Destiny 2: Power Levelling (Power Grind)

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Power Levelling

Learn how power levelling works in Destiny 2, including common questions, how The Portal Activity System works, how the Pathfinder works, and more!

What is Power in Destiny 2?

As your Guardian progresses through their journey in Destiny 2, they’ll need to level up their gear.
Power helps you overcome harder activities; increase your power to the soft cap by completing activities throughout the system and beyond to obtain powerful gear to equip or infuse into existing gear.
Increase your power beyond the soft cap by obtaining new gear with Seasonal Bonus Power.
- Earn higher Seasonal Bonus Power by playing harder activities.

Bungie Announcement - October 6 & 13, 2025

Seasonal Power will now carry over into Season 28 (Renegades) in December. There will not be a Seasonal Power reset as in past Seasons
Additionally, Unstable Cores will be retired in a future update.
- A catch-up chest will be available as of October 14, 2025, providing 777,777 Unstable Cores.
- In addition, an update will be made to reduce the cost of high power level armour infusion.
- When Unstable Cores are retired, upgrading will cost enhancement cores and glimmer.

October 13, 2025

Understanding Power in Destiny 2

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you level up in Destiny 2 as of the Edge of Fate Expansion?

OCTOBER 14, 2025 UPDATE: Unstable Cores will be deprecated in a future update. Once retired, infusing gear above 200 will require enhancement cores and glimmer.

In Destiny 2: Edge of Fate, every character has been reset to Power 10 at launch.
For existing characters at the time of launch, and for new characters going forward, there will be a persistent power progression from 10 to 200.
- Completing various activities from The Portal, (Solo Ops, Fireteam Ops, Pinnacle Ops or Crucible Ops) will provide completion rewards you can use to level up.
- Once you hit Power 200, you enter the seasonal power range.
  - This is where completing seasonal content and pinnacle content are especially important, which will provide sufficient rewards to level up to the seasonal power cap (ex: 450).

How do I infuse gear?

OCTOBER 14, 2025 UPDATE: Unstable Cores will be deprecated in a future update. Once retired, infusing gear above 200 will require enhancement cores and glimmer.

You’ll need to earn rewards that have higher power than your currently equipped armour.
When infusing stronger gear into existing armour up to Power 200, you’ll need enhancement cores.
All Levels beyond Power 201 require Unstable Cores, a new currency as of Edge of Fate, obtained by dismantling post-200 gear.
As of Edge of Fate, Infusion is not graduated by level difference, not gear tier. (meaning, for example, infusing from 200 to 205 costs less than going from 200 to 225)

Are there Weekly Power Caps as of Edge of Fate?

Nope! The Portal Activity System has replaced the legacy Weekly Challenge limits, so you can grind as much as you want in any activity, even Crucible!

What is the new Power Level cap in Edge of Fate

The base Power cap starts at 200, with a seasonal cap around 550.
All players were reset to Power 10 when Edge of Fate launched in 2025.
Bungie originally had plans to reset players back to 200 at the end of an expansion (Ex: Edge of Fate vs Renegades).
- However, as of October 2025, players will no longer be reset in between expansions. It is unclear if players will be reset at the end of each content “year.”

What are Unstable Cores and how do I get them?

OCTOBER 14, 2025 UPDATE: Unstable Cores will be deprecated in a future update. Once retired, infusing gear above 200 will require enhancement cores and glimmer.

Unstable Cores are required to infuse gear above Power 200.
You can get them by dismantling post-200 gear.

What’s the fastest way to reach Power 200?

Run the seasonal storyline, Portal activity, and focus on gear drops.
Dismantling gear you don’t need also gives resources you’ll need later.

Do Tier 5 weapons level me faster?

No. Tier 5 gear offers better stats and perks, but your Power Level is only affected by the gear’s Power value, not its tier or quality.

How To Earn Rewards via The Portal

General Information

As of The Edge of Fate, the legacy Weekly Challenge system has been replaced with The Portal, a streamlined activity hub.
The Portal provides quick access to Ops Playlists, such as:
- Solo Ops: Solo activities that range in difficulty.
- Fireteam Ops: Formerly Vanguard Ops, with Battlegrounds, Strikes, Nightfalls, and legacy activities such as Empire Hunts, The Coil and more.
- Pinnacle Ops: Exotic Missions and other endgame activities.
- Crucible Ops: Player vs Player activities.
Each Portal activity may list the gear types it rewards (ex: helmet, sniper, cloak). Bonus loot icon indicates extra drops on top of the base loot.
Activities are graded (up to “A” rank) based on difficulty (Normal, Advanced, Expert) and any chosen modifiers.
- Better performance and more difficulty = higher grade → better loot rolls, higher Power, and higher-tier gear.

Breakdown of The Portal System

Custom Difficulty Modifiers: You can tailor activity challenges with modifiers for increased reward potential.
Uncapped Portal Activity Rewards: No more weekly cap on Portal-leveling… you can grind unlimited Power-per-day via Portal activities!
Daily & Weekly Seasonal Hub: The Portal features a seasonal hub with daily/weekly challenges and a rank track.
- Completing them earns Challenge XP, Strange Coins, Shards, core materials, and more.

Activity Power

Activities are divided into two categories: Power Disabled and Power Enabled.
- Power Disabled: Activities that anyone can play in, no matter what power level they are at.
  - Increasing your power level will not change the level of difficulty in these activities, nor can you over-level the enemy combatants.
  - Power Disabled Activities include Expansion Campaigns, Seasonal Story Missions, Free-Roam Activities, Crucible, Iron Banner, and some legacy content.
- Power Enabled: Activities where you can grow stronger by improving your power.
  - These activities have an Activity Power Cap, or a Power Level at which you achieve maximum effectiveness.
  - While enemies will have a set feel for how tough they are even at the cap, but you will notice yourself getting stronger as your Power Level grows.
  - Power Enabled Activities include Vanguard Playlists, Nightfalls, Seasonal Activities, Exotic Mission Rotators, Trials of Osiris, Raids and Dungeons.
Every Power Enabled activity falls into one of five difficulty tiers or one unique mode:

Tier	How to Master
Normal	Focus on growing your Power level.
Advanced	Optimize your individual buildcrafting for Nightfall-style gameplay, while still matchmaking with other players.
Expert	Optimize your fireteam composition and rely on your ability to work together as a team.
Master	Optimize your execution, leveraging the skills built by engaging with other tiers of difficulty.
Grandmaster	Tie it all together and demonstrate true mastery to overcome pinnacle challenges in Destiny 2.
Contest Mode	A unique, limited-time challenge where each raider will have to demonstrate their gameplay. In this mode, Fireteam Power will not apply.