lifeexpectancy
Member
I did a search and found no dedicated thread. This info always gets buried in the OT and folks keep asking. Stuck at 271 light me if old or unwanted.
So I've had a few folks ask me about the order to do things in Destiny 2. As a disclaimer, this is the most optimum order to gain light (power level technically but same difference) in Destiny 2 at launch and until they make any tweaks to the system, but it is by no means the only way to play the game. You WILL continually increase in power level week to week just by doing the weekly milestones. It may take you longer, but if you want to play casually just enjoy the game and do the milestones as you go along and you will be fine.
Note: Powerful Rewards are once PER CLASS, per week. Making 3 hunters is not going to help you much.
I may call kinetic - primary, or energy - secondary, or power - heavy, or power level - light level. I am still in a Destiny 1 mindset, forgive me.
I will start with a roadmap of the order of activities to do in Destiny 2 in order to maximize your power level gain. In this list, you will see me mention "optimizing power level on gear by checking mods". There will be a deeper explanation of the mod system below the roadmap of activities order. This list assumes you are starting on a fresh character and are new to Destiny 2. Your 2nd and 3rd characters will gain light faster, and can piggyback off the first. That will be explained after the mod system explanation. I made it to 284 on my first char (Titan) and 290 on my 2nd char (warlock) week 1 before the reset doing exactly these steps. On to the list:
ORDER OF ACTIVITIES FOR A DESTINY 2 NEWBIE:
1. Level your first character to 20 while playing through the campaign. At various points in the campaign you might have to branch off and do public events, lost sectors, strikes, etc as certain missions are gated off by your level.
2. Once level 20, do Public Events (most efficient), lost sectors, adventures, strikes, or crucible in order to get blue and eventually purple gear. Every time you get a piece of gear, simply swap it out with your current gear if it is higher than the current piece. Don't worry about infusing anything until you have a piece of LEGENDARY gear WITH A +5 MOD. If the new gear is higher than the current gear, simply swap it out unless you have a purple gear piece with a purple mod on it. Continue doing this until you are at power level 250. Along the way, OPTIMIZE POWER LEVEL by checking new gear against current gear and looking for +5 mods (can be on gear drops but rarely). DO NOT SPEND FACTION TOKENS AT THIS TIME. Stockpile them. Also if you have one, use a Fireteam Medallion while running public events. These can stack 3x, so if you are running with a buddy or two, have everyone use one. This increases exp (for bright engrams) and exotic engram chances. ALWAYS DECRYPT engrams, even legendary and exotics, as soon as you get them. They are locked in at the moment they drop, so saving them only hurts you in the long run.
The only caveat to that is you might want to save one exotic engram from a low 200s power level in order to use it for one of the exotic quests. Legendary engrams drop often enough that those don't matter too much.
3. Once you are 250, begin turning in faction tokens. Only turn in enough to get ONE faction reward package at a time. Check the loot from it against your current gear, optimizing power level and watching for any +5 mods. If you get a +5 mod from a faction reward, put it on the piece of gear it can go on if that piece is a) Legendary and b) doesn't already have a +5 mod on it. More on mods below.
4. The faction rewards should easily get you over 260 if you stockpiled them. Whenever you run out, just go back to doing public events, lost sectors, strikes, etc. You can also begin working on your weekly milestones at this time, but DO NOT TURN IN the final step (the one that has POWERFUL REWARDS) yet. Just do the first few steps in the chain and save the final step. DO NOT do any exotic primary quests yet.
5. Once you are 265, turn in any faction rewards you may have amassed since the last turn in. Watch for any +5 mods and keep optimizing gear by infusing into your current legendary gear if it has a +5 mod, or installing a +5 mod onto them, or switching to the newest gear pieces you get if those have a +5 mod. Again, optimize power level by infusing into the pieces that have a +5 mod if possible (more below on that).
6. By this point you should be between 265 and 267. Claim any CLAN REWARDS from the clan NPC, EXCEPT for the powerful rewards one. Do not claim that.
7. Do in your FIRST exotic primary quest right now. I recommend doing Sturm first as it is the worst one. Equip the energy weapon you get during the quest chain if it is higher than your current one (it should be, and you have to use it for the quest anyway). Equip Sturm once you finish.
8. Turn in two Powerful Rewards milestone completions, ONE AT A TIME. Check the gear you get against current gear and optimize.
9. Do the 2nd exotic primary quest. I recommend doing Rat Pack at this time and saving MIDA for last. Equip it once you get it as it should be higher than Sturm.
