Destiny 2: Powerful Gear Tiers Explained

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• The Grind From The Soft Cap
• Where To Get Powerful Tier Rewards

To take on the late-game content of Destiny 2, you're going to need to learn where to get Powerful gear. Don't worry, we'll show you what to do.

Shadowkeep brought a big change to the way Destiny 2 handed out Powerful rewards, refining and streamlining the process. Now, it's easier than ever for players to know where to go and what to do in order to continue their Guardian's progression.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About Destiny 2 In 2021

For the benefit of new players, though, we'll start at the beginning. Everyone starts Destiny 2 at Power Level 1,110—this provides access to most of the game's content. As you play the game, engrams will drop at or above the player's Power Level until they reach the first soft cap (explained below).

Once you hit the soft cap, the gravy train is over. Most world drops will only be at the player's current base Power Level and not above it like before. For the player to keep getting that constant dose of dopamine from watching their numbers get higher, they'll need to seek out Powerful Gear sources.

Updated August 3rd, 2021, by Charles Burgar: Multiple seasons and an entire expansion have been released since we originally published this guide. For players that are delving back into Destiny 2 and need a refresher on the leveling process, we've given this guide an update to give a clearer idea of how Powerful Gear works, the amount of Power provided from each tier, and some general sources that grant each tier of Powerful Gear. If you're looking for a more comprehensive leveling guide, give our Power Leveling guide a look.

The Grind From The Soft Cap

Powerful Gear is a unique reward type that grants items with a Power Level above the soft cap. These items drop anywhere from +3-5 Power Levels above your current maximum.

Luckily, Destiny 2 is filled with dozens of Powerful Gear sources. The Destinations map will show a small gold coin icon next to destinations where you can source a Powerful-tier reward. Most are obtained from completing weekly challenges, so there’s a limit to how many Powerful rewards you can get and thus a limit to how quickly you can level up, but there are enough separate sources of Powerful Gear that you’ll likely take all week getting them all if that’s what you want to focus on.

All Powerful Gear Tiers

Before we dig into level caps and Powerful Gear sources, let’s go over what these Powerful reward tiers actually mean.

• Powerful Gear Tier 1: A Legendary engram that will always drop at +3 levels above your current highest-level equipable items.
  • The most common Powerful Gear Tier.
• Powerful Gear Tier 2: A Legendary engram that will always drop at +4 levels above your current highest-level equipable items.
  • Less common reward type than T1.
• Powerful Gear Tier 3: A Legendary engram that will always drop at +5 levels above your current highest-level equipable items.
  • These are extremely rare.
• Pinnacle Gear: Technically Tier 4 Powerful Gear, Pinnacle Gear sources grant items +6 above your current highest Power Level.
  • Once you reach the hard cap (explained below), these reward sources are the only means of increasing your gear's Power Level.

For all Powerful Gear Tiers, the increase your receive is based on your maximum equippable Power Level. The game will calculate your maximum Power Level based on all equipment in your character's inventory and Vault, so don't worry about equipping your highest level gear before redeeming a Powerful Gear reward. Artifact Power Level does not influence the Power Level of items that drop.

Related: Destiny 2: A Complete Guide To Armor 2.0

Since T2 rewards don't impact your Pinnacle Gear sources but give a larger boost than T1, this reward type is more desirable for leveling quickly. There’s also Powerful Gear Tier 3, but tT3 reward sources are incredibly rare. T2 rewards are the most reliable source of large Power Level boosts.

All Powerful Gear sources will stop providing higher-level items once you reach the hard cap, which is typically 50 Power Level above that season's soft cap.

Destiny's Leveling Caps

You've heard us talk about soft and hard caps quite a bit so far. How exactly does Destiny 2 handle its Power Leveling caps?

There are three Power Level caps in Destiny 2:

1. Soft Cap: The maximum level you can reach through world drops.
   1. Season 14's soft cap is 1,260 Power.
2. Hard Cap/Powerful Cap: The maximum level you can reach through Powerful Gear sources.
   1. Season 14's powerful cap is 1,310 Power.
3. Pinnacle Cap: The maximum level you can reach through Pinnacle Gear sources.
   1. Season 14's pinnacle cap is 1,320 Power.

While it seems confusing at first glance, Destiny 2's various Power caps are fairly easy to grasp once you've started the leveling process. The gist is:

• Play the game until you reach the soft cap. Any gear you obtain will help you reach this cap.
• Once at the soft cap, complete activities that grant Powerful Gear.
• Once you reach the hard/powerful cap, complete activities that grant Pinnacle Gear.

Where To Get Powerful Tier Rewards

Almost every activity on the Director gives Powerful Gear. Playing a certain activity multiple times is enough to complete most Powerful Gear weeklies, increasing your character's Power Level. Below, you'll find the most notable examples of where to find Powerful Gear. For a comprehensive list that includes seasonal content, check out our Power Leveling guide.

Tier 1 Powerful Gear Notable Sources

• Complete 8 bounties for a certain Tower vendor
  • Zavala (Strikes)
  • Shaxx (Crucible)
  • Drifter (Gambit)
  • Banshee-44 (Misc.)
  • Variks (Beyond Light)
• Complete Nightfalls
• Complete Empire Hunts
  • Requires the Beyond Light expansion
• Defeat 100 enemies with Stasis that aren't on Europa
  • Given by the Exo Stranger
  • Requires the Beyond Light expansion

Tier 2 Powerful Gear Notable Sources

• Trials of Osiris
  • 3 wins on the same card

Tier 3 Powerful Gear Notable Sources

• Trials of Osiris
  • 5 wins on the same card
• Seasonal Activity

Pinnacle Gear Notable Sources

• Raid encounters
  • Most recent raid release
    • Currently the Vault of Glass as of Season 14
  • 1 Pinnacle Gear per encounter on your first weekly clear
• Trials of Osiris
  • 7 wins on the same card
  • 7 wins without losing on the same card (Flawless)
• Nightfalls
  • 100,000 score
• Iron Banner bounties
• Prophecy dungeon
• Seasonal Pinnacle Activity

Next: Destiny 2: Beyond Light Complete Guide And Walkthrough

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