All max Power Level caps in Destiny 2: soft cap, Powerful cap, and hard cap levels

January 2022 · 3 minute read

Every new expansion shakes up Destiny 2‘s Power Level (also known as Light Level before Beyond Light) and levels the playing field by sending all guardians to square one. This means that whenever a new expansion drops, players must reacquire the hard-earned levels they got—from the floor to the hard cap.

With The Witch Queen, players were sent back to the minimum of 1350 Power, and they must earn back their levels by getting gear and completing specific activities. Here are the levels for each Power milestone after the release of The Witch Queen and what each of them means. Seasonal artifact levels don’t count toward either cap.

All Power Level caps in Destiny 2

These values reflect the numbers for Season of the Haunted. Comparisons relate to Season of the Risen.

Soft cap (1350-1510)

Players will be around the soft cap for the first stage of their journey. From 1350 to 1500 Power Level, players will gradually get items that increase their level regardless of what activities they do. Even blue drops will raise your level, so don’t dismantle them just yet. The Witch Queen campaign should leave guardians around 1500 Power Level by the time it ends, so players can progress through it naturally (though they may be underleveled for some missions). The Legendary version of the campaign should also give players a full set of 1530 gear (up from 1520 in Risen).

Powerful cap (1500-1560)

After reaching 1510, players will have a narrower pool of options to choose from if they want to level. The most notable change is that blues and regular world drops won’t boost their light level past 1510 (or whatever their maximum equipable level is). From here on, the only way to boost your drops will be from Powerful and Pinnacle sources. The sources for Powerful drops are:

These are all Powerful drop sources in Destiny 2 as of the launch of The Witch Queen, but players can also raise their Power Level through Pinnacle drops. Treat Pinnacle drops as extra Powerful drops until you’re close to the hard cap because after you’re past 1560, that’s the only way to level.

Pinnacle cap/hard cap (1560-1570)

This is the last level restriction in Destiny 2, and players can only advance their Power Level through Pinnacle drops until reaching the hard cap. This means players can’t improve their level beyond 1570, but they can artificially boost their Power with the seasonal artifact.

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