Get Started with Solo Ops
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Solo Ops just another name for Lost Sectors or Strikes?
- Not exactly. Solo Ops often reuse sections of campaign missions, Lost Sectors, and other destination areas that are underutilized, but with randomized objectives, modifier pools, and adjusted difficulty.
- They’re curated for short sessions, not story‑linked or matchmaking environments.
What kind of gear can I earn in Solo Ops?
- All reward tracks, such as Seasonal Power, mods (Glimmer, materials), Pinnacle characters and weapons, are tied to difficulty.
- Successfully tackling Expert or Master tiers offers top-tier drops; Normal and Advanced tend to yield lower‑tier.
- Some weapon catalysts or exotic drops may be included during particular weeks.
I saw a data pad! What is that?
- Each Solo Ops mission includes a hidden Data Pad, used for weekly seasonal challenges.
- Locations are simple and are placed in plain sight but off the main path, and offer small bite sized pieces of lore that tell a greater story!
- Other portal categories, such as Fireteam Ops and Pinnacle Ops, also have 1 or 2 data pad per activity.
What is Solo Ops?
- Released in Edge of Fate, Solo Ops is a activity category in the Portal that contains a variety of short, quick action missions meant for solo play.
- Challenge customization and randomized modifiers allow short, repeatable experiences, tuned for replayability rather than build finesse.
- Like other Portal categories, there are premade playlists available at different difficulty tiers, and customizable activities where you choose your own modifiers and difficulty.
- Remember: The greater the challenge, the greater the reward!
Power Advantage Guide for Solo Ops
- Reach Power 200 (the new “soft cap”) as efficiently as possible: this can be done by playing any activity, including and especially Solo Ops!
- Solo Ops = fastest grind while solo:
- Solo Ops are short, repeatable missions (often plates, Lost Sector fragments or mini‑encounters) that you can complete alone.
- At higher difficulties and with properly selected modifiers, even brief runs can net +3–5 Power or more if you hit A‑rank scoring.
- Progress by increasing difficulty tiers:
- Normal → ~Power 10/enabling early unlocks
- Advanced → usually ~10 Power below your level
- Expert → ~15 Power below
- Master → ~20 Power below
- That disadvantage boosts your Reward Score and increases your chance of getting higher-tier gear and A‑rank chests.
- Target consistent A‑rank runs:
- Use the “Locked Loadout” boon or one of the alternatives in Solo Ops to ensure your Power stays consistent and forecasted scores match your completed score.
- Add mild banes like Caltrops, Avalanche, or Counterfeit only if needed to lift the projected score; this is one of the surefire setups to reliably achieve A‑rank farming.
- Keep loot upgrades balanced:
- You may notice some slots (e.g. helmet or primary) lagging; use vendor engrams or season‑pass gear to make improvements.
- Expect gearing slowdown above 200:
- Power progression beyond 200 comes slower via seasonal and pinnacle sources.
- Players report that the climb to the seasonal cap (typically 500-550) can take dozens of successful runs…unbounded, but much slower. Though, recent updates from Bungie have made this journey much faster!
- Be patient – put on some music and dive into the grind, and shake things up a little with the modifications! Test yourself with different modifier combos!
- Efficient alt‑character routing:
- Use min‑level alts to farm Master A‑rank missions and transfer the best weapons to your main via the vault.
- When your main runs the high‑tier pinnacle sources, you’re already ahead in gear, boosting final seasonal progress.
Build Tips for Solo Play
- When you’re running Solo Ops, you’re relying on your agility, survivability, and efficiency with one character, so here’s how to gear up right:
- Pick a solo‑friendly class:
- According to veteran Guardians, Titans are currently the easiest for Solo Ops: tanky, forgiving, and with strong subclass synergies.
- Warlocks excel once mastered, but Hunters are regarded as the most challenging to “carry” with…especially solo.
- That said, buildcrafting strong builds can prove your resilience no matter the class!
- Leverage Armour 3.0 set bonuses:
- Armor sets like Bushido (from Pinnacle Ops) offer weapon-based recovery, while Techsec (Fireteam Ops sets) significantly buff shield-breaking damage.
- Mix-and-match both two-piece and four-piece bonuses with your exotic armor to amplify survivability.
- Adapt for Daily/Weekly seasonal affinities:
- Some days the seasonal activities reward increased gains from certain elements or weapons, such as solar focus; bring mods and weapons that match for +Power bonus, especially in Solo Ops where your weapon‑flip synergy pays off in each bonus‑friendly run.
