Power leveling in Destiny 2 can be a bit overwhelming, especially with all the different types of engrams and power caps. If you’re looking to reach the max power cap quickly and efficiently, this guide will break down everything you need to know. We’ll cover the Soft Cap, Power Cap, and Pinnacle Cap, as well as min-maxing strategies, vendor tricks, and artifact leveling tips to ensure you maximize your power gains.

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Understanding Power Caps in Destiny 2

Before jumping into farming methods, it’s important to understand how the power level system works. Destiny 2 has three primary power caps:

• Soft Cap: 1940 – You can reach this level by doing any activity in the game (strikes, Crucible, Gambit, lost sectors, etc.).
• Power Cap: 1990 – Requires Powerful Engrams to continue leveling past 1940.
• Pinnacle Cap: 2000 – Requires Pinnacle Engrams for further progress.

Additionally, the Artifact Power Bonus can increase your effective power beyond 2000.

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Step 1: Getting to the Soft Cap (1940)

Reaching the soft cap is the easiest part of power leveling. Any activity in the game will drop loot that levels you upuntil you hit 1940. Here are the best methods:

• Strikes, Crucible, Gambit – All these activities provide gear drops that scale with your current level.
• Lost Sectors – Even blue gear will continue to push your power level up.
• Heroic Campaign Completion – If you own the latest expansion (The Final Shape at the time of this guide), playing through the Legendary campaign will boost you straight to 1960, skipping most of the soft cap grind.

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Step 2: Reaching the Power Cap (1990)

Once you hit 1940 (or 1960 if you completed the campaign), regular loot will no longer increase your power. You’ll need Powerful Engrams and Pinnacle Engrams to keep progressing.

What Are Powerful Engrams?

Powerful Engrams come in three tiers, each granting a different boost:

• Tier 1 Powerful Engram – Smallest increase (e.g., from 1970 to 1972)
• Tier 2 Powerful Engram – Moderate increase (e.g., from 1970 to 1974)
• Tier 3 Powerful Engram – Highest increase (e.g., from 1970 to 1975)

Best Sources for Powerful Engrams:

• Weekly Playlist Activities (Strikes, Crucible, Gambit)
• Vendor Rank-Up Packages (Zavala, Shaxx, Drifter, Banshee-44)
• Nightfall Strike Completions
• Weekly Clan XP Rewards
• Seasonal Challenges
• Prime Engrams (These drop randomly as you play)

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Step 3: Reaching the Pinnacle Cap (2000)

Once you hit 1990, Powerful Engrams no longer help. Instead, you must complete Pinnacle Activities to reach 2000.

Best Sources for Pinnacle Engrams:

• Weekly Pinnacle Activities (Crucible, Gambit, Strikes, Raids, Dungeons)
• Nightfalls (Highest Difficulty Tiers)
• Iron Banner Matches (When Available)
• Seasonal Challenges (Pinnacle Rewards)
• Exotic Missions & Quests

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Step 4: Min-Maxing for Maximum Efficiency

If you want to level up as efficiently as possible, you need to use a strategy called min-maxing.

What is Min-Maxing?

Min-maxing means filling lower gear gaps before opening engrams. Here’s an example:

• Your overall power is 1980, but your boots are 1978.
• Instead of using a powerful engram (which might drop at 1982 and get wasted on another slot), first try to get a +0 drop (which matches your current power level) to balance your gear.
• The Season Pass and Vendor Engrams allow you to target specific slots, making them great tools for min-maxing.

Best Methods for Min-Maxing:

• Season Pass Gear – Lets you claim items at your current power level, avoiding unnecessary gaps.
• Legendary Lost Sectors – Offer target-farmable gear at your power level.
• Terminal Overload & Dares of Eternity – Consistently reward useful drops.
• Exotic Quests – Many of these reward Pinnacle gear, so save them for key gaps in your loadout.

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Step 5: Artifact Power Bonus (Beyond 2000)

You may have seen players with a power level above 2000. This is due to the Artifact Power Bonus, which increases with experience.

How to Farm Artifact Power:

• Complete Seasonal Challenges – Look for “Challenger XP++” rewards.
• Weekly Bounties (Dreaming City, Cosmodrome, etc.)
• Pathfinder System (Final Shape Expansion) – Offers additional XP bonuses.
• Moon Dailies & Repeated Bounties – When everything else is done, repeatable bounties are a slow but steady way to gain XP.

Since the artifact power bonus is unlimited, in theory, you can keep increasing your power level as long as you grind XP.

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Step 6: Power Leveling on Multiple Characters

Want to go even higher? Repeat the leveling process on multiple characters:

• Complete all Pinnacle/Powerful activities on Character 1.
• Transfer high-power weapons to Character 2 and repeat.
• Finally, transfer those weapons to Character 3 and push even higher.

This method allows your third character to reach a higher power level than the first two, maximizing overall gains.

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Final Thoughts

Reaching the Pinnacle Cap in Destiny 2 is all about efficiency. Here’s a recap:

1. Soft Cap (1940): Play any activity, or complete the Legendary Campaign to jump to 1960.
2. Power Cap (1990): Focus on Powerful Engrams (weekly playlist activities, vendor rank-ups, Prime Engrams, etc.).
3. Pinnacle Cap (2000): Complete Pinnacle Activities (raids, Nightfalls, dungeons, seasonal events, etc.).
4. Use Min-Maxing: Fill in weaker slots before opening higher-level engrams.
5. Grind Artifact Power: Gain XP through seasonal challenges, weekly bounties, and Pathfinder quests.
6. Repeat the process on multiple characters for an even higher power boost.

By following this guide, you’ll reach max power quickly and efficiently. Good luck, Guardians!