapons and armor which will drop throughout the campaign.