- Pick a solo‑friendly class:
Can’t see this table on mobile? Turn your phone to view in tablet mode.
| Step | Goal | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Complete campaign (on Legendary) and Solo Ops Normal‑Advanced | That gets you to ~150–160 Power | Unlocks ability to run Expert and reach soft cap fast (via campaign set bonus) |
| Solo Ops Expert/Master with Locked Loadout | Sustain +3–5 Power per run with good chest rolls | Maintains constant loadout and scored A‑rank rewards |
| Fill weak gear slots with vendor/season‑pass items | Keeps overall gear level balanced across all slots | Prevents slowdowns in infusion cost or power plateau |
| Save your Pinnacle Ops grind for after hitting 200 | Higher rewards and tier gear unlock only after 200 | Pinnacle Ops better used after Solo Ops become unfavourable |
| Infuse wisely using enhancement/unstable cores | Avoid wasteful infusion across seasons | Unstable cores expire at season’s end |
Free Roam
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Free Roam?
- In Destiny 1 & 2, Guardians are able to venture across multiple locations via the Director and freely explore these beautiful locations
- When selecting a destination, you are able to choose a landing zone. Note that some destinations may only have one landing zone depending on the size.
- While Free Roaming, Guardians may come across patrol beacons, materials, chests, and public events that spawn in areas that provide experience and additional rewards.
- Some locations can also contain a number of secrets to discover that can provide additional loot and triumphs!
What kind of zone is Kepler? How is it different from traditional patrols like EDZ or Neomuna?
- Kepler is a post‑campaign free‑roam destination split into four major regions, each filled with large encounters, puzzles and secrets; think of them like upgraded Lost Sectors spread across a zone
- It does not function like old patrol zones: there’s no public matchmaking, no public events, and your fireteam is launched into an isolated instance.
- To learn more about Kepler, visit our Kepler page found in our Knowledge Base > World Hub.
Why are there "world tiers" in Kepler? How do they work?
- After the campaign, you unlock Fabled → Mythic tiers (equivalent to tiers 2–3 power caps), each refining the world with tougher enemies, greater loot potential, and more secrets.
- In each tier, the map resets, allowing you to retackle puzzles and hidden zones.
- To switch world tiers, open the Kepler map and click the crowned skull icon to adjust your world tier.
- You can switch tier‑by‑tier at any time after they unlock.
- To learn more about Kepler, visit our Kepler page found in our Knowledge Base > World Hub.
What is the current rotation for Europa Weekly Activities?
EUROPA WEEKLY ROTATORS
SAFEGUARD
EXO SIMULATION
SURVIVAL
EXO SIMULATION
AGILITY
EXO SIMULATION
CADMUS RIDGE
ECLIPSED ZONE
EVENTIDE RUINS
ECLIPSED ZONE
ASTERION ABYSS
ECLIPSED ZONE
THE TECHNOCRAT
EMPIRE HUNT
THE DARK PRIESTESS
EMPIRE HUNT
THE WARRIOR
EMPIRE HUNT
Patrols
- A patrol is an activity node (or NPC) that you can access while in free roam that requires you to complete a specific objective.
- Complete patrols in passing for XP and +250 Clan XP per completion.
- Not seeing a patrol that you like? Abandon patrols to refresh the area’s patrol nodes. Excludes Cosmodrome, Europa and Savathûn’s Throne World, which have dedicated patrol points with randomized objectives. Take out your ghost to view the full patrol objective.
- In newer destinations (same list as above), some patrols have heroic variants that are a little bit harder to complete but reward even more XP!
- For Ability Kill Patrols, uncharged melee strikes count toward progression!
- Hover over the icons below to learn more about each type of patrol you may encounter out in the wild.
Lost Sectors
- Every planet features a number of mini-arenas called Lost Sectors that feature a horde of enemies, a boss, and a treasure cache.
- Defeating the boss unlocks the treasure cache which can reward glimmer and legendary loot!
- A variety of locations can feature Legend and Master Lost Sectors that increase the enemy difficulty and add modifiers.
- These types of Lost Sectors have a chance to reward Enhancement Cores, Enhancement Prisms, and Exotic Engrams!
- For more information on Legend and Master Lost Sectors, visit our Endgame Activities page.
Public Events
- Public Events are small temporary events that allow random players in public spaces on all locations to complete a specific objective.
- Guardians can locate these public events by checking their map – a symbol will pop up, noting the approximate location of the event.
- You will see a Public Event Flag at the specified location leading up to the start of the event. Activating the flag will replenish your super and ammo supply!
- Completing public events can earn you loot, XP, and Clan XP per completion.
- Each public event can be made into a heroic event that rewards additional rewards and XP.
- As of Season 19, public events reward higher amounts of glimmer! Expect to see 3000-5000 Glimmer per regular completion.
- For Heroic Public Events, Guardians can receive roughly 13,000-15,000 Glimmer per successful completion!
Materials, Chests & Region Chests
- Every destination has a unique material to collect that randomly spawn that can provide glimmer, small amounts of XP and on some destinations, reputation or currency!
- As well, chests can also be found at random throughout every destination that can provide additional materials or even loot!
- Region Chests are golden chests found across most destinations that provide loot, XP and on certain destinations, reputation gains!
- Region Chests have a static location; unopened region chests appear on the Director Map for every destination.
