Power level in Destiny 2 has always been a complicated system for new players to figure out. However, it looks like Bungie will be simplifying this system a lot more with the arrival of The Final Shape in June.
In the latest “This Week in Destiny”, Bungie detailed all of the ways in which power would be changing in The Final Shape, and how they aim to make the experience a lot more seamless for new, returning, and veteran players alike. Here’s all the changes coming to power in Destiny 2: The Final Shape.
Fireteam Power in Destiny 2: The Final Shape
One of the biggest pain points in Destiny 2’s history was how difficult it became to introduce new players to the game. For example, if you had a friend who just started playing Destiny 2, that friend would essentially be unable to run a majority of the PvE activities in the game due to their power being too low.
Now, this isn’t technically a bad thing, considering that players should actually play the game if they want to access end-game activities. However, seeing that Destiny 2 is a game that is heavily focused on player interaction and teamwork, this always presented itself as a problem regardless. However, it looks like Bungie has finally found a solution.
In The Final Shape, Bungie will be introducing Fireteam Power, a system that will adjust the power of each member of the fireteam to be able to tackle activities with friends who are at a higher power level.
The individual with the highest Power level within the fireteam will assume the role of Power Leader. All other players within the fireteam will have their Power levels adjusted to be within five points below that of the Power Leader, if their Power level is not already higher. Fireteam Power exclusively impacts the difficulty of activities, while your original, unadjusted Power level will continue to determine the level of the rewards you receive.
Many players who were previously intimidated by the grind that Destiny 2 demands would benefit from this change. No longer will they have to grind for weeks to play certain activities with friends.
Legacy Gear Power Limits in Destiny 2
Another highly-requested feature that Bungie is adding in The Final Shape is the removal of power limits on legacy gear. The reasoning behind this decision seems to stem from the Fireteam Power change that we recently touched on. Instead of ignoring the power limits that would be on legacy items with the introduction of Fireteam Power, Bungie decided to remove all Power limits as a whole.
However, for players who dismantled old legacy gear, there won’t be an immediate way to retrieve that gear. As Bungie stated, “We understand that many old Power limited items have been dismantled by this point, and we regret that we have no recovery mechanism for these. Going forward, we intend to reintroduce sources for most or all of these, updated to modern Destiny sandbox standards with added properties such as Origin Traits and buildcrafting perks (as we have started to do with the BRAVE arsenal in Destiny 2: Into the Light.”
With that said, this change will simply make it easier for new players to level up the already-existing gear that they have, which is very much in line with what Bungie is trying to achieve with The Final Shape.
Power Bands in Destiny 2
In The Final Shape, Bungie is also committed to improving Power Bands to lower the barrier to entry. To reach the Soft Cap, players will only need an additional 40 Power (down from the usual 150 Power). This change is designed to provide newer players with enough opportunity to acquaint themselves with the Power System before venturing into more expansive gameplay without hindrance.
In addition, reaching the Soft Cap is now more attainable by engaging with either difficulty level of The Final Shape campaign. Once completed on Legendary difficulty, players will receive a full gear set at 1960 power and a boost of +20 power into the Powerful band. Bungie states that this change should also get players ready for the Raid Contest Mode which will be set at 1965 Power.
The Power Bands in The Final Shape will be as follows:
- Power Floor: 1900
- Soft Cap: 1940
- Powerful Cap: 1990
- Pinnacle Cap: 2000
Activity Power in Destiny 2
According to Bungie, activities in The Final Shape will be a lot more streamlined and easy to understand as they’ll simply be divided into two categories: Power Disabled and Power Enabled.
Power Disabled
Activities that are Power Disabled will offer an equal experience to all players, regardless of their individual Power levels. As a result, increasing your Power level will not alter the activity’s difficulty, and having a lower Power level, will not make you weaker in any way. Examples of Power Disabled activities include Crucible matches, campaigns (Normal and Legendary), Season story missions, and exploration in free-roam locations.
Power Enabled
Power Enabled activities are where players can go to enhance their effectiveness by increasing their respective Power levels. Each of these activities will also feature a Power Cap, which will be clearly indicated within the game’s UI. Examples of Power Enabled activities include Vanguard playlists, Nightfalls, Exotic Missions Rotators, Trials of Osiris, Raids and Dungeons.
For a more in-depth look at how Power will work in a variety of activities, feel free to check out Bungie’s latest installment in “This Week in Destiny”.
Account-Wide Power in Destiny 2: The Final Shape
Perhaps one of the most exciting revelations about how power will work in Destiny 2 came when Bungie revealed how account-wide Power will work.
According to Bungie, “Starting in The Final Shape, the gear rewards you earn on any character will drop with a Power level relative to the highest Power character on your account. Level up the Power of your Hunter, and when you switch over to your Titan or Warlock, the gear rewards you earn will be around your Hunter’s level. The exact Power of rewards will still depend on the source, but the Power you earn on one character will positively influence rewards you find on your other characters.”
This will make it much easier for players to level up multiple characters at once, while also giving players a much-needed incentive to dust off their characters of different classes who have just been idle.
The Final Shape is bringing an immense amount of changes to the core fundamentals of Destiny 2, many of which players have been asking for since Destiny 2 was initially released. With just about a month left until The Final Shape arrives, stay tuned as we’ll report on any new information that’s revealed.
Until next time, Guardians…