10. Turn in all remaining Powerful Rewards milestone completions, one at a time, optimizing gear after each reward.
11. Do the 3rd exotic primary quest. This should be your MIDA multi tool. Make sure to reorient your gear to get your power level up as high as it can be at least once before turning it in so that the MIDA drops at the highest power level possible. You don't have to keep the gear on, but you have to attain a power level at least once before switching back to your favorites for the game to register it as your highest power level, at least in my experience. This is especially true if you have gear with a +5 mod on it that could benefit from infusing a new drop into it. If I have a 270 helm with a +5 on it and I get a 270 helm with no +5, as far as Destiny is concerned my highest helm slot is 270 until I infuse it into my current one to make it 275. This is why you always, always infuse INTO an item that HAS a +5 if possible. More on mods amd infusing below.
Doing all this should easily get you to 279-284 on your very first character, fresh to the game. Now, for an eplanation of the mod system and how to maximize.
Another note: any time you are at 90,000+ glimmer, go to the weapons vender and buy the 'random mod' (blue) for 2500. Do this and spend all your glimmer down to around 15k-20k. Stockpile these blue mods so that once you hit 280 you can make loads of purples. If you have a +5 class item mod already for your current class, it helps to buy the random mods on different classes. The blue weapon and armor mods dont matter, but if the random mod you get is a class item mod, it will be for the class that purchased it in my experience. It is best to try and get at least one +5 class item mod for each class if you plan on playing all three.
MOD SYSTEM BREAKDOWN:
There are many types of mods in Destiny 2, but only two main categories: blue or purple (rare or legendary). Blues don't matter if they are on a piece of equipment, so ignore them. The blues that the weapon vendor sells (2500 glimmer for a random blue mod) are important, however, because you can stockpile them in order to make purple mods once you hit 280 power. The PURPLE mods are the important ones. If a piece of gear (primary, energy, heavy, head, arms, chest, boots, class item) has a purple mod, that purple mod gives the item +5 power level as well as a perk. The perks are irrelevant to this explanation (you'll figure out which ones you like eventually). What matters is the +5 power.
If a piece of gear has a +5 mod on it, then its TRUE power level is 5 points less than what it says when you highlight it. So if I have a chest piece that says it is 300 power level with a +5 mod on it, it is actually only a 295. The +5 mod is what gets it to 300. This is important, because if I get a 297 chest piece WITHOUT a +5 mod, then that new chest piece is truly 297, two points higher than my current 300 chest. I can infuse that 297 chest INTO my current chest. Now, it will be a 297 with a +5 mod on it, making it a 302 overall.
So, what you want to do is get a full set of legendary gear, all with +5 mods on them, as soon as possible. It is exceedingly rare to get a piece of gear with a +5 on it from an engram or faction reward, but it CAN happen. You can also get +5 mods themselves from faction rewards. As soon as you can, get a +5 mod on every slot. After that, fashion be damned, always infuse new gear that you get INTO the current gear you are wearing, UNLESS the new gear already has a +5 mod and is higher power level than the current piece. At that point, you can simply wear the new piece, or infuse it into your current piece anyway if you prefer your current one's look/perk/both to the new one.
Exotics ALWAYS have a +5 mod on them already, and it cannot be changed. Legendaries allow you to change the mod to a new one if you wish, but if you do so, you lose the old mod. Here are a few examples:
1. I have an exotic primary that is 270 light. I get a new legendary primary drop that is 272 light that does not have a +5 mod. I would infuse that into my current exotic, bringing it to 272.
2. I have a legendary primary that is 270 light, but it does not have a +5 mod. I get a 272 primary drop that also does not have a +5 mod. I would simply swap that out and use it. Although I could infuse it into the current one if I wished to do so.
3. I have a legendary primary that is 270 light, but it odes not have a +5 mod. I get a drop that is 270 light, but it DOES have a +5 mod. That means the new one is truly only a 265. I can infuse my CURRENT 270 (with no mod) into the new 270 (that has the mod) to make the new one a 275.
4. I get a +5 weapon mod from a weapon vendor faction reward. It will either be a +5 kinetic mod (used only for kinetic weapons), or a +5 void/arc/solar mod (used for either energy or power weapons). I would immediately look and see what my HIGHEST power level weapon combination would be across my three weapons. For instance if I already have a 270 energy scout rifle that has a +5 on it, but I have a 269 energy weapon and a 269 power weapon, neither of which has a +5 mod, I would put it on the power weapon. If I put it on the energy weapon without a mod, it would be a 274, vs the current 270 in that slot. If I put it on the power weapon, that would be a 274 also, vs the 269 in that slot.
Even with this explanation the mod system may confuse you. My explanation itself is likely confusing for some. Don't hesitate to ask me questions via commenting below.
PIGGYBACKING 2nd Char:
1. When you start a 2nd char, transfer over your best three weapon combination (likely Mida multi, mida mini, and your highest power weapon) to the new character once it hits level 20. You can also make +5 mods for your 2nd character's head/arms/chest/feet if your first char is 280.
