{"id":1003685,"date":"2026-01-10T00:12:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T00:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/destiny-2-guide-walkthrough\/63339\/power-level-cap-powerful-pinnacle-gear"},"modified":"2026-01-10T00:12:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T00:12:23","slug":"destiny-2-power-level-guide-all-caps-and-powerful-and-pinnacle-gear-sources-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/destiny-2-power-level-guide-all-caps-and-powerful-and-pinnacle-gear-sources-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Destiny 2 power level guide, all caps and Powerful and Pinnacle gear sources explained"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Leveling your gear and increasing your Power level<\/strong> is an important part of Destiny 2<\/em><\/a>, but it\u2019s also very confusing.<\/p>\n

This page breaks down everything you should know about increasing your Power level, from how gear drops work, the various soft, Powerful, and Pinnacle sources, and their respective max Power level caps.<\/p>\n

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How Power level and gear drops work in Destiny 2<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Power level in Destiny 2<\/em> is a numerical value that determines how much damage you take and deal to your foes \u2014 the higher the level, the more damage you deal and the less you receive. Outside of dictating how much damage you deal, know that activities in the game will have a set Power level and you\u2019ll be more effective when you\u2019re close to or exceeding that level.<\/p>\n

Players and enemies each have a Power level and they get compared together. Your overall Power level comes from averaging the Power level of your gear<\/strong>, plus any additional levels from your seasonal artifact.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes to gear, Destiny 2<\/em> staggers your progress with different Power level caps: the soft cap<\/strong>, the Powerful cap<\/strong>, and the Pinnacle cap<\/strong>. Each of those caps represents a point at which certain types of drops will no longer increase your Power level, and so you have to shift your priorities each week in order to continue increasing your level.<\/p>\n

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Additionally, a seasonal artifact level is added on top of your gear’s average Power level.<\/strong> This is how you are able to get to a higher level than the Pinnacle or Max cap. You gain artifact levels by playing throughout a season and gaining XP. However, unlike your gear level, your artifact level resets at the end of season. (If you\u2019re looking to gain XP fast, it\u2019s best to farm bounties or Seasonal Challenges, as they provide some of the quickest and easiest XP in the game.)<\/p>\n

A change from The Final Shape<\/em> onwards is the Adjusted Power feature when playing in a Fireteam. When in a party, players will automatically have their power increased to five Power below the player with the highest level<\/strong> \u2014 allowing them to join in on endgame activities (such as the raid) without grinding to the required activity level themselves. But even if your Power is adjusted under the Power Leader feature, you\u2019ll still earn drops according to your normal Power level.<\/p>\n

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Finally, for players with multiple characters, another change starting with The Final Shape<\/em> is Power drop values are now account wide, meaning if you switch to a lower Power character, any new loot will match that of your most powerful character<\/strong>. As a result, Power Boosts (designed to help lower Power characters skip through the grind) are no longer available.<\/p>\n

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Max level caps in Destiny 2<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are three level caps in Destiny 2<\/em>: the soft cap, the Powerful cap, and the Pinnacle cap. For Episode: Revenant, those caps are:<\/p>\n