Destiny 2 Lightfall – Soft Cap, Powerful Cap, Pinnacle Cap Max Levels

Power Levels, formerly Light Levels, have been a thing since the heyday of the original Destiny. Since Destiny 2's launch in 2017, the cap has been creeping upward with each new expansion and Season. It acts as a way to reset players and put them on a similar playing level.

This keeps the diehard players from reaching levels unfathomable by more casual players. It also provides a good way to gate and section each season's content. The following Power Levels are in effect for Lightfall/Season of Defiance.

Destiny 2 Power Levels Explained

Base Level

This is the base power level that every Guardian starts at, 1600. All gear, whether vaulted or not, is brought up to this standard at the beginning of the expansion. Any gear pulled from collections will be at this Power Level.

How to reach Soft Cap in Destiny 2 Lightfall

The soft cap is the first milestone that Guardians will reach at 1750. It may seem like a huge jump, but it really isn't. By completing the Lightfall campaign on Legendary, Guardians will be awarded a full set of 1770 gear. Otherwise, just running through it normally will get many close to that 1750 threshold.

Related: Destiny 2 ‘One Moment Please’ – What it means & how to fix

Powerful Cap

After hitting 1750, Guardians will notice that world drops will no longer increase their Power Level. Moving forward, the only way to boost Power Level is through Powerful and Pinnacle rewards. The next step is to hit the Powerful cap of 1800. These drops come from a variety of sources.

• Complete eight bounties from each of the vendors: Crucible, Gambit, Vanguard Ops, and Gunsmith (+1 Power)
• Weekly Nightfall challenge (+1 Power)
• Crucible, Gambit, Vanguard Ops, and Gunsmith rank rewards (+1 Power)
• Random drop Prime and Exotic Engrams

What is the Pinnacle/Hard Cap in Destiny 2?

Going from the Powerful Cap to the Pinnacle/Hard Cap of 1810 is the toughest part of each Season. Guardians can only increase their Power Level with Pinnacle drops and capped at the Hard Cap. That being said, Seasonal Artifacts allow Guardians to boost their Power Level past that point, if only superficially.

• Clan Vendor (Hawthorne) rewards and bounties (+1 Power)
• Three Crucible matches (+1 Power)
• Three Gambit matches (+1 Power)
• Three Vanguard Ops missions (+1 Power)
• Raid drops (Root of Nightmares/rotator raids) (+2 Power)
• Dungeon drops (Spire of the Watcher/rotator dungeon) (+2 Power)
• 100,000 Nightfall score (+2 Power)
• 250,000 score in Dares of Eternity (+2 Power)

For more Destiny goodies, check out Best way to organize your loadouts in Destiny 2 on Pro Game Guides.