Destiny 2: The Witch Queen has introduced a new Power level cap for players to work towards, which means that everyone has to begin the grind again to prepare themselves for endgame activities.
The manner in which you level up has not changed. You still have to grind regular activities until you hit the soft cap, then seek out Powerful and Pinnacle Gear to edge past that towards the Power and Pinnacle level caps.
Here is a complete breakdown of Destiny 2 Power levels in The Witch Queen and Season of the Risen, and the most efficient ways to increase your Power.
The Witch Queen Power level caps
With the launch of The Witch Queen and the associated Season of the Risen, the base level of all items in the game — including any you have on your character or in your Vault — has been raised to 1350.
The new soft cap is 1500. This is the level that you can reach by playing regular content and equipping or infusing the blue (Rare) and purple (Legendary) gear you receive as rewards. Most players will find themselves closing in on 1500 by the time they finish the Witch Queen campaign on Classic difficulty.
The new Power level cap is 1550. Any Powerful Gear you earn will drop with a Power level somewhere between 1500 and 1550, depending on your current level, allowing you to make steady but unspectacular progress towards the cap.
The new Pinnacle level cap is 1560. The only way to reach the Pinnacle cap is by seeking out Pinnacle Gear, which is available from various sources like 100k Nightfalls and the Vow of the Disciple Raid.
If you unlock Powerful or Pinnacle Gear when you are still climbing towards the soft cap, it will give you a nice boost, but the Power level will be relative to your current level, rather than instantly boosting you to the cap.
It is possible to go beyond 1560 thanks to the seasonal artifact. As in previous Destiny 2 seasons, the artifact increases your character’s Power level by +1 every time you grind a certain volume of XP. So don’t forget to keep smashing through bounties, even if you’ve unlocked all the regular season rewards!
Just remember that the artifact will reset at the season’s end on May 24, at which point your character loses those artifact levels. New seasons usually increase level caps by 10.
How to reach Power level 1500 in The Witch Queen
The road to Power level 1500 in Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is pretty straightforward and along the same lines as past expansions. Every new piece of gear that drops is likely to boost your Power level slightly, whether it is green (Common), blue (Rare), purple (Legendary), or yellow (Exotic).
If you play through the campaign on Classic difficulty, you should find yourself closing in on Power level 1500 by the time you finish it.
You can earn gear from all sorts of basic activities:
- Campaign missions
- Vanguard Ops playlist activities (Strikes)
- Crucible matches
- Gambit matches
- Public Events in Patrol zones
- Dares of Eternity 30th Anniversary activities
- Vendor rewards for completing bounties
- Random drops from enemies and loot chests
You can use Upgrade Modules to infuse your old gear with new Power levels if you prefer to keep using them. For example, if you like using the Xenophage exotic machine gun, and find a disposable 1500-rated blue Power weapon, you can use an Upgrade Module to infuse Xenophage to 1500 instead. Upgrade Modules are available as campaign mission rewards and also sold by vendors in The Tower.
How to reach the Powerful level cap in The Witch Queen
Once you hit 1500, the real grind begins, but as usual, there are plenty of sources of Powerful (and Pinnacle) Gear that can help you climb to 1550.
The first thing you might consider is finding a friend or two to tackle the Legendary version of the campaign. Completing The Witch Queen campaign on Legendary gives you a full set of 1520 gear, which will save some time.
After that, Powerful Gear is available on a weekly basis from various sources:
- Vanguard Ops – Nightfall strike
- Crucible – 7 wins in Glory Rank playlists
- Legends – Completing the Vault of Glass Raid
- Dares of Eternity – Completing 3x Dares of Eternity runs
- PsiOps Battlegrounds – Opening 2x Runic chests
- Savathûn’s Throne World – Altar of Reflection (2x completions) and The Wellspring (3x completions) activities
- Vendor rewards – Completing eight bounties each for The Drifter (Gambit), Hawthorne (Clan Rewards), Zavala (Vanguard Ops), Shaxx (Crucible), Banshee-44 (Gunsmith) and Fynch (Throne World vendor)
It is also possible to receive one-time Powerful Gear drops from Season Pass rewards and by completing exotic quests.
How to reach the Pinnacle level cap in The Witch Queen
It’s worth hoovering up Pinnacle Gear each week, whether or not you are already at 1550, because if you are still grinding towards the Power cap then it will boost you in the same way as Powerful Gear. But if you have reached 1550 and want to go higher, Pinnacle Gear is the only stuff that matters. As with Powerful Gear, there are sources that refresh on a weekly basis:
- Vanguard Ops (Strike) playlist – Complete 3x Strikes with matching subclass to that week’s elemental modifier
- Vanguard Ops (Strike) Nightfall – Complete Nightfall with 100k+ score
- Gambit – Complete three matches
- Crucible – Complete three matches
- Dungeons – Complete Grasp of Avarice
- Dares of Eternity – Complete a Dares run with 250k+ score
- PsiOps Battlegrounds – Defeat 10x Cabal champions
- Raid – Complete Vow of the Disciple
- Exotic Missions – Complete Preservation and Vox Obscura for two more Pinnacle Gear drops
Written by Tom Bramwell on behalf of GLHF.
