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Quickly Opening the Map
The addition of an in-game map is one of the better qualify of life changes that Bungie has added to Destiny 2. Being able to pull up the map no matter where you are or what you’re doing to check for incoming public events, Lost Sector locations, or the next available Adventure is incredibly convenient. That’s not to mention no more going to orbit, even when changing planet locations.
However, did you know there’s an even quicker way to open your map up? Instead of spending a few seconds holding down Select to open it, if you simply press Start and Select at the same time, your map will open instantly. It’s not a huge game changer, but that time saved adds up over the long term that you’ll be spending in the worlds of D2.
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Journey to 260+ Power
As you begin exploring the EDZ and the other available planets, you will no doubt begin to quickly accumulate various tokens and other rep turn-in materials. It can be tempting to turn these in as soon as possible to build your rep up, but you should hold off. For one, you can’t make use of the reward engrams until at least level 20, but you should wait even beyond that.
It’s possible to hit 260 power using nothing but blue engram drops and rewards, and that should be your first priority. Pretty much any activity that you do in-game will reward you with blue gear, but the best means of acquiring it seems to be public event and Lost Sector farming.
As you work your way towards 260, continue to stockpile your rep tokens, and then turn them in all at once then. This should give you a nice boost, depending on the amount you turn in. From here, you can tackle your weekly milestones and the Nightfall to further boost your power level up to help you prepare for the upcoming raid and Trials of the Nine.
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Lost Sector Loot
Speaking of Lost Sector farming, they are actually not “one and done” activities. After a certain amount of time has passed, Lost Sectors that you have already completed can be cleared out and looted once again.
This comes in handy for when you’re grinding your way up to 260 Power, as you can make a circuit that takes you from Public Events to Lost Sectors in order to quickly get new gear.
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Subclass Quests
As you play through the game, you will receive a relic drop at various points in time, usually around levels 8-9 and 14-15. These will unlock your second and third subclasses, respectively. You will have to complete PvE and PvP activities to charge the relic to 100% and then complete a variation of the ‘Spark’ mission to unlock the subclass proper.
You should do these quests as quickly as possible. The reason being that if you still haven’t unlocked your second subclass, you won’t be able to get the relic drop for the third one until that’s been completed.
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Decrypt Legendary & Exotic Engrams ASAP
In D1, it made sense to hold onto your engrams for a while before decrypting them, aiming to boost your maximum attainable light level from them. This is no longer required in Destiny 2, as the power level of the item contained within is decided the moment the engram is dropped, not once you decrypt it. This means you should make periodic return trips to the social hub to open your engrams as quickly as possible in order to most efficiently boost your power level.
This also applies to Exotic engrams, which can drop even in the early levels for Guardians in D2. There’s no need to hold off until level 20 or your power level is higher; if you get an Exotic engram at level 3, go ahead and open it at level 3 for a good Power boost.
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Save Scout Rifles for the Exotic Quest
As you play Destiny 2, you’ll very quickly begin to accumulate a LOT of gear. Many will dismantle weapons and armor that is replaced immediately. While in the early game, it makes sense to do this to receive glimmer and Gunsmith rep materials, you should make an exception for any Rare or Legendary scout rifles you find. The reasoning for this is that there is an Exotic quest that will reward you with a great Exotic scout rifle.
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Hold off on the World Quests Until 260+
This next tip is purely optional depending on your goals, but if you’re looking to maximize your power level in the most efficient way in preparation for the raid launch, you’re going to want to hold off on doing the 4 World Quests until you are at 260+ power level.
3 of the World Quests will reward you with an Exotic weapon, and it’s capable of dropping at 270+ if your power level is high enough.
Exotic gear is one of the main ways to further increase your power level to 270+
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Cayde-6’s Treasure Maps
After you complete the campaign and finish the Patrol quest given by Cayde-6, he’ll begin to sell Treasure Maps for the EDZ. There are hidden ‘Cayde’s Stash” chests hidden throughout the EDZ, and they can reward you with gear, glimmer, and miscellaneous objects to return to Cayde for glimmer.
These chests are capable of giving out loot that is 260+ as well, meaning if you’re looking for another way to optimize your power level progression, it makes sense to hold off on buying these maps until you reach 260. Again, only do this if you’re goal is to optimize your Power progression as much as possible.
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Smart Infusion
The Infusion system returns in Destiny 2, and thankfully it works in such a way that you gain 100% of the power level amount. There’s one exception to this however: certain weapon mods that will add +5 levels to your equipped weapon. A base Attack of 260 with a +5 mod will be 265. It’s best to infuse into these weapon mods.
You gain from the infusion, plus you still have the +5 Weapon Mod.
However, if you decide to use your weapon equipped with the +5 Mod as infusion fodder, you won’t receive the bonus from the Weapon Mod.
It may sound complicated, but the main takeaway is that the infusion system will only apply the base level of the equipment, disregarding any attached mods that further boost the power level. So to get the most out of the system, infuse items into gear that has a +5 Attack/Defense mod.
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Importance of the Gunsmith
Random mods can be purchased from the Gunsmith for Glimmer. If you acquire three of the same type of Mod, they can be combined into a Legendary Mod, which can then be broken down into Legendary Shards.
Legendary Shards are an important currency in D2, used to infuse gear and purchase Exotics from Xur, so this could be a great way to begin stockpiling them. Glimmer for Mods for Shards.
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New Character Sparrow
Once you’ve completed the campaign and unlocked your Sparrow on one character, you’re then able to transfer Sparrows to alternate characters. Now you won’t need to complete the campaign again before being able to zip around.