So I've had a few folks ask me about the order to do things in Destiny 2. As a disclaimer, this is the most optimum order to gain light (power level technically but same difference) in Destiny 2 at launch and until they make any tweaks to the system, but it is by no means the only way to play the game. You WILL continually increase in power level week to week just by doing the weekly milestones. It may take you longer, but if you want to play casually just enjoy the game and do the milestones as you go along and you will be fine.
Note: Powerful Rewards are once PER CLASS, per week. Making 3 hunters is not going to help you much.
I may call kinetic - primary, or energy - secondary, or power - heavy, or power level - light level. I am still in a Destiny 1 mindset, forgive me.
I will start with a roadmap of the order of activities to do in Destiny 2 in order to maximize your power level gain. In this list, you will see me mention "optimizing power level on gear by checking mods". There will be a deeper explanation of the mod system below the roadmap of activities order. This list assumes you are starting on a fresh character and are new to Destiny 2. Your 2nd and 3rd characters will gain light faster, and can piggyback off the first. That will be explained after the mod system explanation. I made it to 284 on my first char (Titan) and 290 on my 2nd char (warlock) week 1 before the reset doing exactly these steps. On to the list:
ORDER OF ACTIVITIES FOR A DESTINY 2 NEWBIE:
1. Level your first character to 20 while playing through the campaign. At various points in the campaign you might have to branch off and do public events, lost sectors, strikes, etc as certain missions are gated off by your level.
2. Once level 20, do Public Events (most efficient), lost sectors, adventures, strikes, or crucible in order to get blue and eventually purple gear. Every time you get a piece of gear, simply swap it out with your current gear if it is higher than the current piece. Don't worry about infusing anything until you have a piece of LEGENDARY gear WITH A +5 MOD. If the new gear is higher than the current gear, simply swap it out unless you have a purple gear piece with a purple mod on it. Continue doing this until you are at power level 250. Along the way, OPTIMIZE POWER LEVEL by checking new gear against current gear and looking for +5 mods (can be on gear drops but rarely). DO NOT SPEND FACTION TOKENS AT THIS TIME. Stockpile them. Also if you have one, use a Fireteam Medallion while running public events. These can stack 3x, so if you are running with a buddy or two, have everyone use one. This increases exp (for bright engrams) and exotic engram chances. ALWAYS DECRYPT engrams, even legendary and exotics, as soon as you get them. They are locked in at the moment they drop, so saving them only hurts you in the long run.
The only caveat to that is you might want to save one exotic engram from a low 200s power level in order to use it for one of the exotic quests. Legendary engrams drop often enough that those don't matter too much.
3. Once you are 250, begin turning in faction tokens. Only turn in enough to get ONE faction reward package at a time. Check the loot from it against your current gear, optimizing power level and watching for any +5 mods. If you get a +5 mod from a faction reward, put it on the piece of gear it can go on if that piece is a) Legendary and b) doesn't already have a +5 mod on it. More on mods below.
4. The faction rewards should easily get you over 260 if you stockpiled them. Whenever you run out, just go back to doing public events, lost sectors, strikes, etc. You can also begin working on your weekly milestones at this time, but DO NOT TURN IN the final step (the one that has POWERFUL REWARDS) yet. Just do the first few steps in the chain and save the final step. DO NOT do any exotic primary quests yet.
5. Once you are 265, turn in any faction rewards you may have amassed since the last turn in. Watch for any +5 mods and keep optimizing gear by infusing into your current legendary gear if it has a +5 mod, or installing a +5 mod onto them, or switching to the newest gear pieces you get if those have a +5 mod. Again, optimize power level by infusing into the pieces that have a +5 mod if possible (more below on that).
6. By this point you should be between 265 and 267. Claim any CLAN REWARDS from the clan NPC, EXCEPT for the powerful rewards one. Do not claim that.
7. Do in your FIRST exotic primary quest right now. I recommend doing Sturm first as it is the worst one. Equip the energy weapon you get during the quest chain if it is higher than your current one (it should be, and you have to use it for the quest anyway). Equip Sturm once you finish.
8. Turn in two Powerful Rewards milestone completions, ONE AT A TIME. Check the gear you get against current gear and optimize.
9. Do the 2nd exotic primary quest. I recommend doing Rat Pack at this time and saving MIDA for last. Equip it once you get it as it should be higher than Sturm.
10. Turn in all remaining Powerful Rewards milestone completions, one at a time, optimizing gear after each reward.
11. Do the 3rd exotic primary quest. This should be your MIDA multi tool. Make sure to reorient your gear to get your power level up as high as it can be at least once before turning it in so that the MIDA drops at the highest power level possible. You don't have to keep the gear on, but you have to attain a power level at least once before switching back to your favorites for the game to register it as your highest power level, at least in my experience. This is especially true if you have gear with a +5 mod on it that could benefit from infusing a new drop into it. If I have a 270 helm with a +5 on it and I get a 270 helm with no +5, as far as Destiny is concerned my highest helm slot is 270 until I infuse it into my current one to make it 275. This is why you always, always infuse INTO an item that HAS a +5 if possible. More on mods amd infusing below.
Doing all this should easily get you to 279-284 on your very first character, fresh to the game. Now, for an eplanation of the mod system and how to maximize.
Another note: any time you are at 90,000+ glimmer, go to the weapons vender and buy the 'random mod' (blue) for 2500. Do this and spend all your glimmer down to around 15k-20k. Stockpile these blue mods so that once you hit 280 you can make loads of purples. If you have a +5 class item mod already for your current class, it helps to buy the random mods on different classes. The blue weapon and armor mods dont matter, but if the random mod you get is a class item mod, it will be for the class that purchased it in my experience. It is best to try and get at least one +5 class item mod for each class if you plan on playing all three.
MOD SYSTEM BREAKDOWN:
There are many types of mods in Destiny 2, but only two main categories: blue or purple (rare or legendary). Blues don't matter if they are on a piece of equipment, so ignore them. The blues that the weapon vendor sells (2500 glimmer for a random blue mod) are important, however, because you can stockpile them in order to make purple mods once you hit 280 power. The PURPLE mods are the important ones. If a piece of gear (primary, energy, heavy, head, arms, chest, boots, class item) has a purple mod, that purple mod gives the item +5 power level as well as a perk. The perks are irrelevant to this explanation (you'll figure out which ones you like eventually). What matters is the +5 power.
If a piece of gear has a +5 mod on it, then its TRUE power level is 5 points less than what it says when you highlight it. So if I have a chest piece that says it is 300 power level with a +5 mod on it, it is actually only a 295. The +5 mod is what gets it to 300. This is important, because if I get a 297 chest piece WITHOUT a +5 mod, then that new chest piece is truly 297, two points higher than my current 300 chest. I can infuse that 297 chest INTO my current chest. Now, it will be a 297 with a +5 mod on it, making it a 302 overall.
So, what you want to do is get a full set of legendary gear, all with +5 mods on them, as soon as possible. It is exceedingly rare to get a piece of gear with a +5 on it from an engram or faction reward, but it CAN happen. You can also get +5 mods themselves from faction rewards. As soon as you can, get a +5 mod on every slot. After that, fashion be damned, always infuse new gear that you get INTO the current gear you are wearing, UNLESS the new gear already has a +5 mod and is higher power level than the current piece. At that point, you can simply wear the new piece, or infuse it into your current piece anyway if you prefer your current one's look/perk/both to the new one.
Exotics ALWAYS have a +5 mod on them already, and it cannot be changed. Legendaries allow you to change the mod to a new one if you wish, but if you do so, you lose the old mod. Here are a few examples:
1. I have an exotic primary that is 270 light. I get a new legendary primary drop that is 272 light that does not have a +5 mod. I would infuse that into my current exotic, bringing it to 272.
2. I have a legendary primary that is 270 light, but it does not have a +5 mod. I get a 272 primary drop that also does not have a +5 mod. I would simply swap that out and use it. Although I could infuse it into the current one if I wished to do so.
3. I have a legendary primary that is 270 light, but it odes not have a +5 mod. I get a drop that is 270 light, but it DOES have a +5 mod. That means the new one is truly only a 265. I can infuse my CURRENT 270 (with no mod) into the new 270 (that has the mod) to make the new one a 275.
4. I get a +5 weapon mod from a weapon vendor faction reward. It will either be a +5 kinetic mod (used only for kinetic weapons), or a +5 void/arc/solar mod (used for either energy or power weapons). I would immediately look and see what my HIGHEST power level weapon combination would be across my three weapons. For instance if I already have a 270 energy scout rifle that has a +5 on it, but I have a 269 energy weapon and a 269 power weapon, neither of which has a +5 mod, I would put it on the power weapon. If I put it on the energy weapon without a mod, it would be a 274, vs the current 270 in that slot. If I put it on the power weapon, that would be a 274 also, vs the 269 in that slot.
Even with this explanation the mod system may confuse you. My explanation itself is likely confusing for some. Don't hesitate to ask me questions via commenting below.
PIGGYBACKING 2nd Char:
1. When you start a 2nd char, transfer over your best three weapon combination (likely Mida multi, mida mini, and your highest power weapon) to the new character once it hits level 20. You can also make +5 mods for your 2nd character's head/arms/chest/feet if your first char is 280.